Chromebooks in 2022 house what is now one of the world’s most popular operating systems, guaranteeing profound efficiency in work and play alike. These slick devices are integrated with the functionality of Google Play and the Linux Terminal, so you won’t find a lackluster of having adequate applications to work with. Come to talk about it. This is the raison d’etre of the article we’ve brought forth today.
Join us as we cover the top 10 Android applications to have on your Chromebook and pump the device full of functionality. You’ll see a major difference in how you work with the device by the time you’re using all of these designated apps following your use case. In any scenario, however, we recommend having all these programs up and running on your Chromebook for nothing but the best results.
Let us dive right into this listicle without any further ado.
- Recommended from Chrome Ready: Top 20 Google Play Store apps for Chromebooks.
10 of the best Android apps that you should have on Chrome OS
The following is our round-up of the most high-quality Android apps to have on your Chromebook. Before we get started, though, it’s worth mentioning how dated Chromebook models may or may not have the functionality of Google Play. Therefore, you might as well check our guide on all those Chromebooks that run the Play Store and Linux to make a steady confirmation, especially if you know you’re using an older device.
1. Spotify – Best music streaming app
Spotify’s interface on Chrome OS
Starting this list of some tip-top Android apps to get on your Chromebook is Spotify, the undisputed king of all music players in the mobile operating system space. Spotify is where the world comes to either listen to music by great creators or become an artist themselves, making the entire domain more promulgated than ever. It boasts more than 80 million+ audio tracks for you to relish, immerse yourself in, and kick off your day just right with.
Moreover, the best part is that Spotify can be installed or used on Chromebooks in various ways. First off, we have the Spotify web player that works within the Chrome browser and allows seamless music streaming for billions of people worldwide. Next comes the Spotify web app that can be downloaded on Chromebooks for seamless merrymaking and enjoyment.
The last of the many ways you can start using Spotify on Chrome OS pertains to the Google Play Store, which is what we’ve been meaning to get to now. The Play Store variant of the famous music streamer is exceptionally optimized because it features full-screen support and top performance levels without lagging, bugs, or glitches. If you’d like to know how to try out Spotify on this sleek operating system, check out our guide on playing Spotify on a Chromebook.
- Related read: Top 10 music players on Chromebooks.
2. Zoom – Best video conferencing app
Zoom on Chrome OS
Zoom is another top-tier Android application that users effortlessly enjoy on their Chromebooks to boot. This Microsoft product makes video conferencing easy to handle and feature-filled, given the amount of functionality it induces within its functional user interface. Zoom lets you utilize its cloud-based services to host or join webinars, high-quality video conferences, and other top-end features like whiteboarding on the screen.
Moreover, each Zoom session is protected with the Secure Socket Layer (SSL) technology alongside AES 256-bit encryption, so you can rest easy knowing that no one is spying on your Chromebook. The free plan of Zoom, which comes with the application without purchasing anything, lets 100 participants join at a single given time. On top of this is the co-annotation potential of Zoom that allows different users to project at once and illustrate the screen painlessly.
- Check out this detailed guide on using Zoom on a Chromebook for step-by-step details and instructions.
3. Discord – Best community-based chat app
Discord on Chrome OS
Discord is a chat messenger application at its core that’s loaded to the brim with features. Its main focus is on increasing community interactions between people and letting individuals talk to each other in channels, similar to how Slack does it for people in dedicated workspaces. Presently, Discord is the top-grossing application in the ” Communication ” category on the Google Play Store, offering text-based, voice, and video calling potential on the fly.
In addition to just experiencing this app from the perspective of a regular end-user, there are customized moderation tools and permissions states that can group your acquaintances. In addition, you can host meetings for local communities that you’re in or perhaps, make all the gaming fans around your region come together and partake in exciting discourse. You can even create moderators yourself and allot specific permissions to users in a channel.
- Related guide: How to install and use Discord on Chromebook
4. WhatsApp Messenger – Best chat app in general
WhatsApp on Chrome OS
WhatsApp on its own is one of the most downloaded applications on the Google Play Store and is deserving of the top spot that it ever so proudly has managed to grab. Boasting solid statistics of having more than a whopping 5 billion downloads across the spectrum, you’ll find this famed chat messenger app installed on every phone you see, whether your friend, family member, or a random person.
Moreover, WhatsApp is lightweight and only sports around a 33 MB file size. In addition, the app uses a mobile layout on Chrome OS, which means that it works in a fully optimized manner for Chromebooks. You can lay your worries to rest regarding any dismal performance levels that WhatsApp might measure up to on these slick machines. As for the number of features, expect voice calling, video chatting, instant file sharing, and compatibility for multiple file formats.
5. VLC for Android – Best offline music streaming app
VLC for Android
VLC for Android is a terrific application—we’ll say it right out the gate. It attributes to a no-frills experience decorated with simplicity from top to bottom. In our curated list of the top free apps to listen to music offline on Chromebooks, VLC managed to grab the top spot just like that, and there’s no doubt why. First off, it’s exceptionally light on the system and doesn’t even drop in terms of performance for one second.
It primarily takes away the requirement of getting any media codecs, as with traditional and other means. The player is just able to thoroughly take control of any media file on a device while seamlessly supporting streaming in an equal measure. Furthermore, there is an abundance of plugins that you can download for the VLC player. In this way, you can extend the base functionality of this app and take it miles above its standard form.
6. Netflix – Best app for entertainment and recreation
Netflix on Chrome OS
Netflix is something that needs no introduction to someone who’s been even remotely keeping up with the world of digital entertainment. This giant of the industry has a lot to owe to Netflix in terms of its growth, success, and outright boom into the homes of billions of people. Netflix features over 3,500 movies and about 1,800 television shows for people to watch and enjoy.
The application is available on various platforms, and Chrome OS is no exception. The Netflix web player that works on the Chrome browser is great, but if you prefer an installed application instead, turn to the Google Play Store, and you will find your requirements met. Netflix even sports its series of original, homebrewed content called Netflix Originals. These are top-of-the-line shows curated for specific target audiences.
If you’d like to learn how to install and watch Netflix on a Chromebook, check out the interlinked guide for an enlightening experience.
7. Picsart Photo and Video Editor – Best app for editors
Picsart on Chrome OS
Furthering this list is another kind of application, although still top-rate, Picsart Photo and Video Editor. The implementation of this app is one of the best ways to edit photos on a Chromebook, given its profound functionality and a broad range of features. The photo editor has amassed more than 500 million downloads on the Google Play Store, with innumerable positive reviews backing up the mobile application’s name.
- Related read: How to install and use Picsart on Google Drive.
Out of all the best tools for editing images on a Chromebook, Picsart holds a special place in every Chrome OS user’s heart. It’s light on the system and doesn’t consume system resources in heavy quantities to bog down the operating system. As for the number of features that Picsart boasts, you’ll undoubtedly enjoy its versatile variety of included filters, effects, stickers, and other retouching functionalities. Time to embrace a new level and make your great photos even better.
8. SuperVPN – Best lightweight VPN
SuperVPN on Chrome OS
If you’re looking for robust, free VPN software for your Chromebook, our personal choice will nudge you toward SuperVPN. We stumbled upon this application accidentally while looking for a good, free-to-use VPN once, and the rest is history. We’ve been employing the services of SuperVPN for well over three years, and it hasn’t disappointed since.
It’s minimal with ads, given that it’s free of cost and features a variety of data centers from all across the world. While the application doesn’t offer full-screen support on Chromebooks, we couldn’t care less. You probably don’t need all that stuff either since the role of a VPN resides outside of its working interface, not within.
9. PUBG Mobile – Best Android app in the “Shooters” category
PUBG Mobile on Chrome OS
PUBG Mobile is one of the most successful video game franchises in the iOS and Android gaming domains, offering a best-in-class battle royale experience with outclass gameplay mechanics. This game has over 1 billion downloads on the Google Play Store with millions of genuine, positive reviews. This title is one of the defining instances of high-quality gaming on a budget, particularly on Chromebooks, where these seemingly simple devices are transformed into battle stations.
If you’re after an application on Chrome OS that will keep you hooked for the most amount of time, look no further than the diverse offerings of PUBG Mobile. The game in question tends to stay ever-green in terms of the content the developers push out for it consistently. After all, this is a live-service game where there’s no continuation in the plot or storyline, and the focus is purely on gameplay.
10. Genshin Impact – Best Android app in the “Adventure games” category
Genshin Impact
Genshin Impact finishes our list with a bang, offering surreal third-person gameplay that’s second to none in the mobile gaming space. You start as an adventurer in a buzzing, gloomy world called Tevyat, featuring elemental powers that no one has ever seen before. The title begins with a slow pace by gradually introducing the player to the vast stretches of Tevyat. Eventually, the protagonist is prompted to build a dream team of heroes to brave the terrors ahead.
This action-adventure RPG is one of the most gorgeous-looking games you’ll ever experience on Chrome OS. The visual quality of Genshin Impact is just outright breathtaking for a mobile game, not to mention the engaging combat system and the free open-world gameplay. Little can outmatch the overall impression that this role-playing title makes right from the get-go. We highly urge you to try Genshin Impact on your Chromebook.
Conclusion
Chromebooks are better used when you’ve got the best Android applications installed on the system. After all, the whole purpose of this intervention was to better Chrome OS as a whole and introduce a broader scope of functionality to the operating system.
It’s best combined with the Linux Terminal that allows for installing desktop-grade software and applications, like OpenShot Video Editor and some of the other top apps on the list. All of the aforementioned Android apps for Chrome OS are a must-have, so do let us know in the comments section when you’ve tried them out.
As always, Chrome Ready wishes you good luck!
- Continue reading: Top food delivery apps for Chromebook.
