ChromeOS Pioneer: Google Enhances Chromebook Experience with Harmonious Melodies – Energizing With Charging Adapters & Alerting Low Battery

Google has announced that it will be adding “system sounds” to the ChromeOS operating system for the first time in September 2023. Previously, ChromeOS was a system that did not have any system sounds. Google has decided to add the first set of sounds, which includes the sound of charging and a low battery alert, in order to provide convenience for users, including those with visual impairments. These sounds will help reduce the need to rely on screen readers.

Google has a UX sound designer on their team who has previously worked on creating sounds for Pixel devices. They have taken the experience and approach from Pixel and applied it to the development of these sounds. One concern that they had to address was the fact that ChromeOS is widely used in educational institutions. Therefore, the team had to carefully select sounds and volume levels that would not distract teachers and students too much.

The sound chosen for the charging sound is a piano note in G major, gradually decreasing in volume. This emphasizes the bass sound to take advantage of the larger speakers on Chromebook devices compared to smartphones. The charging sound is also divided into three sub-versions, depending on the battery status at that time (below 15%, 16-79%, and 80% and above).

As for the low battery alert, it is a fast-paced sequence of three notes to quickly notify users that they need to find a charger.

The sound file format chosen is FLAC, which is a smaller file size but still provides good sound quality. This decision led the ChromeOS development team to further develop FLAC playback features to ensure sound compatibility on all hardware models.

TLDR: Google is adding system sounds to ChromeOS for the first time, with charging and low battery alerts. These sounds aim to provide convenience for users, particularly those with visual impairments, and reduce the need for screen readers. The chosen sound file format is FLAC, and the team is developing FLAC playback features to ensure sound compatibility across all ChromeOS hardware models.