Alok
Adventurer
Google’s convergence of Chrome and Android is taking a big step forward this week. After launching a limited App Runtime for Chrome (ARC) back in September, Google is expanding its beta project to allow Android apps to run on Windows, OS X, and Linux. It’s an early experiment designed primarily for developers, but anyone can now download an APK of an existing Android app and launch it on a Windows / Linux PC, Mac, or Chromebook.
Download ARC Welder beta - Google App Store
You simply need to download the ARC Welder app and obtain APKs from Google’s Play Store. There are some limitations: only one app can be loaded at a time, and you have to select landscape or portrait layout and whether you want the app to run in phone- or tablet-style. However, you can load multiple apps by selecting the download ZIP option in Arc Welder and extracting it and then enabling extension developer mode to load the folder of the extracted APK. During my testing I’ve found that most apps run really well. There are some exceptions like Gmail and Chrome for Android that throw up Google Play Services errors, but that’s not because ARC doesn’t support them. Developers will need to optimize their apps for ARC, and some Google Play Services are also supported right now, making that process a lot easier.
*cdn2.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/_xnlGFMlM_jnTiqZjYVWQ57hU6o=/1020x0/cdn0.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/3569850/candycrushandroidchrome.0.png
ARC is based on Android 4.4, meaning a lot of standalone apps are immediately compatible. Twitter works well, and Facebook Messenger loads just fine but does continuously say it’s waiting for the network. I was impressed with Flipboard, and the ability to flick through using two finger gestures on a trackpad, and even Instagram works well for casual browsing. Of course, trying to use the camera in apps will immediate force the app to crash, and keyboard commands aren’t always recognized properly. The biggest issue is that most apps are simply designed for touch, or in the case of games to use a phone’s accelerometer.
*cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Screen-Shot-2015-03-31-at-7.04.51-PM-980x501.png
What I tested so far
Cut the Rope ----Working
Cut The Rope 2 ---- Crash After Loading
7x7 ----Working
Candy Crush ----Working
Download ARC Welder beta - Google App Store
You simply need to download the ARC Welder app and obtain APKs from Google’s Play Store. There are some limitations: only one app can be loaded at a time, and you have to select landscape or portrait layout and whether you want the app to run in phone- or tablet-style. However, you can load multiple apps by selecting the download ZIP option in Arc Welder and extracting it and then enabling extension developer mode to load the folder of the extracted APK. During my testing I’ve found that most apps run really well. There are some exceptions like Gmail and Chrome for Android that throw up Google Play Services errors, but that’s not because ARC doesn’t support them. Developers will need to optimize their apps for ARC, and some Google Play Services are also supported right now, making that process a lot easier.
*cdn2.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/_xnlGFMlM_jnTiqZjYVWQ57hU6o=/1020x0/cdn0.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/3569850/candycrushandroidchrome.0.png
ARC is based on Android 4.4, meaning a lot of standalone apps are immediately compatible. Twitter works well, and Facebook Messenger loads just fine but does continuously say it’s waiting for the network. I was impressed with Flipboard, and the ability to flick through using two finger gestures on a trackpad, and even Instagram works well for casual browsing. Of course, trying to use the camera in apps will immediate force the app to crash, and keyboard commands aren’t always recognized properly. The biggest issue is that most apps are simply designed for touch, or in the case of games to use a phone’s accelerometer.
*cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Screen-Shot-2015-03-31-at-7.04.51-PM-980x501.png
What I tested so far
Cut the Rope ----Working
Cut The Rope 2 ---- Crash After Loading
7x7 ----Working
Candy Crush ----Working
Last edited:
