The biggest problem with Chromebooks was that they had no apps. Not really, anyway. Sure, there were a few decent ChromeOS apps, but it made no sense that they couldn’t run the zillions of apps that Google’s own Android mobile OS enjoyed. That problem is finally sorted.
Samsung’s new Chromebook Plus and Chromebook Pro — one powered by ARM, one powered by an Intel Core m3 — can run any Android app that lives on the Google Play store. That means all of Google’s own in-house apps like Docs, as well as any game or app that a smartphone or tablet can run.
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The result of an ongoing collaboration between Samsung and Google, both use 12.3-inch 2400x1600pixel displays and have 4GB of RAM, as well as the traditionally light-for-a-laptop 32GB of storage — Chromebooks mostly suit the user that stores everything in Google Drive or Gmail.
Taking an obvious cue from Samsung’s Note smartphone line, the Chromebooks have a stylus integrated into the body that can be used to mark up the touchscreen display, which itself hinges 360 degrees to be used as a tablet-esque device. Battery life is claimed to be eight hours — certainly possible given the relatively low level of processing power from those ARM or Core m3 CPUs.
No word on whether the Chromebook Plus and Chromebook Pro will make it to Australia, though — we’re tracking that information down for you ASAP. US pricing is in the region of $US449 for the Plus. [Samsung]
This story originally appeared as part of Gizmodo’s CES 2017 coverage.
Comments
One response to “Samsung’s New Chromebooks Can Run Android Apps”
Once the Android app support is more widespread I’ll probably get a Chromebook to replace my android tablet.
It’s not just these two Chromebooks, there’s going to be a large number of Chromebooks all supporting Android apps in the very near future.
This is something amazing that Samsung’s latest chromebooks are supporting android apps. It means that tablet will drop its popularity.