The Chrome platform is changing in Linux 6.11, as the Linux kernel code primarily used to support Chromebooks will introduce two new drivers. The first new driver is "cros_ec_hwmon", a new driver for displaying fan speed and temperature on modern Chromebooks under Linux and other devices using open source ChromeOSEC.
In an LPC-connected EC configuration, cros_ec_hwmon is connected to the ChromeOS embedded controller. It’s worth noting that this new driver is available for Framework 13 AMD Ryzen laptops using ChromeOSEC and has successfully passed testing with the new code.
As early as seven years ago, someone tried to add the ChromeOSECHWMON driver, but nothing happened.
Another new Chrome platform driver this cycle is "cros_charge-control" for controlling charging thresholds. The ChromeOS embedded controller supports commands to control charging thresholds and behavior. Similar to other laptops that support battery charge thresholds, it is now exposed to userspace via sysfs.
Both new ChromeOSEC drivers were developed by Linux developer Thomas Weißschuh.
More details about these two new drivers, as well as other Chrome platform changes in preparation for Linux 6.11, can be found in this pull request.