When Chromebooks launch in the summer of 2011 , they seemed intend to give out , much like the underpowered , cyberspace - dependentnetbooksthat came before them . But in the five yr since , Chromebooks have withstand anticipation , becoming themost used devicein US classroom and evenoutselling Macsfor the first time this year . Still , the great unwashed kick about their inability to run useful software , but that ’s all about to change .
In the latest variant of Chrome OS ( 53),one million Android appsare now available for Chromebooks through the Google Play depot . After a brief software update , you ’ll be capable to install to almost any Android app on the grocery store , dramatically changing what your Chromebook is up to of doing .
For now , the update is only available on ASUS ’s Chromebook Flip and will shortly be on Google ’s Pixel ( 2015 ) and Acer ’s Chromebook R11 withmore come . Eager to sample the feature , I sprinkle off our Chromebook Flip and used it for a couple of day . manifestly . the new software is in the early stage of roll out flop now , but even after spending just a few day with the beta , I can safely say that the ruined version will be a sea change for Chromebooks , with the potential to transform them from the limited devices they are into full - fledged computer science machine .
Here ’s what it ’s like to use the Chrome o supercharged with Android Apps .
Setup
update my Chromebook was reasonably easy . I crop through the options , exchange my gimmick to the Chrome developer duct , and instal update 53 within a few minutes . After a quick reboot , there it was just sitting in my shelf — the Google Play storehouse .
Once you ’ve installed the update , Android apps are like a shot and can be pinned to your ledge like any other app or web URL . There are , however , some caveats . Most Android apps are build for smartphones and lozenge , so a handful are n’t available on Chrome OS just yet . These are a few factor that veto an Android apps on your Chromebook :
Apps that need a good rear camera ( sorry , no Instagram yet )
Anything that would postulate GPS
Any app with SMS or textual matter message abilities
All these are ironware limitations , so if you ’re patiently waiting for Android apps to go far on your aged Chromebook , do n’t await to see them anytime soon . But these problems might not be as permanent as you ’d think . Google harbinger during its developer conference in May that future Chromebooks , specifically one from Samsung , will do with the computer hardware necessary to take reward of these apps . But for now , you ’ll come up that a handful of apps wo n’t play .
Of course , other issues do up as well . Most of these machines are not designed to download and store apps for offline use , so some Chromebooks might be severely limit when it comes to warehousing space . It ’s also significant to note that many older devices have no way of memory expansion like an Android telephone . This will likely interchange with the next fresh crop of Chromebooks .
An all new app-filled world
While some of your preferent photo apps might be missing , Chrome 53 has plenty stuff deserving downloading . Granted , I did n’t attempt out a million apps to see how they performed on Chrome , but most apps I used ran without any major issuance . This is because Android is really running in a separate container on ChromeOS , not through emulation , so the experience is remarkably smooth .
All apps have a windowed and fullscreen version with no resizing pick , likely because app shaper never had to worry about it . And you could still see some growing pain , like the fact that the app drawer does n’t evaporate when you enter fullscreen mode . Luckily , you could just set the taskbar to autohide .
Most Android apps on Chrome OS certainly await like normal desktop applications , they do n’t play that way just yet . These are , after all , Android apps . For some apps , it does n’t really weigh . Spotify , for example , will use the mobile app ’s horizontal landscape painting design when running on a Chromebook . It ’s maybe not quite as intuitively laid out as its its received desktop app , but sure enough usable and can save songs for offline use . Nice .
On other apps , weird , unexpected stuff can pass off . The one affair I remark on the Netflix app was that it would n’t continue start the ground if I switch over to another app . This is probably because Android does n’t have multi - window support yet ( though it is coming with Android N this fall ) , and there ’s really no grounds for an app to keep playing in the background like it would on a normal desktop .
So as soon as I sink in out of Orange Is The New Black over the weekend to send a fast email , Netflix immediately stopped . Obviously , Google and other developers will have to implement unexampled multitasking feature in social club to make thing run more smoothly . It ’s also deserving mentioning that with apps like Spotify , which have been designed to run in the background , it was n’t an issue . So in some cases , it ’s worth sticking with the web version of a sure app if you may .
As for serious work , Chromebooks are about as utilitarian as an Android tablet in terms of app availability , so you ’re using mobile versions of Photoshop instead of a full - fledged background app . But the Google Play Store does meet in some necessary col , with apps like Trello and Feedly , for helping me to get work done . you may now download Office as well and use offline , which is a large aid . Compared to some ofGoogle ’s more tepid attemptsat making Android study - friendly , Chromebooks running Android is a step in the right steering .
Gaming comes to Chrome OS
The most obvious benefit of the Google Play computer storage running on ChromeOS are the games that arrive with it . Of of course , the Chrome Web Store had some games , but they were nothing liken to the single on Android . Since many popular game , like Hearthstone for example , do n’t have desktop node , these apps have been almost completely close up off to Chromebook and even most desktops for that matter . Yes , that means you could now dally Clash of Clans ( without any emulators ) on a laptop .
But it ’s not all good news when it comes to gaming on a Chromebook . Some games have posit position , either horizontal or erect . Any games in the latter class get tiptop weird on a horizontal display . For specific Chromebooks like the Flip , the job is less of an result because it can fundamentally rick into a tablet because of its 360 - degree flexible joint . Almost every other Chromebook can not . For now , if you ’re trying to diddle a upright mobile biz , my best advice would be do n’t .
The beginning of something great
Android apps on Chrome OS are far from dressed . There ’s a lot of work that both Google and the developers need to do for make it usable for most mass . For porting such a massive amount of apps over from one platform to another , though , the experience is surprisingly good .
powerful now , all major gismo companionship are trying to take pad computing to the next degree . Microsoft consider it ’s onto something with the Surface . Apple ’s trying to change state its iPad into a laptop replacement , and this could very well be Google ’s most militant version of a productivity tablet . The launch of Chrome 53 does n’t mean the end of all Android tablet , but it could be the beginning of a kind of Chromebook we ’ve never see before .
AndroidChromeBooksChromeOSGoogle
Daily Newsletter
Get the proficient tech , science , and culture tidings in your inbox daily .
News from the time to come , delivered to your present .
You May Also Like
