Chrome OS gets lts version with stable releases every six months

Google will launch a long-term support channel for Chrome OS in March 2022. The lts version is updated every six months and is intended for organizations that prefer a longer update cycle than the standard four weeks.

Devices with Chrome OS will be able to run version 96 of the operating system in a long-term support channel from March 2022. Those systems will then move to version 102 of Chrome OS in September 2022. In the meantime, they will still receive security updates, but no new features. Prior to the lts release, admins can already put those devices in the long-term support candidate channel, which will give them access to the upcoming features.

The option will become visible in the Google Admin console for managing Chrome OS devices in the coming days. With the lts version, Google focuses on businesses, education and healthcare. Some of those organizations have indicated that they prefer a longer update cycle, according to Google.

Google is reducing the standard update cycle from version 96 of Chrome OS from six to four weeks, so users can switch to new versions more quickly. Administrators already had the option to pin versions if they were hesitant about new releases, but then Chrome OS won’t get security updates either.

Google is also adding the option to Enterprise Management to pin certain versions of extensions and apps to prevent them from updating. Finally, administrators can set a minimum OS version.