Running the developer build of Chrome OS, TheWiseYoda spotted a checkbox labeled Enable Android apps to run on your Chromebook on the Chromebook’s Settings page. Hints of Google Play support for Chrome OS were unintentionally revealed to some users.
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CNET reports that screenshots posted by Chromebook users on Sunday, April 24, suggest that the integration of Mountain View’s mobile application emporium into the company’s OS, primarily designed for running web applications, may be imminent. Last year, the search engine giant allowed developers to test their Android apps on Chrome OS through App Runtime for Chrome (ARC).
The Android app store is available in 100 more countries than its Chrome equivalent, and it’s a lot more friendly to developers.
According to some experts, access to Android apps may prove to be a big step forward for Chromebooks as well as the Chrome OS platform since it would allow users to access numerous apps and, at the same time, expand the performance of their devices. You can purchase the media from pretty much any device just by visiting play.google.com/store in a web browser.
Redditor InauspiciousPagan managed to unearth the opt-in screen that will presumably show up when users choose to enable the Android apps option. Adding the Play Store would add a ton of utility, including a number of great games and apps, but could also make Chrome OS significantly more complex. There is an Android runtime inside it, the App Runtime for Chrome, that lets specially ported Android apps run on Chrome OS.
Google’s annual developer’s conference called Google I/O starts mid-May. Google has long positioned Chrome OS as its operating system for laptop and desktop computers, while Android is designed for smartphones, tablets, TV boxes, and wearables. But on the other hand it would also make Chromebooks less relevant as a Windows 10 PC would be able to run Win 32 apps, UWP apps, and Android Apps.
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For those of you that wish to get in on this action, head over to Google’s Local Guides page which may or may not have secretly been in service for several months – or years!
