[ad_1]
Quick: In a couple of words, what is Android? How would you characterize it?
If you said "operating system," you're technically right, of course. Android is indeed the Google-made software that powers countless phones and mobile devices.
But that's just one small part of what Android represents. At its core, Android is an ecosystem – one that's already an integral element of two major operating systems and thirds.
Android apps are immensely important to Android-running phones, of course – the Galaxy this-and-thats, Pixel here-and-theres, and so on. And over the past couple years, they've grown ever more important to running devices Chrome OS – a platform that is itself more like an Android device with every passing week.
Now, it's like a hell-freezing-over move, Microsoft (yes, Microsoft!) Has announced it's working on adding support for android apps (yes, android apps!) on Windows 10 (yes, Windows 10!) systems.
There is A catch: The apps will not be installed locally on the Windows computers. Rather, folks who have both an Android phone and a Windows 10 device will be able to view and use apps from their phones via their Windows systems. It's something called mirroring app. If it's done well, then – and given the fact that Microsoft is not even committing to a specific timeframe Effectively be like running Android apps on your PC, no thought or effort required.
That, my friends, is huge. In the words of George Costanza, worlds are colliding – and in a very intriguing way.
This effectively makes the Android ecosystem part of the Windows experience
Think about it: By bringing Android app support into Chrome OS, Google redefined the Chromebook's possibilities – and its limitations. Most of us are quite mobile, and there is something for you to be able to use in your computer.
Android apps on Windows: The broader implications
Immediate effects aside, Android app mirroring on Windows would effectively make the Android ecosystem part of the Windows experience. While methods for accessing Android apps on Windows have been available for some time now – or through an emulator like Bluestacks or a third-party mirroring app like AirDroid – they've been clunky, complicated, and beyond anything a typical user would ever mess around with (or even know about, for that matter). Having an effortless and system-integrated way to run Android apps on Windows introduces a whole new kind of scenario.
On some level, the Android version of the Android app can be downloaded from Google's Chrome app. And from the most, ahem, area-level perspective, that may be true – at least to some degree. But for its targeted type of user, Chrome OS has plenty of other advantages over the traditional desktop environment, and Android app support is just a small part of the picture.
The bigger effect, if you ask me, is the advantage that we've been discussing. Android apps already run on the world's largest operating system – y'know, Android itself – more quickly Google Chrome. If Microsoft manages to make Android app mirroring setup good enough to feel like a native app-using experience, android apps will then be used on Windows as well.
That's an awfully huge and diverse reach for a single ecosystem of applications – and a huge number of potential developers will be able to serve you. That creates a powerful incentive for those developers to make Android a priority, which can only be good for users across all of those areas.
(And let's not forget, by the way, that Microsoft is completely embracing Android and basically creating its own mini-platform Within Google's ecosystem. That also seems … relevant.)
Oh – and one more thing …
Just in case for your brain's brain, this is one of the last pieces of the puzzle: For a while now, Google has been working on a project that allows owners of certain Chromebooks to boot into Windows on their devices. At the same time, the company has been plugging away into Windows using your Google credentials.
So what if you were able to use both Chrome OS and Windows on a Chromebook Google Android Applying Android Apps for Android? Android, then, would be the common denominator between Chrome OS and Windows, we have a single Google-connected computer. In the words of everyone's favorite Matrix-bound hacker: Whoaaa.
It's a wild new world, gang. Walls are crumbling fast – and what we're seeing right now is just the beginning.
Sign up for my newsletter, personal recommendations, and plain-English
[Android Intelligence videos at Computerworld]
[ad_2]
Source link
