Chrome will run Android apps on Windows, Mac and Linux – CNET in Spanish

Google App Runtime enabled for Chrome (ARC), which allows developers to run their apps for Android in Chrome for Windows, Mac , Linux and Chrome OS.

The new Google tool, ARC, let you run Android apps in the Chrome browser on Windows, Mac, Linux and Chrome OS. Google

Runtime for Google Chrome App enabled (ARC) for developers to bring their apps from Android to Chrome browser.

The Chrome app called ARC Welder and meets Android APK files in applications for Chrome OS and other platforms. This allows these apps can run within Windows, Mac or Linux through the Google Chrome browser.

The new tool is very easy to use. Once you download the app for Chrome, select the ZIP file or app APK. Then ARC Welder gives you the option to select whether you want the app to have vertical or horizontal orientation in tablet mode, cell or maximized, as well as provides other parameters so you can then run the app from Android directly to your computer.

This does not mean that all Android apps work correctly in Chrome with the new app; will vary with the app. We tested with Twitter in Mac and it worked fine. However, ARC requested to delete the app installed above each time the process started again with a new app. This means that for the moment could only be installed one at a time, but you can download the ZIP file of Android apps that have become apps for Chrome.

The Twitter app for Android running on Mac. Juan Garzon / CNET

Google hopes to soon include Full Google Play Services to support apps that require it. When we tried to install the app Hangouts, showed an error requesting access Google Play Services. However, currently ARC already includes APIs for Google Play Services to access Google+, Maps and Ads, among others.

In September, Google announced the first apps in Android that were compatible with Chromebooks, including Evernote, Vine, Duolingo and Sight Words, but were limited to Chrome OS (operating system loaded on Chromebooks). With ARC, Google allows the number of Android apps that work on Chromebooks increases, and also allows these apps can also be used in Windows, Mac and Linux.

ARC is in beta, so their duties may expand greatly once evolve and stabilize. However, this is a big step for Google to expand its Android platform, especially now that Microsoft expects to launch Windows 10 this year, offering a unified platform universal apps you can run no matter what device you’re using. ARC is a way to bring Android apps one step further, to become multiplatform apps.

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