While today there is a range of approaches for running various flavors of Linux on a Chromebook, tomorrow Linux will run well and feel native. Myth 3: Chromebooks don’t run LinuxĪt the recent Google I/O, the company announced that it’s building a Chrome OS–specific virtual machine for Linux that will start fast and integrate completely. Commits in the Chromium Gerrit reveal the forthcoming ability for the Files application in Chrome OS to reveal all the Android files that would normally be accessible to users on an Android phone.Īndroid support alone makes Chromebooks one of the best platforms for apps, but that’s just the beginning. The better Chromebooks run Android apps very well, and they run most of them.Ĭhrome OS is also evolving rapidly into a closer-to-native Android device. But now that I’m running Android apps on my Pixelbook every day, I have to admit that I was wrong.

When I first saw the Android-on-Chrome-OS demo at Google I/O four years ago, I was pessimistic. Myth 2: Chromebooks don’t run Android apps well Here I’m running Notepad++ for Windows on the left, an Android game called Orbit in the top right, and below that - why not? - Chrome. Apps from multiple operating systems run concurrently and side by side. Multiple operating system support on Chromebooks is not about dual-booting. Chromebooks can run apps from Android, Linux and Windows concurrently in the same session. Not only do Chromebooks run apps, but they run more apps without dual- or multi-booting than any other computing platform.

Today, the best new Chromebooks can runs apps from three additional operating systems. You could do anything you wanted, as long as you wanted to stay on the web at all times.

The original assumed vision of the Chromebook platform was a laptop and operating system capable of running only the Chrome web browser.

Windows chromebook emulator online