Android on Chromebook Edges From Fantasy Into Reality
- Paul Thurrott
- Aug 24, 2017
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Google’s plan to bring Android apps and the Google Play Store has remained largely unfulfilled to date. But this summer, suddenly, Android support on Chromebook has accelerated. And it’s possible that Google has finally gotten on top of the problems that have plagued this integration.
It started off so promising.
Google announced in May 2016 that it would bring Android apps and the Google Play Store to Chromebook. At the time, it said that the integration would occur in 2016, but by the time that year ended, only a tiny number of Chromebooks could access Android apps, and then only in a very early preview. A year later, I questioned whether Google could even pull off this feat, and I openly wondered about the technical issues it must have run into.
But Google eventually fessed up: The work of integrating Androids apps with Chromebook proved to be far more difficult than Google had originally expected.
Lost in all the doom and gloom here, however, is a simple fact: Integrating Android apps with Chromebooks is highly disruptive, and it could lead to the quickening decline of Windows-based PCs. So I’ve been watching this development closely, and I have recently finally started testing Android app support on an Acer Chromebook 14 for Work. Surprise: It’s pretty amazing despite the bugs.
Coincidental to this, it appears that Android app support on Chromebook is finally starting to accelerate. This takes a few different forms: Some new devices are finally getting access to Android apps and the Google Play Store via the pre-release Beta channel that Google offers (similar to a ring in the Windows Insider Program. But many are shifting from the Beta channel to the Stable channel too, indicating that Google may have finally figured this out.
Over the summer, Google added support for Android to over a dozen different Chromebooks. And according to separate reports in Android Police and Chrome Unboxed, the Acer Chromebook R13, ASUS Chromebook Flip C302, Dell Chromebook 3189, EduGear R4D, Lenovo Chromebook Flex 11, Lenovo Chromebook N22, Lenovo Chromebook N23, and Lenovo IdeaPad N42 Chromebook all have Android support in the Stable channel now, meaning that this support is available to everyone. And the Dell Chromebook 13 7310 and Acer Chromebook 14 now have access to Android in the Beta channel too.
So is it happening? Is it finally happening?
Looking over Google’s list of Chromebooks that do or will have access to Android apps and the Google Play Store, the availability of this functionality breaks down as follows:
Available in Stable channel: 12 Chromebooks
Available in Beta channel: 20 Chromebooks
Planned but not yet available: 65 Chromebooks
Put another way, the majority of Chromebooks out in the world do not yet have access to Android apps. But there are over 30 Chromebook models that can access this functionality today, and of course all new Chromebooks now and going forward will offer it too. The situation has improved dramatically since last year, for sure, but it’s also improved markedly just since the beginning of the summer.
And with that, it’s time to switch from the current “nothing to see here” mode and accept that the Chromebook threat to Windows is real. It’s also time to wake up and acknowledge that Windows 10 S, as currently designed, represents the weakest possible response that Microsoft could have offered. And unless and until this situation changes, I expect Chromebooks, and other Chrome OS devices, to continue eating into Windows 10’s usage and market share. This is Microsoft’s market to lose.
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Conversation 74 comments
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Stooks
<p>Paul is so hot on this Google stuff. Then again Paul could probably get away with just a Chromebook because he writes for a blog.</p><p><br></p><p>I think Chromebooks are fine, and offer some good value provided they work for you. If you need just ONE locally installed application, whether that is on Windows, Mac or even Linux then Chromebooks are NOT for you. Right there at least 50% of computers users are NOT going to be able to use just a Chromebook. They will need something else and at that point why even bother with a Chromebook?</p><p><br></p><p>Android apps on Chromebooks…………so what? On smartphones or tablets most people use applications for consumption or light creation/work. Why? Either the form factor is not good/ideal say smartphone or the applications are lacking and lacking in many ways.</p><p><br></p><p>Example – If you had to use a big/complex spreedsheet on a regular basis the BEST order in terms of best device would be…..Windows with real Excel, then Excel on a Mac, then Excel in a browser on any computer, then a mobile app. I own both a Pixel and a iPhone. I find that for the most part Apps on iOS are of better quality than the Android versions. This is especially true of Microsoft apps. I have a Pixel C at work for testing and the Microsoft apps on it are the worst versions of the Microsoft apps. Onenote goes off the screen, there are odd bugs in Excel and Word etc, etc. </p><p><br></p><p>My point is a Chromebook running Android apps would be the very worst way to run apps like the Microsoft apps. Just get a Windows computer, a cheap one and the experience increases in quality by 1000%</p><p><br></p><p>If you work for a company that is all in with Google, G-suit, and your job consists of email, web browsing and Google doc work, then yes a Chromebook is perfect for you and hey maybe the occasional Android app on ChromeOS to fill in a application gap??</p><p><br></p>
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Stooks
<blockquote><a href="#168579"><em>In reply to hrlngrv:</em></a></blockquote><p>The second you go into developer mode and install Linux the other big advantage "Stupid Simple" is gone from a Chromebook. Also most of them have weak hardware so running a full OS on a Celeron computer with 2-4gigs of RAM and a 32gig hard drive is not something anyone wants to do.</p><p><br></p><p>Chromebooks are cheap, simple and secure since it is really just a browser. You can wipe them quickly and login. They are great right up until you need just one application you can't run or duplicate and then they are a waste of time and money. They are essentially a Android tablet with a permanent keyboard. </p>
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Bats
<p>I disagree with Paul. The Chromebook is not going to lead to the "decline" of Windows PC, as Paul puts it. Paul is such a crafty writer, one has to ask what the definition of "decline" is. Overall, I think that the rise of Chromebooks will make Windows, the operating system, better.</p><p><br></p><p>It seems to me, that people still don't understand the Chromebook. It's not the Chromebook, per se, that is making the impact. The actual Chromebook itself is just hardware and Chrome OS is just operating system. Like I have said for many years, no one cares about operating systems…and that's true. The real meat and potatoes of the Chromebook are the Google apps, that serve as the foundation of the total internet/computing experience. In order for Microsoft to mimic Chromebooks, it has to do what I have been saying for years…improve the Microsoft ecosystem. For Google, it's ecosystem consists of the #1 web browser in the world; the #1 email system in the world; #1 mapping system; and the #1 video sharing system in the galaxy in Youtube. In addition to that, there is Google Photos, Google Drive, G-Suite, Google Play, Cloud Print, etc… and that's just scratching the surface. There is also Chromecast, Nest, and Home. IMO, the partnership between Google and Walmart is huge. If the "Goomart" partnership works, then what reason would anyone ever need to go outside the Google ecosystem? The areas of Work, Play, Entertainment, and commerce are all covered.</p><p><br></p><p>My mom has had 3 Chromebooks in the past few years. She has had this many because of recklessness on her part when it comes to the care of her machine. The first time I gave her the Chromebook I showed her how to use it. The second and third time, I just handed it to her. The familiarity and the ease of use, not only helped her, but help me….I don't have to provide tech support. </p><p><br></p><p>If you want to extend the "Chromebook experience" to the PC, go right ahead. That's what i did. I don't own a Chromebook, but my 2002 HP Envy 17" Windows 10 PC, 2017 HP Spectre X2, and 2017 HP Envy 27" AiO, are (in effect) Chromebooks. </p><p><br></p><p>The point of all this isn't to raise Google up on a pedestal. It's to illustrate that Microsoft has to improve Edge and have it on mobile phones. Edge has no chance to succeed on desktop if it's not on Mobile. MSFT has to also improve Outlook, Drive, Maps, and Groove. MSFT even has to improve Office Online, because as it stands now, "G-Suite" has far more features than Office Online. Google Docs can even rival Microsoft Word, thanks to Add-on support, which has been around for years.</p><p><br></p><p>Microsoft Office survived for years, because everyone is so used to the Office Suite ecosystem. However, when it comes to the consumer space, the ecosystem is much larger. Google has covered almost everything, except the need to produce food instantly, like a Star Trek food replicator. All in all, Microsoft has to create an ecosystem where the user will have no need for other products and services because as of now, Microsoft really doesn't have anything. Maybe one can argue that Microsoft does, but no one can disagree with the complexity of their offerings.</p><p><br></p>
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Stooks
<blockquote><a href="#168587"><em>In reply to Darmok N Jalad:</em></a></blockquote><p>What about new developers? Should the develop for just Android or ChromeOS?</p><p><br></p><p>What about Fuchsia, the rumored next Android? Since they killed off the Andromeda, which was going to combine both Android and ChromeOS and now only Fushia is going forward why would you waste anytime developing for ChromeOS? Heck is there any monetary value is developing for ChromeOS? </p>
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Stooks
<blockquote><a href="#168514"><em>In reply to John_Scott:</em></a></blockquote><p>"Considering Chromebooks outsold Mac's at least one quarter maybe its Apple who should also take notice?"</p><p><br></p><p>So Apple is focused on selling premium hardware with a high margin. Google is not selling hardware or at least for 99% of the Chromebooks out there, but they are getting your data….to sell. The hardware makers are making a few pennies off of the cheap Chromebook hardware.</p>
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skane2600
<blockquote><a href="#168620"><em>In reply to polymath:</em></a></blockquote><p>Having all programs run on all platforms flawlessly has been a pipe dream for at least 40 years and it will always remain one.</p>
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skane2600
<p>Being able to run Android apps makes a nice addition to the feature list but does it really add key functionality to Chromebooks that makes it a more significant competitor to Windows? I doubt it. What missing capabilities will Android apps add? </p>
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skane2600
<blockquote><a href="#168675"><em>In reply to mikiem:</em></a></blockquote><p>No doubt there are individual Android apps that don't have a web version but how popular are they? How many of those apps don't have many web apps similar in function? The fundamental advantage of local apps vs. web apps is that the latter in general don't work well on phones because of the tiny screens. Once you get a reasonable sized screen that advantage disappears. Beyond that many Android apps aren't really suited for a laptop environment anyway. </p><p><br></p><p>The difference in Windows case is that there are programs that have been around for decades and have become standard for productivity. I would argue there are no such standard apps that are exclusive to Android. For example the most common alternative to MS Office is probably Google apps, but those are web apps, not Android-specific apps.</p>