Instant tethering for Chrome OS is now enabled by default, according to a new commit spotted in the Chromium Gerrit. This is a feature that has been circulating in the Chrome OS news since early in June when it was first noted as becoming available to Chrome OS users via the Canary Chrome OS channel.
However the difference back then was the feature was not a ‘by default’ feature and instead had to be manually activated by the user by heading into the device’s settings and enabling the flag. Which is what has now changed as according to the commit the feature will be active automatically going forward on Chrome OS devices. That is, all Chrome OS devices that are currently running on the alpha versions of Chrome OS as there is no firm information on the feature having yet made its way to the Developer Channel, let alone the Stable version – which most Chrome OS device owners are likely using.
As for the feature itself, this is one of those features that while appearing simple, is also extremely beneficial. As while most device owners can tether one device to another to piggyback off an internet connection, instant tethering looks to simplify the process massively. This is due to this feature being linked to the user’s Google account. So as long as the piggybacking device (in this case the Chrome OS device) is connected to the same Google account as a Pixel or Nexus device with an internet connection, then it is very simply for those Chrome OS device owners to jump on the same internet connection. One point to note about the availability of this feature, while it has yet to be announced or made widely available in an official capacity, there is one Chromebook that has not only been confirmed to have access to this feature, but does so at launch – Google’s own Pixelbook. With the Pixelbook due to become available soon, and the confirmation that the feature on Chrome OS is going to be enabled by default, there is the suggestion that this could be a feature that is very close to becoming available to all Chrome OS users.