Google officially bringing Android apps to Chromebooks

[Kaido]

https://chrome.googleblog.com/2016/05/the-google-play-store-coming-to.html

Support list:

https://support.google.com/chromebook/answer/6401474

Chromebooks that will work with Android apps in June 2016:

The first three Chromebooks will support Android apps in mid-June 2016:

Acer Chromebook R11
Asus Chromebook Flip
Google Chromebook Pixel (2015)

Not sure how I feel about this. I've used stuff like ARC Welder before to run Android apps easily on my computer, like my Wink smarthome app, which doesn't have a desktop app available. I think this will bring the value of Chromebooks up quite a bit, because now you can download the Skype app, the Office apps, and all sorts of stuff that Chromebooks don't do natively (sure, there's Hangouts & gDocs, but it's not always the same), especially since a lot of Chromebooks are in the $200 to $300 range.

On the flip side, Android is rife with malware & other security problems. One of the reasons that I love my Chromebook is because it's simple & secure...boots up right away, wakes up instantly, connects online in no time, never have to worry about viruses. If you hop on google news and search for "Android malware", there's endless exploits going on out there. I'd really rather not expose my "safe" Internet machine to that. Obviously you can just simply not install any Android apps on your machine, but that really changes the security game on Chromebooks quite a bit, especially for attacks like Dogspectus that infect your Android machine simply by visiting a webpage:

https://www.bluecoat.com/security-blog/2016-04-25/android-exploit-delivers-dogspectus-ransomware

Granted, this applies to older versions of Androids (which still make up a significant chunk of the market, because the majority of developers are terrible about providing updates for their Android devices), but the Google Play store has always has security problems due to their distribution model, and continue to have them even into 2016...whether it's visiting a website & getting a virus, or getting a fake Chrome update that takes out your Android's antivirus app & then record all of your data, or knockoff apps with malicious advertisements baked in, etc. So, while I think having the Play Store available is cool, I hope there's a way to turn it off or block it so that your nice, safe Chromebook doesn't get exposed to all that garbage

 

[Red Storm]

Super excited for this, it's a real game changer in the notebook market. If I were Microsoft I would be really concerned about this development.

Security issues not found. I've never once encountered malware on any of my Android devices. You have to go looking for apps outside of the Play Store or download obvious fake apps to get anywhere near that stuff. There is no need for antivirus on Android.

The presentation on YouTube mentions that there will be options in place to enable or disable Android app access.

 

[monkey333]

Can the apps be used in offline mode?

 

[dlock13]

Can the apps be used in offline mode?

I think that will of course depend solely on what the app is capable of. A Chromebook can use almost everything offline.

 

[Artdeco]

Traditional laptops are going to feel some pain.

 

[tsupersonic]

I like the idea, but how many average consumers go out and purchase Chromebooks for what they are? This is an idea that interests tech folks but I doubt your average consumer would care... Of course I'd love to be proven wrong.

Sent from my Nexus 6P

 

[Artdeco]

I like the idea, but how many average consumers go out and purchase Chromebooks for what they are? This is an idea that interests tech folks but I doubt your average consumer would care... Of course I'd love to be proven wrong.

Sent from my Nexus 6P

The average consumer uses a laptop as their home PC, the average consumer has WiFi at home, and the average consumer has always on WiFi.

I thing Chromebooks are going to take over the world, especially if they ever sort build quality, the last one I bought literally fell apart in less than a week.

 

[ponyo]

I like the idea, but how many average consumers go out and purchase Chromebooks for what they are? This is an idea that interests tech folks but I doubt your average consumer would care... Of course I'd love to be proven wrong.

Sent from my Nexus 6P

I love Chromebooks and the last 5 laptops I bought have all been Chromebooks. I just got the latest one yesterday, Acer Chromebook 14. That's for my wife. I use HP Chromebook 14 4G and my daughter uses Toshiba Chromebook 2. Everyone I know with Chromebook loves it.

I like the idea of Android apps on Chromebooks but not too many current Chromebooks have touchscreens. I can see future Chromebooks all having touchscreens.

 

[Red Storm]

I love Chromebooks and the last 5 laptops I bought have all been Chromebooks. I just got the latest one yesterday, Acer Chromebook 14. That's for my wife. I use HP Chromebook 14 4G and my daughter uses Toshiba Chromebook 2. Everyone I know with Chromebook loves it.

I like the idea of Android apps on Chromebooks but not too many current Chromebooks have touchscreens. I can see future Chromebooks all having touchscreens.

And now with Android apps hopefully we'll see Chromebooks with larger hard drive space as well. I am really stoked about this, now all my computing needs are taken care of by Android and Chrome OS, except desktop gaming but I do less and less of that every day.

 

[R0H1T]

I like the idea, but how many average consumers go out and purchase Chromebooks for what they are? This is an idea that interests tech folks but I doubt your average consumer would care... Of course I'd love to be proven wrong.

Sent from my Nexus 6P

You'd be surprised to see how well they sell, especially in the US.

http://www.gsmarena.com/chrome_os_d...the_us_for_the_first_time_ever-blog-18316.php

Also MS should be afraid, be very, very afraid of this development D:

 

[kpkp]

Super excited for this, it's a real game changer in the notebook market. If I were Microsoft I would be really concerned about this development.

This will not significantly affect the high end laptop/PC sales, but it really could be a big thread at the low end and the only growing segment, the detachables/2in1s.

New Chromebooks might be more compelling touch devices than Windows with this big touch enabled apps catalog. It will be interesting to see if this affects the surface business (even if that is mostly high end so it might not overlap).

 

[lxskllr]

Toy programs on a toy computer. There's literally nothing on android I wish I could use on a regular machine.

 

[kpkp]

Toy programs on a toy computer. There's literally nothing on android I wish I could use on a regular machine.

Toys sells better than pro machinery. If it's not for you it doesn't mean it has no potential.

 

[Artdeco]

Toy programs on a toy computer. There's literally nothing on android I wish I could use on a regular machine.

Does grandma really need to code?

Marketing them to schools is smart, kids stick with what they grew up with.

I'm thinking it'll fit the needs of consumers pretty well, and sort of fill a space for them.

Primary device: phone
Secondary device: tablet/Chromebook
Tertiary device: full blown laptop, provided by employer if needed.

 

[lxskllr]

Does grandma really need to code?

Marketing them to schools is smart, kids stick with what they grew up with.

I'm thinking it'll fit the needs of consumers pretty well, and sort of fill a space for them.

Primary device: phone
Secondary device: tablet/Chromebook
Tertiary device: full blown laptop, provided by employer if needed.

I have no doubt they'll sell a ton of them, and many will consider android integration a feature, but that's due to people's unwillingness to learn their tools, and accepting a huge reduction in features to make it "easy".

Android is ok on a 5" slab that fits in your pocket. One can expect corners to be cut for the extreme portability and reduced resources, but it isn't appropriate for anything with a large screen and keyboard.

 

[Kaido]

I like the idea of Android apps on Chromebooks but not too many current Chromebooks have touchscreens. I can see future Chromebooks all having touchscreens.

I actually hate the touchscreen on my C720 & wish I had gotten the non-touch option instead. I got my family non-touch Chromebooks for Christmas, like them soooo much better (also yay zero tech support ever! migrated all their old accounts to Gmail, setup 2FA, setup their Chromebooks, voila lol).

 

[Commodus]

I have no doubt they'll sell a ton of them, and many will consider android integration a feature, but that's due to people's unwillingness to learn their tools, and accepting a huge reduction in features to make it "easy".

Android is ok on a 5" slab that fits in your pocket. One can expect corners to be cut for the extreme portability and reduced resources, but it isn't appropriate for anything with a large screen and keyboard.

You don't need sophistication for a Twitter app or a game, especially if they run in a window. So long as Google does a good job of managing security (say, limiting downloads to Google Play without toggling a setting), this can only be a positive move.

The "unwillingness to learn their tools" argument is, frankly, snobbish. Chromebooks have always been about accessibility and ease of use, for accommodating the majority of people who simply want to get something done and move on with their lives. You shouldn't have to spend hours learning how to use your computer, especially if you're a kid in a classroom or just want the basics.

That and there's a certain masochism to insisting that you can only be happy if an OS is deep and complex enough to require mastery. "Oh, make it harder to use! Less intuitive! Hurt me more, hurt me more!"

 

[Artdeco]

You don't need sophistication for a Twitter app or a game, especially if they run in a window. So long as Google does a good job of managing security (say, limiting downloads to Google Play without toggling a setting), this can only be a positive move.

The "unwillingness to learn their tools" argument is, frankly, snobbish. Chromebooks have always been about accessibility and ease of use, for accommodating the majority of people who simply want to get something done and move on with their lives. You shouldn't have to spend hours learning how to use your computer, especially if you're a kid in a classroom or just want the basics.

That and there's a certain masochism to insisting that you can only be happy if an OS is deep and complex enough to require mastery. "Oh, make it harder to use! Less intuitive! Hurt me more, hurt me more!"

So you don't think grandma needs to be given a laptop with no OS installed, and a handful of Linux CD's/DVD's?

"It's called a kernel, grandma, get going!!!!!"

I think a classic mistake on tech forums is projecting our skill level and needs/wants onto the general consumer.

 

[Kartajan]

Devices and software should have the appropriate range for the task, so I see valid points to both ends of the spectrum there.

I would never want touchscreen on my desktop, where I need it on my tablet.
I personally consider Chromebooks to be optimal devices for those who really just want a computer to check social media/ emails without concern for keeping their OS updates and AV signatures current.

 

[lxskllr]

The "unwillingness to learn their tools" argument is, frankly, snobbish. Chromebooks have always been about accessibility and ease of use, for accommodating the majority of people who simply want to get something done and move on with their lives. You shouldn't have to spend hours learning how to use your computer, especially if you're a kid in a classroom or just want the basics.

That and there's a certain masochism to insisting that you can only be happy if an OS is deep and complex enough to require mastery. "Oh, make it harder to use! Less intuitive! Hurt me more, hurt me more!"

Yea, cause consumer computers are so hard to use, right? My 84 year old mother uses Ubuntu with virtually zero problems. I had to fix a "problem" last week when she ran out of drive space. I neglected to account for accumulated kernels when she updated the machine herself, and I deleted ~7gb of kernel updates.

Neat thing about that machine is it still works when the internet's out. Office works, music works, image editing works, and you can read your old emails. You also don't have crapps that are so stripped down, the solution to your problem is hunt down another crapp that fills the hole the last one misses.

Easy doesn't have to be brain dead.

 

[Artdeco]

yea, cause consumer computers are so hard to use, right? my 84 year old mother uses ubuntu with virtually zero problems. i had to fix a "problem" last week when she ran out of drive space. I neglected to account for accumulated kernels when she updated the machine herself, and i deleted ~7gb of kernel updates.

Neat thing about that machine is it still works when the internet's out. Office works, music works, image editing works, and you can read your old emails. You also don't have crapps that are so stripped down, the solution to your problem is hunt down another crapp that fills the hole the last one misses.

Easy doesn't have to be brain dead.

You need to post some videos of this on You Tube please... You'll be hailed as a nerd God, seriously...

 

[Commodus]

Yea, cause consumer computers are so hard to use, right? My 84 year old mother uses Ubuntu with virtually zero problems. I had to fix a "problem" last week when she ran out of drive space. I neglected to account for accumulated kernels when she updated the machine herself, and I deleted ~7gb of kernel updates.

Neat thing about that machine is it still works when the internet's out. Office works, music works, image editing works, and you can read your old emails. You also don't have crapps that are so stripped down, the solution to your problem is hunt down another crapp that fills the hole the last one misses.

Easy doesn't have to be brain dead.

The irony is that you describe a problem that she wouldn't have to deal with if she had any other operating system. Why is Ubuntu so broken that it doesn't automatically clean up after core OS updates like that?

I'm not saying that most operating systems are incredibly complex in day to day use, but there's good enough and then there's genuinely headache-free. And for reference: lots of Chrome OS features do work when you're offline. It seems more like you're acting on what you imagine Chrome OS is like than the reality.

 

[lxskllr]

You need to post some videos of this on You Tube please... You'll be hailed as a nerd God, seriously...

Why's that? If someone has the cognitive ability to run a mainstream o/s, they can run any o/s. GNU/Linux isn't gentoo and slackware anymore. It /can/ be if that's what the user wishes, but otherwise, it's the same as anything else.

 

[lupi]

Have never bought a chromebook and this does nothing to change that forecast.

 

[Artdeco]

Why's that? If someone has the cognitive ability to run a mainstream o/s, they can run any o/s. GNU/Linux isn't gentoo and slackware anymore. It /can/ be if that's what the user wishes, but otherwise, it's the same as anything else.

Because my 86 year old mother can't even master a double click on a mouse.