Google Play Movies & TV App Now Supports Offline Playback on Chrome OS

Chromebooks continue to acquire new offline functionality
Adding to the still small, albeit growing, list of things that can be done on a Chromebook while it’s offline, Google earlier this week updated the Google Play Movies & TV Chrome app with support for offline media playback.

“The new Google Play Movies & TV Chrome app makes your favorite movies and TV shows on your Chromebook available any time, anywhere - even without a WiFi connection,” the company said in a Google Plus post announcing the new feature.

Coming at a time when Chromebook availability is being expanded to nine new countries, the ability to watch your favorite movies and TV shows when stuck with a Chromebook without internet access is definitely a positive development from both the standpoint of usability and marketability. But don’t expect to store an awful lot of content locally, for Chromebooks generally tend to ship with fairly limited built-in storage.

Anyway, offline playback isn’t the only new feature introduced as part of this app update: “In addition to offline mode on Chrome OS, it also brings Info Cards and an improved Chromecast and local playback experience to anyone watching movies through the Chrome browser.”