ChromeOS users have been promised a new trackpad gesture feature that will make ignoring pop-up notifications a breeze, but we’ve yet to actually see it appear on all Chromebooks. Instead, some demo users have come across the feature in Google’s developer channel – a full month later.
The new controls were technically introduced in ChromeOS in February and were said to be rolling out “in the coming days.” official blog post. However, it seems that the feature is still stuck in the development area. Robby Payne from ChromeUnboxed Regrets how common it seems to be for new features to be announced only for ChromeOS and for a few specific features to be left out completely until the next one update.
It looks like this may be the case with the gesture feature. In early March, a brand new ChromeOS 122 update was introduced with no mention of gesture controls, implying that the feature has already been rolled out or forgotten about altogether.
Do it in parts
Payne notes that while he had no success using the feature on several Chromebooks, it wasn’t until he did something else in the ChromeOS development channel and decided to try out the gesture when a pop-up notification appeared – it worked!
While it may seem like a small thing to worry about, the gesture controls that are still locked in the developer channel are a prime example of how ChromeOS developers leave users hanging after promising new features.
The new feature is intuitive and super useful in everyday life, and the fact that it seems to be yet another example of ChromeOS users having to just hope and wait for parts of their updates to actually roll out remains frustrating.
