14 DAY TRIAL // Last year at the Google I/O conference, the search giant rolled out the first Android apps compatible with Chrome OS that users can take advantage of on their laptops. They were Duolingo (language learning app), the extremely popular Evernote, Vine and Sight Words (an app for learning how to read).
The apps have been developed using the Android Runtime for Chrome (ARC) tool and are Chrome OS-ready and awaiting download.
Fast forward six months, we are yet to see an abundance of Android apps grace the Chrome Web Store. But that is likely to change very soon because Google is now allowing any Android developer to port their apps or games on a Chromebook or other Chrome OS device.
Up until now, if you wanted to develop a Chrome app, you needed to make use of web technologies such as HTML5 and JavaScript.
Google is now allowing any Android app to work on Chrome OS
Starting this week, developers who created native Android apps written in Java or using the Android NDK can simply port their apps to a Chromebook.
Google’s Android Runtime for Chrome or ARC is making available a set of tools that allow Android apps to run on Chrome OS, in the same fashion as if they were running on Android tablets.
When the app tries to access an Android-specific resource, ARC delivers the appropriate Chrome equivalent.
Still, you should keep in mind that ARC is still in beta and doesn't yet support every part of Google Play Services. However, you’ll find that it supports Google Maps, Google+ sign-in, location and the likes.
The good news is that apps in the Chrome Web Store will end up looking exactly the same as their Android counterparts.
A particularly nifty prospect for those of you rocking a Chromebook? The Android version of the VLC media player app should be available for Chrome OS in the upcoming months.
Chromebooks are quite popular in the US, so this news will definitely make a lot of people happy. Google has just launched a few new Chromebook models, two of them being very affordable with a $149 / €138 price tag.
