Google intends to take Chromebooks’ easy-to-use and secured nature up a notch by introducing ‘Instant Tethering’ which will make hotspot tethering to a cellular network in the absence of Wi-Fi a hassle-free experience.
As it stands now, in the absence of Wi-Fi, users can still access the internet by tethering via hotspot to their active cellular network. But that is a long-winded process, including enabling hotspot tethering on the mobile device, specifying network SSID and password, and opening the other device to connect it to the hotspot, not to mention disabling the hotspot manually when it is no longer being used.
To do away with all these hassles, Google has introduced ‘Instant Tethering’ to more than 15 Chromebooks and 30 cell phone models. This feature essentially allows users to perform an initial set-up process and thenceforth allows access at a single click. In the first place, the Chromebook sends out a notification when Wi-Fi is not available, but internet access via a cellular network is and allows users to connect instantly by clicking the ‘Connect’ option on the notification itself. Secondly, it disconnects the tethering automatically after ten minutes of inactivity.
‘Instant Tethering’ was a feature already available on select Pixelbooks and Pixel Slates and allowed tethering to Pixel and Nexus handsets. But now, Google intends to extend this feature to Chromebooks as well, claiming that it will enable Chromebooks and Android devices to work better together.
