Google wanted Chrome OS to be nothing like what was on the market. At times, in the last few days, I have found myself working on apps built for four different operating systems: the Chrome browser, Linux terminal for programming side projects, the YouTube Music Android app, and a range of Windows programs. My Chromebook’s desktop, as I type this in Microsoft Word, is unlike the ambitious cloud OS Google launched over a decade ago. Does Chrome OS need Windows, Linux, and Android apps?

Thankfully, Parallels provides, the good-ol’ comfort of saving and opening files locally, which comes in handy when you’re traveling.

While services like Google Docs are fine without the internet, not every website is optimized for offline access on Chrome OS, and Linux apps generally are too clunky to be usable. You just have to temper your expectations to only occasionally access the essential bunch of Windows software, such as Microsoft Office.Īnother perk of having Windows apps on a Chromebook is superior offline support. In reality, though, I couldn’t get it to process a whole lot of modern apps and often had to settle for an outdated version.ĭespite a few shortcomings, CrossOver is good enough once you figure it out. EXE file or pick from CrossOver’s catalog of approved Windows apps and install them normally on your Chromebook. The concept is straightforward: you download an. Furthermore, CrossOver works on an app-by-app basis instead of just firing up Windows 10 in a window and you have to jump through a few hoops to install an app. There’s a lot of room for error and that became apparent when I started using it. So you’re essentially channeling resources through a total of three operating systems to run a Windows app. Since it didn’t have Google’s backing, it takes advantage of your Chromebook’s Linux container. CrossOver for non-enterprise Chromebook usersĬrossOver, on the other hand, is more complex and has a far less seamless experience. There are also no multi-touch Windows gestures and mic support yet. That is where, I suppose, the high-end specification requirement truly comes in handy. I did run into frame drops when I tried pushing it to the limit with numerous apps and browser tabs, though. On top of that, I was able to run it at full resolution so I often threw the Parallels app to an external monitor to have Windows 10 on one screen and Chrome OS on the other. It resumes instantly and your Windows apps remain active in the background - just as if you’re on a Windows PC. When you wake up your Chromebook from standby, for instance, you don’t have to wait for Windows 10 in Parallels to render. One of the most impressive aspects of Parallels for Chrome OS is how stable it is.

Parallels desktop chromebook