The project is called “Lacros” which Google says stands for “Linux And ChRome OS.” This will split ChromeOS’s Linux OS from the Chrome browser, allowing Google to update each one independently.
Previously ChromeOS was using a homemade graphics stack called “Freon,” but now with Wayland, it’ll be on the new and normal desktop Linux graphic stack. Google’s 2016 move to Freon was at a time when it could have moved from X11 (the old, normal desktop Linux graphics stock) directly to Wayland, but it decided to take this custom detour instead. Google says this represents “more Wayland support” because Wayland was previously used for Android and Linux apps, but now it’ll be used for the native Chrome OS graphics, too.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
Google documentation on the project says, "On Chrome OS, the system UI (ash window manager, login screen, etc.)
Lacros separates this functionality into two binaries, henceforth known as ash-chrome (system UI) and lacros-chrome (web browser)."
Part of the project involves sprucing up the ChromeOS OS, and Google’s docs say, “Lacros can be imagined as ‘Linux chrome with more Wayland support.’”
Users probably won’t notice anything, but the feature should make it easier to update Chrome OS and might even extend the lifetime of old ChromeOS devices.
Currently, there can be a delay while Google does the extra build work for ChromeOS, so the standalone browsers get security fixes first.
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