Have you recently acquired your first Chromebook, either for the holidays or as a self-gift to improve your work-from-home setup? Here are some of the best apps to use on your new Chromebook across the web, Android, and Linux.
Chrome OS is somewhat unique in that it provides more than one “ecosystem” of applications. The core of the Chrome OS is the Google Chrome browser, which supports web applications of all kinds as well as thousands of Chrome extensions in the Chrome Web Store. Over the past few years, Chrome OS has also gained support for Android apps from the Google Play Store, as well as full-fledged Linux desktop apps for professional users.
In this case, the best apps that can be installed on your new Chromebook can be found in the web browser or they can be installed from the Google Play Store.
Google messages
Our first basic Chrome OS app is already integrated into the OS, but you need to install the corresponding app on your Android phone. With Google Messages, you can read and reply to SMS / MMS / RCS messages with a web application. Chromebooks already offer slightly better integration with Google Messages, where you can get notifications for your messages without having to keep the Google Messages window open.
To start, be sure to install Google messages On your Android phone and set it as the default messaging app. Next, open the Settings app on your Chromebook. In the “Connected devices” section, click “Set up” to connect your phone to your Chromebook, and Chrome OS will walk you through the steps.
Photopia
The power of the modern web is easy to underestimate, but these days, tasks that usually need full desktop applications can now be performed directly from the browser. PhotopiaOne of the best examples of this is, which is a free alternative to Photoshop.
Photopea can smoothly open Photoshop PSD files or edit any kind of image you might want to put it to. In all honesty, Photopea is an indispensable tool in my personal Chrome OS app arsenal, and I find myself using it every day for various photo editing tasks.
Although Photopea is free, the app is ad-supported. If you like, ads can be removed with a Premium account – $ 9 a month or $ 40 a year – which also includes double editing history.
Google Duo
These days, it is important to stay in touch with your loved ones, regardless of distance. One of the best video calling apps for Chromebooks is Google Duo, Which makes it easy to make video calls to your friends and family via Android, iOS and web browsers.
Google Duo is completely free and all calls are secured with end-to-end encryption. Duo can also make calls to Google Home speakers and smart displays, should you ever need to call home on the go.
However, not everyone uses Google Duo. Thankfully, most video calling options like Zoom, Microsoft Teams, or Discord offer web apps that will work great on a Chromebook.
squid
If your Chromebook has pen support, then squid It is a totally must-have app. Available for free on the Google Play Store, Squid is optimized to make handwritten note taking easier and faster than most other Chromebook apps.
What makes Squid really impressive is its ability to allow you to draw and write on an imported PDF, perfect for filling out paperwork digitally. Unfortunately, PDF features will cost you a one-time fee of $ 4.99 or you can subscribe to Squid Premium for $ 1 per month to unlock other features like useful templates that you can rely on.
Stadia
Chromebooks used to be not good for gaming, but over time this has gradually changed. Lately, Chromebooks have become great gaming devices, thanks to cloud-based services like Google Stadia.
Stadia lets you buy AAA games – like Cyberpunk 2077 – that run on Google servers and streamed online to your Chromebook or other devices. You don’t need any special hardware or accessories other than the built-in keyboard and mouse. Stadia also has some completely free games like Destiny 2 You can try it to see if your connection is good enough for streaming games.
Of course, Stadia isn’t for everyone, and there are other Chromebook-compatible cloud broadcasting apps that might make more sense to you. If you already have a library full of computer games, GeForce Now Many of these games can be streamed to your Chromebook. Or, if you’re a fan of Xbox games, the Xbox Game Pass stream will be set to get a web app at some point Early next year.
Other Chromebook apps worth noting:
- Your Favorite Streaming Apps: No matter where you listen to music or watch movies and TV shows, you can access your favorite services on Chrome OS. For most services – be it so SpotifyAnd the NetflixAnd the Disney +, Etc – using the Android app instead of the web app will allow you to download content for offline playback.
- VLC: Chrome OS comes with a decent built-in video player, but it lacks some features for even the simplest player like creating a playlist or adjusting the playback speed. VLC for Android is one of the best apps for playing videos on Chromebook, as it can play any type of video or broadcast file.
- Android development environmentOne of the biggest benefits of acquiring Chromebooks to support Linux is that it opens the world of development to more devices and therefore more people. If your new Chromebook has an Intel or AMD processor, you can install Android Studio to start building your own Android apps.
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