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Google's been working on Android-Chrome OS cross-functionality for quite some time. Both Android phones and Chromebooks rely heavily on Google services, of course, and Chromebooks have enjoyed access to Android apps for a few years now. There's also Phone Hub, which makes tasks like sharing your Android phone's mobile data with your Chromebook simpler. Today, as part of CES 2022, Google announced that we're getting two new cross-device features this year: simpler audio source switching and better Chrome OS access to your phone's messaging apps.

Some headphones and earbuds already support a feature called Bluetooth multipoint that allows them to connect to multiple audio sources simultaneously, but it's still pretty niche — particularly on lower-cost headsets. Google says that "In the coming months," Android and Chrome OS will be able to detect which device you want to use for audio and instruct your audio device to connect to the right source at the right time. So if you're, for example, watching YouTube on your Chromebook and get a call on your Android phone, when you pick up, your earbuds will automatically disconnect from your laptop and connect to your phone. It sounds a little too good to be true, but if it works, it'll be a boon to those of us heavily invested in the Google ecosystem.

5. Audio switching from Chrome OS to Android-anim

Chrome OS is also getting better at handling messages on your Android devices. While Phone Hub already lets you read and reply to some phone notifications from Chrome OS, Google says that, later this year, you'll be able to access and reply to conversations from "your Android phone's messaging and chat apps" on your Chromebook without installing those apps on multiple devices.

7. Multi-device messaging from Android to Chrome OS-anim

Cross-device functionality is one of the things Apple fans love most about their ecosystem, and it's something Google could stand to shore up in its own offerings. These are some big promises, but it's exciting to see Google put more emphasis on making the act of using more than one of its products a more seamless experience.