Chromebooks were low-cost devices that relied on the internet to do all their work. These machines have seen improvements in processors and storage over time, and Chromebook manufacturers may now be preparing to offer them RGB keyboards. The only reason for this is that Steam-enabled gaming Chromebooks will soon be available.
Google has been discussing bringing Steam to Chrome OS over the past few years. However, the “Borealis Project” has not yet produced any results. The foundations are there. Google controls Chromebook platform hardware more tightly than it does the Android side. Recent boards such as Volteer are able to run simple games, and even AAA titles at low settings with Intel’s Iris Xe graphics.
Chrome now supports RGB keyboards, according to some reports. RGB is synonymous with gaming — nearly every component and peripheral that has RGB LEDs these days can be mistaken for a flying saucer. The open-source Chromium project has added a flag to support RGB keyboards, according to 9to5Google. The feature allows gamers to alter the color of each key, and cycle through many effects. This means that there will likely be a GUI, but it isn’t yet available in public Chrome OS versions.
This code refers to multiple RGB Chromebooks. Two of them are codenamed Vell or Taniks and run on 12th Gen Intel Alder Lake CPUs. 9t05 suggests these laptops are from HP or Lenovo. It is possible that there may be support for RGB keyboards. Ripple, a device in the open source code, appears to be removable. It could be an accessory or a keyboard for a 2-in-1.
Although it’s unlikely that Steam will launch on these RGB-equipped Chromebooks Chromebooks, it seems like a good bet. Steam will not be as good on Chromebooks when it launches, but it will offer a different experience than Windows. Chrome OS is essentially Linux and many of the most popular games can only be used on Windows. It’s still better than running Android games on your Chromebook. Thanks to Valve’s efforts in making Steam OS a reality, around 80% of top-rated Steam games are currently running on Linux. Valve is close to releasing the Steam Deck which runs Linux.
