Android apps may be available on Chromebook—reports

Two operating systems may eventually become a ‘perfect combination’.

Reports from tech sites The Next Web and The Verge speculated that Chrome OS users can access Android apps from the Google Play Store in the near future, after users of the social media site, Reddit, discovered a new feature in Chromebook.

Chromebook’s running version 51 of Chrome OS is showing an option that reads “Enable Android apps to run on your Chromebook”. But it disappears in a snap.

Based on the Chrome OS source code, it indicates that Chromebook users will soon earn access to millions of games and apps on the Google Play Store.

The Reddit message was named ‘ARC OPT IN’, which might be a reference to the App Runtime for Chrome (ARC) project that Google is currently working on.

Although the ARC permitted Android apps to run on Chrome OS, it was shared to a mini group of tech developers in 2014 and not to the public, according to the reports.

The tech company launched this month a Chrome app manager that can enable anyone to run their Android apps on Windows, Mac, Linux, and Chrome OS.

The discovery was made one month before the Google annual I/O developer conference in May at Mountain View, California. Gianna Francesca Catolico, INQUIRER.net