
Now you have the APK you’ll need to repackage it for Chrome OS. How to run Android apps on a Chromebook: Converting the APK Take your time, make sure you check that you’re clicking on what you actually want, then you’ll be able to download the APK instead of some dodgy browser plug-in. Be careful when going to the listed sites as many of them have big Download Now buttons that are often for the adverts next to them rather than the file itself. Google the app you want, making sure to include APK in the search. OS X machine, as Chromebooks can’t run the repacking software we’ll be using in the next step. To install an Android app on your Chromebook you’re first going to need the APK, which is the basic equivalent of an EXE file on How to run Android apps on a Chromebook: Downloading an app APK But if you fancy a spot of gentle hacking, we’ll show you what you need to make this work, and how to do it. Be warned though, performance can be very patchy, and during our experiments we encountered several issues that induced furious head scratching. So far four official apps have been released using this runtime – Evernote, Duolingo, Vine, and Sight Words – but with some effort it’s possible to get a lot more of them using this feature.

Google recently announced the App Runtime for Chrome, which allows developers to adapt theirĪndroid apps to Chrome OS. This can be increased by the addition ofĪndroid apps, many of which can run on Chromebooks, albeit with a little help. In the meantime, read on for advice on how to install Android apps on a Chromebook.Ĭhromebooks are excellent devices that offer great value and a surprising amount of capability. Update January 2017: According to Google,Īll new Chromebooks in 2017 will run Android apps with support for the Play Store out of the box.
