Android apps and the Google Play Store are coming to Chrome OS
It looks like there's a little tidbit of information that might have been originally planned for the keynote (pulled because of time restraints, maybe?). According to a session description now on the Google I/O website …
Context & Ripple Effects
This confirms what Chrome OS source code pointed to last month: Google is bringing Android apps and the Google Play Store to Chromebooks, turning an OS defined by the browser into something closer to a full application platform. Per the related coverage, developers will be able to test on select devices from June, with wide release planned for September.
First-order effects
- Chromebook owners gain direct access to the Play Store's catalog, closing the biggest gap between their machines and traditional laptops.
- Android developers get a second distribution surface overnight — their existing apps reach Chrome OS hardware without a porting effort, starting with June device testing ahead of the September wide release.
Second-order effects
- Low-end Windows laptop makers face Chromebooks that now run the mobile app ecosystem on top of cheap hardware, pressuring the budget-PC segment where Chromebooks already compete on price.
- Desktop-software vendors that skipped web apps can now ship to Chromebooks through the store channel instead of building Chrome-native versions, shifting their cost calculus for supporting the platform.
Third-order effects
- If the pattern holds, Chrome OS and Android stop being separate platforms and become one stack — which is effectively where this arc lands years later, when Google says ChromeOS will be developed on portions of the Android stack, including its Linux kernel and frameworks, to speed AI feature delivery. The 2016 Play Store arrival is the opening move in that consolidation.
The trend: Google is converging its two client operating systems, with the Play Store's arrival on Chrome OS marking the start of a decade-long merge toward a shared Android-based foundation.