ChromeOS 156 has reached the Stable channel (platform 16836, browser 156.0.8078.42, rolled out from October 20), and the release is mostly a Gemini release. On Chromebook Plus, Gemini in Chrome gains media understanding: users can ask questions about audio or video they have already played in a tab and get summaries or specific details back, checkable at chrome://settings/ai/gemini.

The update also adds Gemini Talk to Type dictation, direct file uploads and file generation in Gemini in Chrome, and an interactive Quiz feature that turns a webpage, PDF, slide deck or video into a study session. ChromeOS 156 confirms that users can temporarily share saved Google Password Manager logins with the Gemini Spark agent so it can sign in to third-party web apps, with explicit consent plus a biometric or device unlock required for every task. 'Autofill with AI' is renamed Enhanced autofill and expanded to more regions.

Underneath, the release carries the 353 security fixes from Chrome 156, six of them critical memory-corruption patches, plus two high-severity Mali GPU kernel fixes specific to ChromeOS. Rollout is gradual: Chrome Unboxed updated a Lenovo Chromebook Plus 14 to 156 and had not yet seen Talk to Type appear, so the headline features may lag the OS update itself on a given machine.