Google rolls out ChromeOS LTC-144; LTS stays on 138 until late April

Google has started rolling out a new ChromeOS Long Term Support Candidate build for most devices on the LTC channel. In its late-March update, the Chrome Releases blog says the new version is 144.0.7559.247 with platform version 16503.79.0. Google also says the regular Long Term Support channel remains on LTS-138 until April 21, 2026.

That makes this a channel-specific move rather than a broad ChromeOS stable update for everyone. Google’s announcement is brief and does not include a full breakdown of fixes or user-facing changes in the rollout note itself, instead pointing admins to separate LTC-144 release notes and ChromeOS long-term support documentation.

Google is moving the LTC track forward before the full LTS 144 release

Google’s support documentation says the ChromeOS long-term support model uses a slower release cadence than the standard Stable channel. Devices on LTS still receive security fixes, but cumulative feature updates arrive every six months. In the same release notes page, Google says ChromeOS Long-term Support Candidate 144 was scheduled for February 3, 2026, while the full ChromeOS Long-term Support 144 release is scheduled for April 21, 2026.

That leaves the late-March rollout sitting in the middle of that transition. For admins managing LTC devices, the immediate takeaway is simply that Google is now pushing the 144 candidate build more broadly, while the main LTS channel has not yet switched over from 138.

LTS 144 release notes point to cumulative ChromeOS and browser changes

While the rollout post itself is sparse, Google’s LTS 144 feature summary outlines what the broader 139-to-144 package includes. On the ChromeOS side, the company lists additions such as Class Tools wireless Screen Share, and Screen Annotations for teachers, multi-app support for protocol handlers, and Gemini in Chrome rolling out to Chromebook Plus devices. The same summary also lists browser and enterprise items tied to the 144-cycle, including a simplified New Tab page, Happy Eyeballs V3, and new Chrome browser policies.

For now, though, the only new facts confirmed in Google’s rollout post are the LTC build number, the platform version, the “most ChromeOS devices” scope, and the fact that the main LTS track remains on 138 until April 21.

For readers following the latest browser rollout activity, you can also take a look at our report on Chrome 147 arriving early for a small pool of Windows and Mac users, which covers Google’s early stable push on the desktop side.