The Chrome OS space is advancing more than ever in the ripe tech-forward age of 2022. The developers released a new version of this sleek operating system a few days back. Still, it appears that Google has stepped up its game a big notch by releasing a whole new operating system instead as of late. You got that right. It’s time that the world takes a good, close look at Chrome OS Flex—the new boy in town with a brilliant ideology in mind.
Chrome OS Flex is supposed to reinvigorate long forgotten, old PCs and breathe new life into them again. The idea excites us as it does with the whole world, but don’t get all too smiley-faced for now. The prospect is still in its “early access” phase, so you won’t be able to use a stable version of Chrome OS Flex at the time of writing. However, the developer has promised to bring the new operating system to the stable channel in the forthcoming months.
On, and one more important thing. Remember CloudReady? Prepare to pay your respects and bid it farewell. It’s getting replaced by Chrome OS Flex as soon as it gets off the developer update channel. No CloudReady user will be left in the dust when that happens. All of them will get a free upgrade to Chrome OS Flex when the time comes, as the developer has announced. For now, let’s talk about Chrome OS Flex and how it differs from Chrome OS.
Chrome OS Flex – Convert any PC or Mac to Chromebook
At its core, Chrome OS Flex is another variant of Chrome OS with the only major exception: it is easily accessible on desktop Windows PCs and even Macbooks. Like how Chrome OS operates, Chrome OS Flex is based on the cloud, meaning that any remotely heavy-duty process won’t take place on your device’s local hardware. Therefore, this point alone negates the need for moderate to high-end specifications in a computer.
Chrome OS Flex Test Build Screenshot
Suppose the device doesn’t suffer from a significant hardware issue and can boot up fine. In that case, Chrome OS Flex will readily take over it, essentially reawakening it afresh and allowing it to become faster than ever. The whole idea has been birthed from another well-reputed operating system called CloudReady, which was under the ownership of a company called Neverware. In 2020, however, tech tycoon Google bought Neverware and is now the proud owner of this brand.
- Recommended Read: CloudReady vs. Chrome OS: Key Differences
To understand Chrome OS Flex best, you first need to have a brief concept of Neverware. Let us explain. You see, Neverware’s CloudReady can be imagined as an operating system similar to Chrome OS in many ways. However, keep in mind that these are two distinct software and have their unique differences. Their likenesses can be best understood in speed, stability, and performance.
Both Chrome OS and CloudReady have always been cloud-centric. In addition, the two are based on a single source, which is Chromium OS. Therefore, both of these have several similarities. As for the differences, CloudReady does not support Android applications and thus also doesn’t comprise the Google Play Store. Chrome OS has a particular Verified Boot feature that allows it to start up by being malware-conscious. CloudReady doesn’t support this functionality as well.
If you’re interested in finding out more about the key differences between Chrome OS and CloudReady, check out this article. So, now that you have a good idea of what exactly is CloudReady, it’s worth noting down that Chrome OS Flex is replacing CloudReady for itself. After Google provides the first stable release of this tip-top operating system, all current CloudReady users will be liable to receive a free upgrade to Chrome OS Flex. Now, isn’t that cool?
Chrome OS Flex is supported by Google can be downloaded painlessly on any Windows device or Macbook. You can even install Chrome OS Flex on a Macbook that’s as old as 2009. Let us now get into the best features of this fresh release, so you can better acknowledge what all the fuss is about regarding Chrome OS Flex.
Best features of Chrome OS Flex
Free and widely available
Chrome OS Flex wouldn’t cost a dime for you to download and install on Windows devices and Macbooks. This is, perhaps, what makes this latest innovation by Google so great. The concept will essentially remove the need for IT departments of various sectors to transition their hardware by going through a ton of effort and spending a lot of money.
Chrome OS Flex is free and takes no more than 5-10 minutes to install on a device. In addition, Google will soon release a comprehensive list of verified devices that will continue to get active support from the developer. The scenario will be similar to the end-of-life date of Chromebooks.
However, the best is that you will still be able to install Chrome OS Flex on any device that you may have, whether it’s on the list of certified devices or not. Got excited yet? There’s a lot more where that came from.
Unrivaled speed
Chrome OS Flex Test Build Screenshot – Launcher
Being based on the same source code—Chromium OS—users can expect the same level of dominance in speed and reliability as Chrome OS in Chrome OS Flex. The operating system will mechanically make your dusty laptops brand-new again and allow you to utilize them effectively once again. One of Chrome OS’ biggest boasting points is its speed.
It performs like a 1700-horsepower racecar soaring through the tracks in all its glory without a single bump in sight. The same quality will be carried over to Chrome OS Flex, and you won’t be able to tell the difference between the two in that regard—we can assure you.
Consistent updates
Since Chrome OS Flex is on course to join the Chrome OS family, you can expect consistent updates and an unflinching routine from Google in that regard. However, the focus from the developer remains on security patches for Chrome OS Flex, bringing end-users “proactive security against latest threats,” as Google likes to term it. If that’s how it will play out with Chrome OS Flex, you can forget about ever having to install any antivirus software for your device.
Some of Chrome OS’s most well-established security features (and now Chrome OS Flex) include a read-only system mechanism and a sandbox implementation that doesn’t let malware become malignant and traverse to other applications and system files. You’ll also be able to sport Enhanced Safe Browsing on your Chrome OS Flex device, so the browser will automatically give you a nudge and prevent you from getting trapped by malware-ridden sites on the internet.
Integration with the Google Admin console
Chrome OS Flex devices will become a part of the Google Admin console, thereby allowing administrators to manage these devices right alongside Chromebooks easily. This feature makes the operating system a blessing for enterprises around the world. Businesses will be able to deploy Chrome OS Flex in their IT departments without breaking a sweat, and this is bound to be nothing but utterly convenient.
Make your device whole again
If you’ve been thinking of what to do that with that washed-out device sitting in your attic somewhere collecting nothing but dust, give Chrome OS Flex a shot. You’ll be replacing the rugged, slow, and weary performance of this device with an operating system that will be as fast and secure as a brand-new one. You might not have to throw your old devices out now that Chrome OS Flex is here to stay.
Easy installation
While we will provide our readers with an in-depth article on installing Chrome OS Flex on a Windows device or Macbook, it’s worth mentioning an aspect of this scenario. Chrome OS Flex will be downright facile to install. You have to download the operating system from the internet, get it on an external drive with enough space, and boot the relevant device with the drive to trigger its installation. In about 10 minutes, you will be sitting proudly with a fully functional device at your disposal.
How does Chrome OS Flex differ from Chrome OS?
Chrome OS Desktop
While Chrome OS Flex comes pretty close to delivering an amazingly effective Chrome OS experience, a particular set of differences set the two apart. For one, Chrome OS Flex isn’t prebuilt like Chrome OS is on Chromebooks. Due to their hardware and other technical specifications, the latter is preinstalled on these slick devices. Therefore, optimization and everything of the like is a guaranteed entity here.
On the other hand, we have Chrome OS Flex that can be separately downloaded and installed on Windows laptops and Macbooks. Google has made it outright painless to grab the operating system from their website, copy it on a USB drive, and plug it into the device you want to install Chrome OS Flex now. Chrome Ready will have a detailed article coming up for the installation of Chrome OS Flex, so do stay tuned for that.
As for the other difference, users won’t be able to access the Google Play Store or any other Android app for that matter on Chrome OS Flex at present. Unfortunately, this is something that we can only look forward to down the road. Unlike Chrome OS, you have to remember that Chrome OS Flex is still in its “early access” phase in the developer update channel. It hasn’t braved the stable channel yet, so it might be worth hoping for this functionality shortly.
In addition, there isn’t an exceptionally blurry line between the security priorities of Chrome OS and Chrome OS Flex. Right out the gate, the latter won’t have the same level of end-to-end reliability as Chrome OS. However, this doesn’t mean that you will have to stay unsettled security-wise when using a device running Chrome OS Flex. It’s just that Chrome OS has set the bar so high for safekeeping that it’ll probably take the Flex-edition a while to reach the same level.
Other than that, there’s no other substantial difference between the two operating systems that have surfaced as of yet. Chrome OS Flex measures up to be a game-changer for enterprises, businesses, and schools all across the spectrum, simply because of its no-cost business model and ubiquitous availability.
Conclusion
Chrome OS Flex measures up to be the talk of the town with the level of anticipation it’s building up. After all, the concept that it employs is nothing but fantastic, and we’re pretty pleased with the whole idea. We no longer have to throw out our worn-out devices in the trash or put them up for sale with a dirt-cheap price tag.
Instead, we can power them up with the efficacy of Chrome OS Flex one more time and make sure each last drop of juice oozes out before finally putting the devices to rest. After all, who would say no to the speed, stability, and winning formula borrowed by both Chrome OS and CloudReady of Chrome OS Flex reinvigorating forgotten Windows PCs and Macs?
The future of the Chrome operating system and related software seems brighter than ever as we prepare to welcome new additions to the Chrome OS family.
3 comments
I really love my chromebook, even though it has a 10″ screen and an arm processor. So when I saw this product release, I was excited, and installed it on my old Dell Inspiron. But it’s quite disappointing, even though I am on the supported model list. This is NOT the same ChromeOS as on my Chromebook!
1. Where is the speed? The literature talks about improving the speed of my computer. Before I installed it, my Inspiron was faster than my Lenovo Duet. Now it runs slow, and it takes even longer for the browser to start.
2, What are these apps? Look at Photos. It has a different UI than on my Chromebook. It appears to be slow, sloppy html. PWA’s are slow, no matter what Google keeps saying.
3. Where is developer mode. I’m a developer. I was hoping to have a dev machine so I don’t muck up my Chromebook.
4. Pricing. It says “Try it for free”, but whenever I see that wording, it means it will be a pay model in the future.
Is there a roadmap somewhere that explains what of the remaining work Google intends to do? And when?
Broken OS of the old CloudReady. CloudReady worked great (such a great OS) and Chrome OS Flex is broken on systems that worked just fine with CloudReady. I couldn’t even get it to boot to the install screen. Use another Linux distribution like Ubuntu instead.
I’ve loaded Chrome OS Flex on a Dell Inspiron 15 5570 with a Core i5-7200U processer, a 1TB hard drive and 16Gb of Ram. You might say that’s much more than Chrome needs, but bear with me.
I am also using the Linux environment to run Thunderbird, Paperwork and LogSeq and a few other Linux programs.
I’m doing that using Flatpak installations; this ensures absolutely everything is running sandboxed, and is ridiculously easy to update from a Linux command prompt: “Flatpak update”.
As you probably know, every Chrome tab and everything else in the Chrome environment runs sandboxed too, and Chrome OS and browser both update automatically.
I’ve never had such an elegant, stable environment before where I can concentrate on my work, not the software/OS. Even running Chrome with 40 tabs open, and a couple of Linux applications running I still have an overhead of 4Gb of RAM.
My only complaint so far is that Zoom struggles to run all components.
But all-in-all a great success!