Released in July of this year, ChromeOS Flex is Google’s latest effort to help its users become more sustainable. Chrome OS flex is a cloud-first, easy-to-manage operating system for PCs and Macs. Much like humans, as much as we try to prevent it, hardware ages over time, leaving devices clunky, slow and not as youthful as they once were. So how can ChromeOS Flex help? Like an anti-ageing cream, ChromeOS Flex puts the brakes on the ageing process; simply installing ChromeOS Flex gives old PCs and Macs a new lease of life.
What is ChromeOS Flex?
Compatible with the majority of outdated PCs & Macs, ChromeOS Flex is an easy-to-install operating system replicating a similar working environment to that of ChromeOS.
Based on Chromium OS, ChromeOS Flex gets updates just as fast as regular Chromebooks, no matter how old the device it’s installed on. When drawing comparisons to the well-established ChromeOS, ChromeOS Flex fairs pretty well, with the capability to do almost everything that its experienced relative can.
What are the benefits of ChromeOS Flex?
When devices age, updates for traditional operating systems begin to take their toll on hardware, slowing down machines. As ChromeOS Flex is a cloud-based system, it needs fewer resources, meaning less strain on the old PC, making boot-ups a speedier process without the fear of slowing down over time. Furthermore, updates happen in the background, meaning less downtime for the end user.
Like ChromeOS, ChromeOS Flex allows you to log in from any device and pick up where you left off with cloud profiles. So if you change devices, you’d easily have access to all your files.
ChromeOS is renowned for its secure setup, and ChromeOS Flex is no different. Installing ChromeOS Flex will protect you from growing threats, including ransomware, malware and user errors, that many old devices would not have the capability to do so.
All sounds positive so far. And there’s more.
One of the biggest drivers behind the release of ChromeOS Flex was the beneficial impact it could have on the environment. At present, end-user computing devices generate 1% of global greenhouse gas emissions.(Sutton-Parker, J. (2021)). With efforts to reduce emissions throughout all stages of the product lifecycle, Google’s introduction of ChromeOS Flex will significantly impact a device’s life span, reducing the need to replace existing machines.
While we have seen an increase in responsible manufacturing in recent years, older generation products were often not built with the same ethos in mind, meaning many of them are non-recyclable. Whilst ChromeOS Flex can’t rewrite history and change the make-up of the device, it can give it a new lease of life and stop it from heading to a landfill!
And that’s not all.
Thanks to Google technology, you can make an old device up to 21% more energy efficient (Sutton-Parker, J. (2021), by installing ChromeOS Flex and reducing your power consumption. (That’s not to mention that Google is the greenest public cloud, more on that here!)
So with ChromeOS Flex, you can work in a faster, more secure, more energy-efficient way and from anywhere, all without the cost of a new device. Before you throw out your old devices, why not give ChromeOS Flex a try?
From device compatibility to installation, contact one of our team today if you’d like more information on ChromeOS Flex!
*Source: Sutton-Parker, J. (2021), ‘Can meaningful measurement of end user computing energy consumption drive human behavioural changes to abate greenhouse gas emissions?’. Warwickshire, England: The University of Warwick, Computer and Urban Science Department
*Source: Sutton-Parker, J. (2021), ‘ Quantifying greenhouse gas abatement delivered by alternative computer operating system displacement strategies.’ Amsterdam, the Netherlands: Science Direct, Elsevier B.V.
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