Blurring the Lines between Android and Chrome OS

[Windroid]

Mods: Feel free to move this thread if I've put it in the wrong place (I'm new here).

Android and Chrome OS were originally separate projects, but the lines between the two have become very blurred. Here's my personal experience:

I tried out a Surface Go 3, to replace my ageing 7th Gen. Kindle Fire. My Surface Go 3 came with Windows. The Surface Go under Windows made an excellent ultra-portable laptop (with the keyboard attachment), but a poor tablet. There was an obvious solution: Install Android. I had Android on my Kindle Fire, so I knew Android worked well enough as a tablet system. Get Android onto my Surface, and I could have both Windows laptop and Android table, all in one unit!

The question became: Which Android distribution to use? I tried a few, but the only one I could get to work properly was "FydeOS for You". FydeOS is a Chromium OS distribution, meaning it's meant more to turn computers into makeshift Chrombooks than Android tablets. But that was okay. On an Intel-based Surface Go 3, "FydeOS for You" comes with the Android subsystem. That subsystem allows compatible Chromebooks to run Android apps. After changing a few settings (such as enabling the standard Android navigation buttons at the bottom of the screen), my makeshift Chromebook worked well as an Android tablet!

As I said: The line between Android and Chrome OS has become very blurred.

 

[ocnbrze]

the problem i find when i use my pixelbook is that some android games will not work on the chrome os. i used to play boom beach a lot, but they stopped support for chrome os, so i stopped playing boom beach.

 

[Windroid]

@ocnbrze Perhaps if you want an Android tablet, a high-end Kindle Fire would be the way to go. The Kindle Fire runs "regular" Android not Chrome OS, and you can buy a keyboard attachment for it, meaning you can use a Fire as a laptop. Just be aware of two issues:

#1: The Kindle Fire doesn't come with the Google app store and Google Play services, so you'll have to install them yourself.

#2 A: Check the Android version you're getting with the tablet. Amazon tends to use old versions of Android (Amazon's still giving security updates to my Android 5 tablet), that could be a problem if the games you want to play aren't compatible with older Android versions.

#2 B: You might find the Fire OS version. "Fire OS" is the name of the Android distribution on the Kindle Fire, and Fire OS versions don't always correspond to Android versions (e.g. Fire OS 7 is Android 9). If you find the FireOS version: You'll have to look up which Android version that refers to, and see if the games you want to play are compatible with that Android version.

Edit: Another option would be an iPad. You can get a keyboard attachment to use an iPad and a laptop, and I'd think that most games available on Android would also be available on iOS.

 

[ocnbrze]

@ocnbrze Perhaps if you want an Android tablet, a high-end Kindle Fire would be the way to go. The Kindle Fire runs "regular" Android not Chrome OS, and you can buy a keyboard attachment for it, meaning you can use a Fire as a laptop. Just be aware of two issues:

#1: The Kindle Fire doesn't come with the Google app store and Google Play services, so you'll have to install them yourself.

#2 A: Check the Android version you're getting with the tablet. Amazon tends to use old versions of Android (Amazon's still giving security updates to my Android 5 tablet), that could be a problem if the games you want to play aren't compatible with older Android versions.

#2 B: You might find the Fire OS version. "Fire OS" is the name of the Android distribution on the Kindle Fire, and Fire OS versions don't always correspond to Android versions (e.g. Fire OS 7 is Android 9). If you find the FireOS version: You'll have to look up which Android version that refers to, and see if the games you want to play are compatible with that Android version.

Edit: Another option would be an iPad. You can get a keyboard attachment to use an iPad and a laptop, and I'd think that most games available on Android would also be available on iOS.

i am not really looking for another tablet. the pixelbook works just fine. i'm just saying that not all android apps will work on chrome os.

and i will never touch a crapple product so anything starting with an "I" will just be thrown away or be used for target practice.

 

[Avogadrovk]

For years, the purpose and path of each platform has been easy enough to understand: Android's been mostly for smartphones, while Chrome OS has been intended for larger laptops, desktop computers, and the most optimal Android-app-supporting tablet experience.

 

[Windroid]

For years, the purpose and path of each platform has been easy enough to understand: Android's been mostly for smartphones, while Chrome OS has been intended for larger laptops, desktop computers, and the most optimal Android-app-supporting tablet experience.

I suppose, but it hasn't always been that way. As I said: Chrome OS used to be it's own operating system, not Android for laptops.

That said: Non-Chromium Android on the tablet, laptop, and desktop isn't dead. The Kindle Fire tablet comes with a non-Chromium Android. The Android-x86 distribution, which is designed to be installed onto x86 systems (most desktops and laptops), is not Chromium-based.