Chromebooks are about to get a major upgrade.
Later this year, Chromebooks will be able to run Android apps, which means they'll be fully-capable computers for the first time. That means no more doing everything in the Chrome browser. Soon, you'll be able to run apps just like you can on a "normal" PC or Mac.
Google recently gave a demo to app developers that shows how Android apps on Chromebook improves the overall experience, and it really is impressive. Once Android apps arrive on Chromebooks, you'll only have to spend about $200 to get a really great computer.
Here's what it looks like:
Soon, the Google Play Store will show up in your Chromebook's taskbar.
That means you'll be able to download apps that work offline on your computer, just like you can on a traditional PC or Mac.
At last, you'll be able to run apps that have been missing from Chromebook all these years. Here's Photoshop, for example:
And Microsoft Word:
You'll finally be able to download movies and watch them offline too:
Or play games:
Pretty cool, right? If you've used a Chromebook before, then you know how big of a deal this is. Your Chromebook will finally be able to do just about everything a PC or Mac can do. For everyone else, that means you don't have to worry about spending $1,000 on a computer.
You can watch Google's video demo of Android apps running on Chromebook below. But only watch the first 10 minutes or so. The rest is a bunch of technical geek-speak for developers.