Update 1: 2015/10/29 7:46pm PDT Maybe just Android for laptops? Update 2: 2015/10/30 8:02am PDT Google responds, sort of Update 3: 2015/11/02 12:55pm PST Google responds, for real A debate has waged since Chrome OS started appearing on Chromebooks. It can be summed up as: This is nice Google, but why don't you combine it with Android? Well, according to a report by The Wall Street Journal, it looks like Google is getting ready to do just that. Chrome OS will fold into Android. Android will better adapt to PCs. By 2017, the two will form a single, new operating system with access to the Play Store. Google reportedly plans to show off an early version sometime next year. As The Wall Street Journal says, reason to anticipate such a shift has flowed out over the years. Sundar Pichai was put in charge of both Android and Chrome OS back in 2013. If that was reason to believe the two would grow closer together back then, consider that the same man has since … [Read more...] about WSJ: Google Plans To Merge Chrome OS Into Android, Form Single New OS In 2017 [Update]
Chrome os for android
Chrome OS gets Android app shortcuts in the dev channel
Google has worked to make Android apps feel at home on Chrome OS, and we've certainly come a long way. Your apps will be even more integrated soon with support for app shortcuts on the Chrome OS desktop. This feature is only in the dev channel right now, but it should eventually filter down to beta and stable. The "app shortcuts" about which we're talking are what used to be called "launcher shortcuts" during the N developer preview. These are shortcuts to useful and recommended app features that appear when you long-press the icons. Now, you can do the same thing with your Android apps on Chrome OS. To try this feature, make sure you're on the dev channel. Then, go to chrome://flags/#enable-touchable-app-context-menu to enable app shortcuts. Currently, app shortcuts only appear for Android apps that are pinned to your Shelf at the bottom of the screen. However, you can't drag the shortcuts out to pin them on Chrome OS like you can on Android. Source: +Francois Beaufort … [Read more...] about Chrome OS gets Android app shortcuts in the dev channel
After using Chrome OS for four months, I never want to go back
Even though I've been enthralled by Android since the original Galaxy S Fascinate on Verizon Wireless, it took me until this year to finally give Google's desktop operating system — Chrome OS — a proper try. I dabbled with Chrome OS a bit back at my high school on education-focused machines, but I've never actually owned a proper "adult" Chromebook to get an idea for how the platform works and feels on a day-to-day basis. So, this past February, I decided to sell my late-2016 MacBook Pro and replace it with the Google Pixelbook. If you want to know more about the Pixelbook itself, we've already covered that a number of times here on AC. Instead, what I'd like to do today is highlight my experiences using Chrome OS as my primary laptop operating system for the past four months. Let's get started! The things I absolutely love When I first got the Pixelbook, one of the things I was worried about the most was the lack of desktop apps. This is something that most everyone still … [Read more...] about After using Chrome OS for four months, I never want to go back
Chrome OS adopts Android P’s dark-themed system tray
Chrome OS is getting a revamped, dark-themed system tray inspired by Android P. The more modern design is part of Google’s effort to bring Chrome OS and Android closer together in terms of their appearance. You can try it out now if you’re on the Chrome OS developer or beta channels. We got our first glimpse at the revamped system tray back in March, when it first appeared for those running the Chrome OS dev channel. It has since received a bit more polish and is now available on the beta channel, too, which suggests its debut in a stable build could be imminent. The new tray, just like Android P’s quick settings panel, sports a dark background with white text and icons. Inactive toggles are grayed out, while those that are active are highlighted blue. An arrow in the top-right corner of the tray opens a new compact view, which displays your primary toggles only. This darker theme only appears inside Android P when users have the dark mode enabled, otherwise it is … [Read more...] about Chrome OS adopts Android P’s dark-themed system tray
Chrome OS Gets Android-Like Power Menu, UI Changes
March 12, 2018 - Written By Daniel Fuller Google’s Chrome OS is getting a couple of UI changes that bring it a bit closer to being visually in line with Android, including the familiar power menu. The power menu and UI tweaks are in the latest Canary version of Chrome OS. While users will have to mess with flags to get the new darker, simpler UI for menus, the power menu is available automatically and will come up when the power button on any touch-enabled Chromebook is long-pressed. The other big change is to the popup menu from pressing the taskbar’s power button. A “dark mode” has been available as a flag for this menu, and that mode will now pare the controls down to a small number of touch-friendly options, as seen in the screenshot below.In the new power menu, there are only two options for now; power off and sign out. Restart is notably absent, and other options that can be put into power menus on some Android devices, such as switching users on the fly … [Read more...] about Chrome OS Gets Android-Like Power Menu, UI Changes