When I wrote this article on May 20, 2016, the idea that Android apps running inside Chrome could become a real threat to Microsoft felt like an early warning shot — a sign that Google was experimenting with ways to lure Windows users into its ecosystem without needing Windows.
Ten years later, Googlebooks takes the same basic idea and pushes it into the agent era: Android computers with a built-in helper layer that can handle, automate, and mediate the entire computing experience.
In retrospect, the 2016 article feels less like a prediction and more like the first chapter of a story that Google is finally ready to wrap up, while Microsoft is still figuring out what its Windows response will be. – Daniel Rubino, Editor-in-Chief
This article was originally published May 20, 2016By Daniel Rubino.
Google is holding its big I/O conference this week. Like Microsoft’s Build program, Google is using the event to talk about the future of its diverse and increasingly distinct product lines (See Google I/O 2016 Day 2: Everything you need to know).
Perhaps the biggest announcement that could affect Microsoft is the expected ability for users to run Android apps. Chrome OS. Given that there are over a million Android apps available, this is a huge win for a cloud operating system like Chrome that hasn’t been around until now. any programs.
We’ve talked about convergence in computing before, and Google approaches it from the other side compared to Microsoft. So does Microsoft have anything to worry about now? Yes, do it.
The rise of Chrome OS…in schools
Tech enthusiasts and consumers have largely ignored Google’s Chrome OS, but that’s slowly changing. More importantly, the biggest area where Google has seen success with Chrome OS is in schools.
The reason for the increase is precisely because the OS can’t install apps and IT departments can easily lock down and secure Chromebooks, especially compared to Windows. Sure, Windows can do more, but Chromebooks offer school districts an inexpensive and efficient way to meet their basic computing needs on a budget. In the U.S., where school districts are under tremendous pressure from voters who no longer care about infrastructure, it’s hard to let go of Chrome OS.
To put all this into perspective, more Chromebooks were sold in the first quarter of 2016 than all of Apple’s OS X, at least according to IDC. The number of firms will be about 2 million. This is the first time such success has happened and Chrome OS cannot be ignored anymore.
Chromebooks outsold Macs for the first time last quarter
The long-term story is more dangerous for Microsoft. By reaching many kids at an early age with Chrome OS and engaging them in Google services or at least introducing them to technology, Google is slowly getting out of the loop. is becoming a new generation.
Many people today use Windows because that’s what they’ve always used. Most of the time, your first computer was a Windows device, but now that’s changing with the decline in PC sales and the slow rise of Chromebooks. Let’s face it, Microsoft has lost the youth market for smartphones, which is a thriving computing space these days.
Android apps on Chrome OS
Google announced that later in 2016, people will be able to run full Android apps on their Chromebooks (specifically, these). All of this will be done by adding the Google Play Store to those devices, although schools can opt out by not allowing it, keeping the market safe for now. Ars Technica he is doing a very good job explains how Google has achieved this feat and worth reading.
The main proposition is that developers won’t have to do much to bring their apps to Chrome OS. These apps run through containers and offer split view and floating window app sizes instead of any awkward stretching. More tools for developers are coming with Android N this summer.
Considering that there are currently 1.5 million Android apps available, including many popular games Clash of Clans and Google has released a new trick without any serious shakeup for developers.
Laptop problem “This is not a laptop”
While all these Android and Chrome OS products are impressive, there are still some perception issues facing Google. Ironically, Google has the same problem as Microsoft’s Continuum, but from the other side.
For example, beautiful new $600 HP Chromebook 13 looks like a full computer looks like a full computer but this is not a real PC. Likewise, Microsoft’s Continuum looks exactly like Windows 10, but it can’t run “classic” Win32 programs either. (However, virtualization can be a solution for both platforms.)
For some people, this won’t be a problem. Modern mobile computing is even moving toward an app model that Microsoft has emulated with its Universal Windows Platform (UWP). However, a Windows 10 all-in-one or even a low-cost PC can still run Photoshop, full Office, your favorite web browser, iTunes, or whatever software your company wants you to use. Plus, there’s now Windows Ink to help bring the smart pen to life.
Chromebooks can’t and won’t do any of that. There is also a lack of security for the enterprise. So that’s the question Do people still want the ability to run classic, full desktop applications? If so, spending $400 or more on a Chromebook will be a problem. It’s a great device until you need more, and if you need more, you’ll take it with you two devices?
Do people still want the ability to run classic, full desktop applications?
On the flip side, if people can just use a Chromebook with Android apps, then you can’t really criticize Microsoft’s UWP initiative and Sequel. However, one hole in this argument is huge. Google has 1.5 million Android apps and Microsoft doesn’t. Not yet, at least.
In some ways, Google was smarter here. Moving from a mobile environment to devices with larger displays is easier than taking an old OS and adapting it to a mobile phone. Fortunately for Microsoft, they’ve already done the heavy lifting, and Windows 10 and OneCore are mostly done. Google (and Apple) will have to make an adjustment at some point their Many operating systems such as Microsoft.
Convergence is real, but problematic
Google’s move with Android on Chrome OS is significant, but the company faces the same market constraints as Microsoft. Consumer interest is changing and people want portable computing anywhere, anytime with just one device and one experience.
While Google is moving from mobile to desktop, Microsoft’s challenge is attacking mobile from desktop. Neither solution is perfect, as both companies face significant hurdles to get there. Microsoft has almost no mobile market share, and Google’s Chromebooks are just starting to be taken seriously. Google benefits from 1.5 million Android apps, but Microsoft offers the power of full Windows and real desktop apps. Plus, long-term UWP is attractive to developers, especially when you throw Xamarin and Bridges into the mix.
It is difficult to say which system will win.
Google dominates market momentum, declining Windows PC sales, the rise of ARM, and 84 percent of the mobile operating system market. Not to mention their ability to shape the next generation of kids with Chromebooks in schools.
But Google can convert ordinary consumers and businesses to Chromebooks and abandon them real calculation? I’m not entirely sure, but I know Microsoft should be worried. Windows 10 is a bigger paradigm shift, and it can work anywhere—desktops, laptops, tablets, phones, HoloLens, Xbox, IoT—but they’re up against a company playing for storage, and this latest move by Google could derail what Microsoft is trying to accomplish.
Friends, we are in the midst of the next paradigm shift in technology and things are going to be very interesting in the next two years. It will be an interesting place to watch how Google, Apple and Microsoft move in this era and how they meet consumer demands. (As a side note, my colleague LaptopMark Spoonauer, came to a similar conclusion).
Who do you think has the upper hand? Let us know in the comments what you think about the future of computing and which company will get it right.
