Google is attempting to increase the number of places people can run Android apps, by bringing them to desktops. The App Runtime for Chrome (ARC) tool was initially brought out for Chrome OS, but Google has expanded the development tool’s availability to the Chrome browser, allowing the Android apps to run on Windows, Mac, and Linux systems, all from within the browser itself.
Released in beta on the Chrome Web Store under the name ARC Welder, the software is intended to allow developers to test out their Android apps for use on Chrome OS. According to Ars Technica, ARC uses Native Client (NaCL,) a Chrome sandboxing technology that lets apps run at “near native” speeds, using the processor and GPU of the host system, and effectively allowing the same app to be run on a large number of operating systems.
While smartphones are slowly migrating to Android Lollipop, ARC Welder uses the older Android 4.4, meaning it runs the slower Dalvik VM instead of Android Run Time (ART). Unlike the original ARC release, the new version does connect to Google Play Services, though only for five core APIs rather than the full suite, something which should make it easier to create compatible apps. Even so, developers must enable Play Services on ARC before their app can be used, cutting down the potential for experimentation by other users.
The release of ARC Welder is certainly a sign Google is serious in its intentions to make Android apps accessible to anyone, even if they resort to using the Chrome browser instead of Android itself. Being able to run the same app on multiple platforms without having to worry about each operating system’s architecture is an attractive prospect to developers, though there may be a considerable wait before use
