Android apps on Chromebooks have some great benefits: they expand the device’s capabilities, have an overall small footprint, and they work very well on limited hardware. That said, they’re still in beta, and sometimes things don’t work as they should.
What to Do If Clicks Don’t Register in Android Apps on a Chromebook
Android apps on Chromebooks have some great benefits: they expand the device’s capabilities, have an overall small footprint, and they work very well on limited hardware. That said, they’re still in beta, and sometimes things don’t work as they should.
Android apps are a great way to expand the sometimes limited capabilities of Chromebooks, but they can be a problem if you store most of your data on an external medium—like an SD card, for example.
Just because an app isn’t available from the Google Play Store doesn’t mean it’s not available at all—you can effectively install non-Play Store apps on any Android phone, tablet, or other device by enabling one simple toggle. This practice is called “sideloading.”
With the launch of the Galaxy S8, Samsung decided to get in on the “personal assistant” action with its own version, called Bixby—there’s even a dedicated button to launch the service on the S8. The thing is, Bixby just isn’t very good.
You probably don’t do a lot of multitasking on your PlayStation 4, but sometimes you just need to flip back and forth between a pair of apps (or an app and a game). Fortunately, there’s a fast and easy way to do this.
Android apps on Chromebooks are great for getting things done, but they also allow Chromebooks to become more game friendly than ever before, thanks to Google Play’s vast game catalog. Pair that with a Bluetooth controller, and you have a pretty solid little gaming rig for on the go.
Over the course of the past decade or so, phone calls have died off as our primary form of communication with most people, with text messages being the replacement. And if you’re going to use texting as much as you do, you might as well be using the best apps to do it. Let’s talk about ’em.
Generally speaking, most of us think of Bluetooth as a simple, device-to-device to connection used to do things like play music or other audio (speakers/headsets), offer quick notification access (smartwatches), or perform other tasks. But there’s a new Bluetooth standard on the rise, and it allows your web browser to control nearby Bluetooth devices. It’s going to be cool.
Back at Google I/O 2017, Google announced a new feature in Google Photos called “Shared Libraries”. In a nutshell, this allows users to quickly and easily share photos with other, specific users automatically. This feature is now live—here’s everything you need to know about getting it going.
Pretty much every Chromebook out there has speakers built in, and almost all of them have at least one other audio output as well—be it a 3.5mm headphone jack, or Bluetooth. Sometimes, however, you may need to let your Chromebook know where you want the audio to come from.
When it comes to getting content from your phone to your TV, there’s really no shortage of ways to make it happen. Our favorite is Google’s Chromecast—it’s affordable and does the job well. But if you’re invested in the Apple ecosystem, you can easily stream Netflix, YouTube, and others to your Apple TV from your iOS device.
If you’re itching give Android a try but don’t necessarily want use your whole computer for the task, the best option is to run it in a virtual machine using VirtualBox. It’s actually pretty easy to set up, and will offer you the full Android experience in a matter of a few minutes. Let’s do this thing.
Android support on Chromebooks started with Android 6.0, which only allows apps to run in full-screen mode, or a smaller static size. This isn’t the best layout for many apps on Chromebooks, and Google finally changed this with Android 7.1.1. The thing is, resizing doesn’t work out the gate—there are a few tweaks to get it working.
Android Auto is a game changer in the car. Regardless of whether you have a dedicated Auto head unit, your car came Auto-ready, or you’re just using your phone in Auto mode, it’s a killer piece of software. But it can also be frustrating when things don’t work like they should. Here are some suggestions on what you can do if Auto isn’t working.
You can beam all kinds of music and video to your TV with an Apple TV, but did you know you can also mirror the screen of your iPhone, iPad, or Mac on the big screen? Here’s how.
While many of us have strived to move into an all digital world, printing is still a necessary evil for most people. If you’re a Chromebook user, printing can be a bit of a pain, but thanks to some recent changes by Google, it just got a little bit more convenient.
Android users have been rooting their phones since the beginning of the operating system, but in recent years it has gotten much more complicated. More recently, a new method for handling root management has emerged, and it’s called Magisk.
The nostalgia of playing old school PlayStation games is awesome for a lot of us, but without having every generation of console, it can be difficult to get in on some of the best titles of yesterday. PlayStation Now, Sony’s online game streaming service, is the solution to that quandary. But man, is it really worth coughing up an Andrew Jackson every month just to play classic titles?
Most Chromebooks have relatively limited storage, which can fill up quickly with nigh-useless debris—like screenshots, for example. The default location for screenshot storage is in the Downloads folder, but you can easily change that.
By default, Chrome OS is pretty good at picking the best app for a specific purpose, but sometimes that’s not what you’re looking to do. While you can easily pick apps as you need them, you can also change the default option pretty easily.
Most public networks use what’s called a Captive Portal—it’s the authorization page where you accept the place’s terms and click “Connect” to access their free Wi-Fi. The problem is, many modern browsers have issues redirecting to these captive portals because of new security protocols.
Network issues can be hard to pinpoint, but if you have Chrome installed (or a Chromebook), you can easily run a thorough diagnostic right from your browser that can help you figure out what could be going wrong.
If you’re lucky enough to have a modern Chromebook that can run Android apps, you should definitely be taking advantage of this awesome new feature. And if you’re in the market for a new Chromebook, make sure you get one that can run Android apps out of the box. Here are the apps that make it worthwhile.
If you buy a Chromebook that has been out for a while, there’s a small chance it could have an issue downloading the latest OS updates. Fortunately, getting your Chromebook to a completely up-to-date state isn’t impossible.
If you’re a Google Photos user, you’ve may have seen a new feature called “Archive” show up in the app’s sidebar. if not, don’t stress—it’s just now rolling out and not everyone has it yet. Since it’s new, here’s a quick look at what it is, why you want it, and how to use it.
