Chrome OS working on Phone Hub to manage devices, notifications

The first time we mentioned Phone Hub from Chrome OS was back in July. We noted the platform may get “task continuation” skills. Now we’ve got word Chrome OS has been testing Phone Hub to control an Android smartphone and manage notifications. This effort is actually part of the ‘Better Together’ features. We know Chrome OS has been working on integration with Android for better communication and navigation especially when it comes to sharing things like Smart Lock, automatic Wi-Fi hotspot, and text or RCS messages.

There is no official announcement yet but some changes have been made on Chromiun Gerrit and were discovered by XDA. A reference to Phone Hub has been described like this: Provides a UI for users to view information about their Android phone and perform phone-side actions within Chrome OS.

This new feature may deliver deeper integration between Chrome OS and Android mobile devices. This may soon allow users to view and respond to messages on Chrome OS devices and vice versa.

The Phone Hub may be seen under the Connected Devices page. It will be seen just below instant tethering, smart lock, and Messages as seen on the code change. In the next update, you can probably see these three: Phone Hub Notifications, Phone Hub Notifications Badge, and Phone Hub Task Continuation.

Phone Hub is expected to allow seamless connection and access between an Android device on a Chromebook. This could be the “task continuation” mentioned before. We’ve seen this possible with Android Messages.

Many things are possible with the Task Continuation feature but details are still scarce. We want to know if Chrome tabs can be shared and moved between devices. Continuing app activities from one device to another may be useful.

Phone Hub is said to take advantage of Bluetooth connectivity. Others are saying this is more like Your Phone for Windows 10 and Android. That is a possibility. If that’s the case then it will really be a welcome development.