Google kills challenge that will’ve made it straightforward to run ChromeOS on Android

Key Takeaways

Google says it gained’t ship or preserve the Ferrochrome app, which was alleged to make it straightforward to run Chrome OS on Android.
Ferrochrome was proven off as a demo on the Pixel 8, and Google by no means promised to supply it to finish customers.
The app was constructed on the Android Virtualization Framework, which Google hasn’t deserted and may nonetheless be used to run Chrome OS on Android.

Android telephones have the bells and whistles to deal with duties you’d usually do on a PC, however the Android OS has its limits. Google hinted that this may change with the “Ferrochrome” challenge, which might enable Android units to run ChromeOS. Earlier this 12 months, the corporate demoed this on a Pixel 8, noting that it was made potential as a result of Android 15’s improved virtualization capabilities. Nevertheless, the challenge could by no means see the sunshine of day, as Google has reportedly stopped additional growth.

Red, green, yellow, and blue ChromeOS and AP graphic

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Android professional Mishaal Rahman, writing for Android Authority, revealed that the Ferrochrome app, which aimed to make working ChromeOS on Android so simple as a single click on, has been scrapped. Rahman noticed this in a latest code change submitted to the AOSP Gerrit.

Whereas the change hasn’t been merged but, it removes all the Ferrochrome launcher app from AOSP. Google’s motive for pulling the app is that it not plans to launch or preserve it. As an alternative, the corporate appears to be shifting its focus to utilizing the Linux-based Debian distro because the testbed for AVF growth relatively than ChromeOS.

ferrochrome project in Android open source

Supply: ferrochrome

Google started engaged on the Ferrochrome app in June, though it was initially described as only a demo, which gave us hope that the corporate may truly launch it. The app was mentioned to be able to mechanically downloading, configuring, and launching an ARM64 construct of Chromium OS by means of the digital machine launcher app.

Working ChromeOS on Android continues to be potential

Google could have canceled Ferrochrome, nevertheless it hasn’t deserted the Android Virtualization Framework (AVF), which the function was constructed on. AVF has been round since Android 13, however Android 15 launched help for working graphical working programs with GPU acceleration. So, whereas it’s nonetheless technically potential to run ChromeOS in a digital machine, due to Android’s underlying virtualization enhancements, you’ll should do plenty of handbook setup to make it work.