What changed in ChromeOS settings
ChromeOS spent three releases doing what iPadOS did to its app settings: taking a row of doors and replacing them with one.
Seven groups gone, one added
Removed from the first screen between ChromeOS 120 and 151: Search and Assistant, Date and time, Languages and inputs, Files, Printers and scanners, Developers, Reset settings.
Added: System preferences. All seven are inside it.
In rows: 623 arrived and 477 left in that pair alone, 1,393 and 1,101 across all three.
Two renames worth knowing
| Before | After |
|---|---|
| Personalization | Wallpaper and style |
| Security and Privacy | Privacy and security |
The first is a real change of meaning: Personalization is a category, Wallpaper and style is a promise about what is inside. The second is two words swapping places, which matters only because a settings search matches what is on the screen.
What a consolidation costs
A Chromebook used in a school or an office is often configured by someone following written instructions. Seven groups becoming one means every instruction that said “open Date and time” is now wrong by one step — not wrong about where the setting is, just about how to get there.
That is the hidden cost of tidying a first screen, and it is why the full change list is worth keeping to hand rather than relying on memory.
Open both versions
ChromeOS 120 vs 151 lists every row with its path. In the simulator: 151, 124, 120.
Related: the ChromeOS settings guide, ChromeOS vs Ubuntu, and the cross-system picture.
Try it yourself, on the real menusOpen any of 43 operating systems in your browser and walk the Settings tree exactly as it appears on the device. No download, no account.Frequently asked questions
Where did Date and time go in ChromeOS?
Into System preferences, along with Search and Assistant, Languages and inputs, Files, Printers and scanners, Developers and Reset settings — seven first-screen groups folded into one.
What replaced Personalization on ChromeOS?
It was renamed Wallpaper and style, which describes the contents rather than the category.
How much did ChromeOS settings change?
1,393 rows arrived and 1,101 left across the three release pairs we hold. The largest is 120 to 151, with 623 new and 477 gone.