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Google made a version of ChromeOS that runs on Pixel, including external monitor

deleted 2y ago
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saidinesh5 2y ago
What exactly does Chrome OS offer that Android already doesn't? (Not a rhetorical question) Especially when Chrome OS even runs Android apps, and under the hood - they're the same Linux Kernel. Are there any use cases where Chrome OS shines on a Laptop form factor where Android x86/Dex/related projects fall short of?
- drbig 2y ago
  Not a user of Chrome OS, but DEX (R.I.P) and the main difference is multiple apps in their windows at once, so you can chat, watch a video and write an email at the same time just as you'd do on a desktop.
  - rchaud 2y ago
    Why RIP for Samsung DEX? I use it all the time.
    - drbig 2y ago
      Wow, thanks! You're right I have been mistaken. It's alive! ("On October 2019 Samsung announced that Linux on DeX will not be available for Android 10", I must have read it back then as discontinuing DeX altogether!)
- rchaud 2y ago
  Chrome runs Android apps in a sandbox, so a lot of apps don't work in the way you'd think. Games might be OK as all data is stored in the app, but if you use say a note-taking app that exports a TXT file to local storage, that export won't work if the app is running on ChromeOS.
- moondev 2y ago
  Crostini is a ChromeOS thing not an Android thing.
drbig 2y ago
> But, sadly, it doesn’t sound like this is something Google intends to launch anytime soon. Sadly indeed. Samsung's DEX was nice too... (but honestly, I loved the most _the option_ to do it like that; In reality used DEX for at most two weeks once on a vacation...)
deleted 2y ago
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rchaud 2y ago
I don't see the point of an Android phone dual-booting ChromeOS. It offers nothing beyond what Android can already do. How hard is it for Google to create a proper desktop environment for Android? Samsung has had DEX for almost a decade, and it works great: UI scaling is good, keyboard shortcuts work, multiple apps can be running on a single screen.
- jauntywundrkind 2y ago
  From the underling Android Authority article: > The method involves running a special build of Chrome OS in a virtual machine through the Android Virtualization Framework. So, not really a dual boot, not one at a time. A virtual machine. In general I agree that Android itself probably ought expand to the second displays. At the same time, Android kind of sucks & the eternal locking down of it just makes things worse. Termux is running on old SDKs & only on F-Droid because the paranoia just makes apps less and less capable forever. Offering a real desktop OS that can do things, that lets folks have a file system, that can run a standard desktop display server: that feels like a sensible offering to me. Samsung gave up, but there was some excitement & activity when Samsung's Linux on DeX launched! I tend to think, yeah, it's not for everyone, and having separate worlds to bridge is a huge encumbrance, but also, it's a good option for advanced users, and it may well be advanced users that tend to wanting this feature set anyhow.
ssahoo 2y ago
I think it could be because stiff competition between chromeos and android team let to this decision. It's not good for consumers. I wish they merge both products into one and focus on what users want.

deleted 2y ago

[deleted]

What exactly does Chrome OS offer that Android already doesn't? (Not a rhetorical question) Especially when Chrome OS even runs Android apps, and under the hood - they're the same Linux Kernel. Are there any use cases where Chrome OS shines on a Laptop form factor where Android x86/Dex/related projects fall short of?

drbig 2y ago
Not a user of Chrome OS, but DEX (R.I.P) and the main difference is multiple apps in their windows at once, so you can chat, watch a video and write an email at the same time just as you'd do on a desktop.
- rchaud 2y ago
  Why RIP for Samsung DEX? I use it all the time.
  - drbig 2y ago
    Wow, thanks! You're right I have been mistaken. It's alive! ("On October 2019 Samsung announced that Linux on DeX will not be available for Android 10", I must have read it back then as discontinuing DeX altogether!)
rchaud 2y ago
Chrome runs Android apps in a sandbox, so a lot of apps don't work in the way you'd think. Games might be OK as all data is stored in the app, but if you use say a note-taking app that exports a TXT file to local storage, that export won't work if the app is running on ChromeOS.
moondev 2y ago
Crostini is a ChromeOS thing not an Android thing.

drbig 2y ago

> But, sadly, it doesn’t sound like this is something Google intends to launch anytime soon. Sadly indeed. Samsung's DEX was nice too... (but honestly, I loved the most _the option_ to do it like that; In reality used DEX for at most two weeks once on a vacation...)

deleted 2y ago

[deleted]

rchaud 2y ago

I don't see the point of an Android phone dual-booting ChromeOS. It offers nothing beyond what Android can already do. How hard is it for Google to create a proper desktop environment for Android? Samsung has had DEX for almost a decade, and it works great: UI scaling is good, keyboard shortcuts work, multiple apps can be running on a single screen.

jauntywundrkind 2y ago
From the underling Android Authority article: > The method involves running a special build of Chrome OS in a virtual machine through the Android Virtualization Framework. So, not really a dual boot, not one at a time. A virtual machine. In general I agree that Android itself probably ought expand to the second displays. At the same time, Android kind of sucks & the eternal locking down of it just makes things worse. Termux is running on old SDKs & only on F-Droid because the paranoia just makes apps less and less capable forever. Offering a real desktop OS that can do things, that lets folks have a file system, that can run a standard desktop display server: that feels like a sensible offering to me. Samsung gave up, but there was some excitement & activity when Samsung's Linux on DeX launched! I tend to think, yeah, it's not for everyone, and having separate worlds to bridge is a huge encumbrance, but also, it's a good option for advanced users, and it may well be advanced users that tend to wanting this feature set anyhow.

ssahoo 2y ago

I think it could be because stiff competition between chromeos and android team let to this decision. It's not good for consumers. I wish they merge both products into one and focus on what users want.