You may or may not know this, but Chromebooks have been stuck on Android 9 for quite some time. As a matter of fact, we can trace the last major Android update on Chrome OS back to February of 2019. Yes, over two years to wait on an Android update is a bit excessive, but […]
Continue ReadingAndroid
Android Nearby Share is about to get a whole lot better to use
Nearby Share – Google’s answer to Apple’s popular Airdrop feature – has been with us for a bit now. Finally beginning roll out in August of 2020, this upgrade to both Android phones and Chromebooks has been something many users have been clamoring for. In a nutshell, Nearby Share allows users to send files from […]
Continue ReadingChromebooks may get a solution for Android apps that don’t play well on big screens
We don’t have to beat around the bush about Android apps on Chromebooks: they are still generally rough around the edges from a UI and UX point of view. Text can be too small, window resizing doesn’t always work, and some of the aspects of these sorts of apps still feel locked inside the Android […]
Continue ReadingChrome OS desperately needs a unified App Store
So, here were are heading into the third month of 2021, and Chrome OS has exponentially solidified its place in the world of the “new normal.” Thanks, in part, to the global pandemic that caused a massive explosion of work from home employees and remote-learning students, Chrome OS overtook macOS as the second largest operating […]
Continue ReadingChrome OS lays the groundwork for update to Android 12 (Snow Cone)
Earlier this month, the developer preview of the upcoming Android 12 operating system landed, and as exciting as it looks for mobile devices, we’re still stuck on Android 9 here in the land of Chrome OS. For nearly a year now, developers have been working on the transition from the current Android container on Chrome […]
Continue ReadingPhone Hub Notifications May Bring Pixel Phone Mirroring to Chrome OS
Google has been tirelessly working on bringing their Phone Hub to Chromebook users for months now, with the latest update to Google Play Services Beta even unlocking the feature for many Android phone owners who also happen to be on the Beta (and above) channels of Chrome OS – yours truly included. One of the […]
Continue ReadingYou’ll soon be able to measure your heart and respiratory rate with your Pixel camera
Been shopping around for a new smartwatch that can track your vitals? If you have a Pixel phone, you may not need to look anymore because Google has announced via the The Keyword that you’ll soon be able to check those stats using the camera on your Pixel phone. In fact, this update will be […]
Continue ReadingShadow APKs are coming to Chromebooks to vastly improve Android app sharing
One of the chief complaints we hear about Android apps on Chromebooks is the inability to share things across the Chrome OS platform the way you’d expect. It generally goes something like this: I have XYZ Android app installed and I’d like to use the built-in share button to share some content via XYZ web […]
Continue ReadingTicWatch Pro 3 GPS: The Wear OS watch you’ve been looking for [Video]
I have found myself in a place where, after forty years, I am suddenly a fan of fine timepieces. I don’t know exactly why it happened but I do know when. I was in Newport on vacation with the family and I happened across a watch that turned my head. It was then and there […]
Continue ReadingPWAs on the Play Store for Chromebooks getting a big upgrade for in-app payments
PWAs being delivered in the Play Store for Chromebooks are few and far between at this point. This entire thing is a new effort that hasn’t fully been rolled out quite yet, but is on the way soon for more and more app developers. This effort sees Progressive Web Apps delivered seamlessly to Chromebooks via […]
Continue ReadingMotorola is the latest to start shipping an Android desktop, and that’s good news for Chromebooks
It’s been quite a few years since Samsung first unveiled Dex to the world and, since that time, a few other companies have tried their hand at that Android desktop as well. At this point, Huawei and LG notably have their own versions of a Dex-like Android desktop that give users a windowed interface to […]
Continue ReadingWork is ongoing to make Android 11 app window management far better on Chromebooks
Part of what makes Android apps on Chromebooks a bit frustrating to use is the general jank you can run into when moving things around the screen. From simple resizes to snapping windows to tablet mode conversion, it’s no secret that Android apps can get a bit fussy when moving them through the same paces […]
Continue ReadingGoogle Messages for Web gaining Google Fi support, allows texting when phone is off
Now that Google Chat is trying to clean up the mess that Hangouts left, we learned that it would begin by killing off support for Google Fi users to text, call and check voicemail through the Hangouts app itself. Back in May of this year, Android Police did a teardown of the Google Messages app […]
Continue ReadingPUBG Mobile shows app developers are starting to take Chromebooks more seriously
It’s no secret that we like to take part in a bit of pew-pew action here at the Chrome Unboxed office via games like PUBG Mobile during our daily lunch breaks. We look at it as a sort of team building exercise where strategy, teamwork, and skill all deftly mix to deliver the prized win: […]
Continue Reading