Launched in October 2008, the Android Marketplace was the store’s first iteration that allowed Android users to download and install applications and games on their phones. In 2012, Google changed the brand and completely revamped it to become the Google Play Store. Since then, these apps have been installed on cars, watches, refrigerators and, yes, even on Chromebooks. While this is the case, we still call them “Android apps” – why? Yes, I know that in each of these instances they are still being installed in the Android framework, but I think they overcame that nomenclature and can continue to mature if we change our perception of them going forward. Let me explain.
For several years, Google has been trying to boost developers in the hope that they will start building their applications for larger screens. In particular, they wanted them to optimize for Chromebooks and even gave them a roadmap to do so when they launched their ChromeOS.dev features.
Without pleading with them to create full-screen experiences that use background processes, mouse and keyboard support and more, they received little fruit in exchange for their work. Why are nearly 1.85 million apps on the Google Play Store being limited to our phones and tablets when they have so many possibilities? You can argue that it is simply because they were built just for them, but I disagree. I think they can and should grow to maturity and become increasingly useful outside the originally planned ecosystem. I have spoken to many application developers and they seem to think the problem is twofold.
First, they claim that their Chromebook user base is not large enough to guarantee a team’s dedication to optimizing their applications for Google laptops (although in many cases, they just don’t keep track of these statistics because they’re not familiar with Chromebooks themselves). Second, they told me that they don’t think Google gave them enough incentive take apps they created years ago for phones and tablets and redesign them entirely for Chromebooks.
If this is true, I can see why there have been few improvements in applications that appear to belong to a laptop. Yes, most apps “work” on Chromebooks, and all apps that have a tablet mode that can rotate in landscape will fill the Chromebook’s screen, but this is a far cry from a real laptop experience – icons, text and other visual elements remain thick and strangely placed for fingers instead of mice, rendering problems abound and I can still only play five Google Play games that I know of with a game controller – it’s depressing.
I think developers need to take this more seriously, but it might be cyclical – maybe if we stop calling them “Android apps” – and therefore perpetuate the stigma that accompanies them – really show interest that these “Google Play App” experiences are optimized for our Chromebooks, so developers can see the need to act Perhaps if we saw more developers taking the opportunity to optimize their apps for Chromebooks, users would start asking or even begging them to do so more often. Are we stuck in an endless loop? I encourage you to get in touch with your favorite developer using the Play Store list contact email address to let them know that you want to use your apps on your Chromebook!
If you are a developer and are reading this, you may be interested to know that developers who enjoy creating larger screen experiences are experiencing explosive growth in their user base. For example, Gameloft – creator of the racing game Asphalt 8 obtained 9 times more revenue when optimizing for Chrome OS – this is attractive. In addition, Pixonic, creator of the popular game War Robots, increased its engagement by 25% on Chrome OS by applying some optimizations. Games like Roblox have long embraced Chromebooks and continue to do so. In fact, there’s a whole news section that Google keeps up to date on chromeos.dev, where they blog about these success stories, so it’s clear that they intend to take Google Play apps for a walk, already that Chrome OS continues to experience massive growth year after year.
It is true that progressive web applications (PWAs) are taking over and we are all excited about them, but I believe that Google Play applications will continue to have a place on our devices for years to come – at least in some way. For example, when Android R eventually reaches Chrome OS, Google may well be trying to take control of the situation alone to some extent. When running Google Play apps on a separate virtual machine, just like Crostini using something called ARCVM, they could have a little more control over the appearance and execution of Chromebooks, thereby providing a more agile and consistent experience. We will have to wait and see what happens with that, but we will keep you updated as we learn more.
All of this to say that continuing to box apps on our phones and tablets when they are able to be so much more is a terrible service, but what do you think? Is it just a matter of syntax that “Android apps” are now called “Google Play apps” and are treated as much more? Is it important to you that their perception is transformed or are you sticking to web applications? Do you believe that they can and should coexist as Chrome OS evolves and matures?
I may seem to be criticizing, but I still think it is an important conversation and I would love to hear your opinion on the matter. I’m tired of recommending apps and games to Chromebook owners, just to be ashamed that they don’t have full or partial support for a mouse, keyboard or gamepad. I’m tired of opening an app only to find that it’s stuck in portrait mode with black blocks on the left and right sides of it, just then to hear someone watching a crash of Chrome OS and say it’s just a big Android tablet. I’m tired of heavy display elements and ugly rendering issues. If you’re an app developer, tell me – is Google doing enough to encourage you to optimize for Chrome OS, or is there still a huge hurdle? I am genuinely interested in hearing your side of the story!
Start optimizing your app for Chrome OS
