NEW YORK: Google has launched its ARC Welder app for Chrome OS. This Chrome app is available for download on the Chromebooks as well as Chrome browsers for PC, Mac and Linux. Once installed, the ARC Welder serves as a tool to test out and publish Android apps to Chrome OS using the App Runtime for Chrome which is currently in its beta form.
Ars Technica who had managed to test out a hack in the original release in September had found out that there were some flaws in the system. The biggest problem at that time was that the applications ported to Chrome OS missed out on Google Play components that were essential for smooth running of an application. Apps which required Google Play services such as OAuth logins, Maps, in-app purchases, cloud-to-device messaging, Play Games support immediately crashed. Google has addressed these issues by including a couple of Google Play services such as Auth (OAuth2), GCM, Google+ sign-in, Maps, Location and Ads in the ARC Welder App.
The biggest advantage of this system made by Google will be that Android developers can take their applications not just to Chromebooks but also to the millions of people who are using the Google Chrome browser on desktops. To know more about the ARC Welder, you can visit the extension page on the Chrome Web Store, its documentation on the Chrome Developer website and its coverage on Engadget and OMGChrome.
