One of the first laptops to offer support for Android apps, the Samsung Chromebook Pro l finally arrive on May 28. The information comes from Kan Liu, senior director of product management for Chrome OS. The announcement was made at the Google I/O, even though there was not much information released about new Chrome OS features at the event. However, the confirmation of the Samsung Chromebook Pro’s release date is a big step. The laptop should have arrived in April but was delayed due to problems regarding the integration of Android apps into the laptop. Now, it seems problems were overcome and the Samsung Chromebook Pro is back on track.
Unfortunately, it seems that at first, the Chromebook Pro will come with the Android app beta, so it won’t support certain features. These include window resizing, docking to the side of the screen, and split-view. However, according to Google, these features will arrive later this year, probably during the summer. Even with the beta version of the Android app support, the Chromebook Pro promises to be a great device that will offer a new and improved user experience. The Play Store is at this point, “80 percent” ready to go for most users, according to the company.
The hardware of the Samsung Chromebook Pro also needed a redesign. Due to these changes, the software needed extra attention too. This explains the delay in the release of the Chromebook Pro. Unfortunately, integrating Android apps into the Chrome OS sound a lot easier than it actually is. However, it seems that Google and Samsung finally found the way to deliver the best version of the product. Or ate least, they are on the right track and the work will be complete soon.
Even though the Play Store will eventually become available in all its glory on the Samsung Chromebook Pro, no one expects users to totally forget about web apps. Users should keep in mind that many Android apps were designed for smartphones, so they won’t look as great on a laptop as they do on a small screen. Of course, users will be able to resize the apps, but even so, the result won’t always be amazing. Liu gave Facebook as an example in this matter. He is perfectly conscious of the fact that the web app just performs better on a laptop than the Android app ever could.
Google has some big plans for the integration of the Android apps into the Chrome OS. According to the tech giant, someday Chromebooks will get certain Android features even before smartphones will. Of course, this also means that the Samsung Chromebook Pro could get new Android apps and features sooner than the Galaxy S8 for example. This is great news for those who prefer to spend their time in front of their laptop instead of tinkering with their smartphones. However, the ability of Chrome OS to get Android features before smartphones do is still far away. It will take at least a few more months until Google will manage to perfect the Chrome OS to the extent it needs to. Until then, Samsung Chromebook Pro users will need to settle for the current Android experience offered by the laptop.
Source: The Verge
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