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oped the Chrome OS Flex to be supported by PCs and Mac. The Chrome OS Flex has most of the original features such as Google Assistant, Instant tethering, Smart Lock, Family Link accounts, and Nearby Sharing.</p><p id="e175"><b><i>Note:</i></b><i> Chrome OS Flex is not yet supported on ARM computers and MACs. A supported list of devices can be found <a href="https://support.google.com/chromeosflex/answer/11513094">here</a>.</i></p><h1 id="cbd6">What does it mean for the future of Chrome OS?</h1><p id="54a6">Chrome OS Flex is still in the early phase, so Google could kill it any day. If it releases to the public at some point, then it would surely carve a niche of its own. People who need to give their old PCs or laptops new life will definitely use this OS. Linux is also an option but Chrome OS Flex will serve better in this scenario.</p><p id="45fb">Chrome OS is already the second most popular desktop OS after Windows. Chrome OS Flex will only improve the adoption rate.</p><figure id="6cf0"><img src="https://cdn-images-1.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:800/1*VoPb1-U6rlwgKbe4_qcGxQ.png"><figcaption></figcaption></figure><figure id="1679"><img src="https://cdn-images-1.readmedi

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um.com/v2/resize:fit:800/1*RPbpM1dim4F1sSsI4CU9eg.png"><figcaption>Chrome OS Flex running on my Laptop. Source: Author Screenshot</figcaption></figure><h1 id="553e">Trying out Chrome OS Flex</h1><p id="cad6">You can check out the early access of Chrome OS Flex by following this <a href="https://support.google.com/chromeosflex/answer/11552529?p=flex_ent_form_install&_ga=2.118961161.1050428354.1644945445-548464179.1644945445&visit_id=637805423321320967-2950123910&rd=1"><i>link</i></a>.</p><p id="3ba2">I have tried the live version of Chrome OS Flex, and I am impressed with it so far. For an early version, it doesn’t seem to have many bugs. I thought that I wouldn’t be able to run it on my device, but it ran without any issues. Yes, there were some lags and performance bugs but nothing major. I could not get the microphone to work, so trying Google Assistant was out of reach. WiFi, Sound, Bluetooth, and other features ran well.</p><p id="5576">The Chrome OS Flex worked as it intended, and I cannot wait to try out the full version once it is released.</p><p id="74d5">If you like this post, give it some 👏. Follow me for more articles like this.</p></article></body>

Chrome OS Flex is here for your old PCs and Mac

Photo by Kaboompics .com from Pexels

Chromebooks are incredibly popular among schools and even in some enterprises due to their lightweight OS — Chrome OS. Till now, you have to buy a Chromebook to use Chrome OS officially. Today, in a blog post, Google announced that they are launching a new version of Chrome OS that can be installed on PCs and Mac. This new modified OS is called Chrome OS Flex.

How did Chrome OS Flex came to be?

Google acquired Neverware in late 2020, which originally developed a fork of Chrome OS to be used in PCs. Upon acquiring, Google modified the existing fork and developed the Chrome OS Flex to be supported by PCs and Mac. The Chrome OS Flex has most of the original features such as Google Assistant, Instant tethering, Smart Lock, Family Link accounts, and Nearby Sharing.

Note: Chrome OS Flex is not yet supported on ARM computers and MACs. A supported list of devices can be found here.

What does it mean for the future of Chrome OS?

Chrome OS Flex is still in the early phase, so Google could kill it any day. If it releases to the public at some point, then it would surely carve a niche of its own. People who need to give their old PCs or laptops new life will definitely use this OS. Linux is also an option but Chrome OS Flex will serve better in this scenario.

Chrome OS is already the second most popular desktop OS after Windows. Chrome OS Flex will only improve the adoption rate.

Chrome OS Flex running on my Laptop. Source: Author Screenshot

Trying out Chrome OS Flex

You can check out the early access of Chrome OS Flex by following this link.

I have tried the live version of Chrome OS Flex, and I am impressed with it so far. For an early version, it doesn’t seem to have many bugs. I thought that I wouldn’t be able to run it on my device, but it ran without any issues. Yes, there were some lags and performance bugs but nothing major. I could not get the microphone to work, so trying Google Assistant was out of reach. WiFi, Sound, Bluetooth, and other features ran well.

The Chrome OS Flex worked as it intended, and I cannot wait to try out the full version once it is released.

If you like this post, give it some 👏. Follow me for more articles like this.