Can you run Google Play apps on Chrome?

One of the advantages that Chromebooks offer is the ability to run many of your favorite Android apps alongside Chrome OS windows. For the most part, any Chromebook that was launched on or after 2019 will run Android apps; if you’ve got an older system, Google has a long list of the Chromebooks that can run Android apps, but it’s not difficult to see if yours is one of them by doing the following:

• Go to Settings (click on the clock in the lower-right corner and select the gear icon).
• Click on the Apps link in the left-hand menu.

• In the main window, look for Google Play Store. (It should be near the top.) If it’s there and invites you to Install apps and games from Google Play on your Chromebook, then you’re ready to go.

Now, all you have to do is look for the familiar Play Store logo in your Launcher, either by clicking on the Launcher icon in the lower-left corner of the screen or using the Launcher button on your keyboard just above the left Shift key. That will take you to the Play Store, where you can search for and install your favorite Android apps on your Chromebook.

Android apps you’ve installed will also appear on the Launcher, just like any other Chrome OS app. For example, when I installed the Android apps Words With Friends 2 and Elevate on a Chromebook, their icons appeared in the Launcher alongside all the Chrome OS apps.

(Note: the first time you go to the Google Play Store, you may get a pop-up that asks you to Complete account setup by adding a payment option. Don’t panic. If you don’t want to add any kind of payment info, you don’t have to. Just hit Skip.)

You can even select many of the same options for the Android apps that you would if they were on your phone. On the Apps page, select Google Play Store > Manage Android preferences, and you’ll see an Android-like menu that lets you choose whether you want notifications.

One warning: Android apps that have been optimized for use on a Chromebook — which means many of the most popular apps — will look and act like normal Chromebook apps. However, apps that have not been optimized will basically appear in a phone screen format, so they won’t be quite as usable — although they should, with possibly a few exceptions, still work.

Update June 10th, 2022, 11:30AM ET: This article was originally published on October 9th, 2019, and has been updated to account for changes in the OS.

Chromebooks are a brilliant mobile option for so many people. Not only do they greatly simplify many of the processes for using a laptop, but they are also secure, and rarely suffer from slowdowns. But for some, the lack of actual apps makes Chrome OS a questionable choice. Fortunately, it's not only possible to enable Linux (and install Linux apps) on your Chromebook, but it's also possible to enable the installation of Android apps. Once you have this feature enabled, you can install any app from the Google Play Store.

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Of course, there's a caveat. You might find some apps don't work as expected. This can occur when an app isn't optimized for a larger display (like a tablet). Even apps that aren't optimized can still work (they just might be a bit small). Another issue is that if an app depends on phone functionality, it won't work. Lastly, not every Chromebook is supported. Here's a convenient list of ChromeOS hardware that does support Android apps. 

With all of that said, I'll show you how to enable Android app support and how to install your first application.

How to enable Android apps on your Chromebook

1. Open Settings

The first step is to open the Settings app. Click the System Tray at the bottom-right corner of your screen and then click the gear icon (Figure 1).

Figure 1

Accessing the Settings app through the Chrome OS System Tray.

2. Enabling Android app support

In the resulting window, scroll down until you see the Apps section and then click Turn on (Figure 2).

Figure 2

The Settings app displays the Apps section of Chrome OS.

You will then need to accept the Terms of Service (Figure 3).

Figure 3

The TOS for adding Android apps to Chrome OS.

You can opt out of backing up your Android apps to Google Drive if you like, click More, and then, when prompted, click Accept (Figure 4).

Figure 4

Accepting the TOS and enabling or disabling the Google Drive backup and location usage.

The installation will begin and should complete fairly quickly. Once the install completes, you'll be taken back to the Settings window and then the Google Play Store window will eventually open, where you can install your first app. Before you do, the play store will install the Android Accessibility Suite in the background. You need to allow that to finish before installing anything. If you find the Google Play Store keeps crashing, it means the Accessibility Suite isn't done installing. Give it time and it'll finish.

Installing your first Android app on Chrome OS

The installation of Android apps on Chrome OS is handled in the same way you'd install them on your Android phone. Say, for instance, you want to install the Firefox web browser. To do that, type Firefox in the search bar of the Google Play Store app (Figure 5).

Figure 5

The Google Play Store running on a Chromebook.

On the resulting page (Figure 6), click Install and allow the installation to complete.

Figure 6

Installing Firefox on Chrome OS.

When the installation finishes, you'll find the app available in the Chrome OS launcher.

And that's all there is to installing Android apps on Chrome OS. Once you start installing applications, you'll find this helps to bring your Chromebook to the next level of productivity.

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