Google Chrome is now most used internet browser in PC. Good thing about Chrome browser is that it lies in the variety of the extensions that enable the integration of additional functions in the app or browser. Chrome actually supports Apps that can designed for Chrome OS, however there is a way to run Android app in any Chrome browser. You can learn how to run android app in chrome from this post.
How to run Android app in Chrome
1) We install Archon Custom Run time
The first thing we need to do is to install the custom version of ARC for Chrome. For this, we will need Google Chrome version 37 or higher.
- Archon’s download from here
- Unpack the archive
- Go to the menu Chrome extensions via Menu -> Tools -> Extensions
- We enable developer mode in the upper right
- Select “Load unpacked extension”
- We select the folder where you extracted the Archon
- Archon is now operating on our Chrome browser. Probably there will appear an error message, but there is nothing to worry.
2) We install the Android App
At this point we just have to install any Android application. This process is not as straightforward as it may be to download an app from PlayStore smartphone or Android Tablet. Fortunately, the Android community is already working to find out which applications are compatible with Chrome.
Currently, you can find the compatible apps in this subreddit and this document to Google Drive.
Warning: the distribution of modified APK is not always legal.
Download the apk, a free app is a great harm to the developer, not as much as that of a paid app of course. Do not exploit this opportunity to download some Android app. We download only free apps or who have already purchased. Now that we have a zip containing the APK you want to install, we will proceed with the same procedure by which we installed Archon.
- Unpack the archive of our app
- Let’s go to the menu Chrome extensions via Menu -> Tools -> Extensions
- We enable developer mode in the upper right
- Select “Load unpacked extension”
- We select the folder where you find the APK
The application should now appear in the app launcher of Chrome, sometimes without the icon. If we see another error message not worry. What is it, that we want to use the app that has not yet been amended to Chrome? In this case we use another procedure more complicated than before. Ready to proceed?
What if the Android app is not listed?
To run Android app on Chrome, we will have to make some changes. To do this there is a convenient tool, but first we need the APK that we want to change. We can take it directly from our device, if we have it installed Here it is:
First install ASTRO File Manager
1. Open Astro
2. Open the menu on the left and select the app and click tools “App Mgr”
3. We select the app you want to remove from your device
4. Select “Backup”
5. We select a folder to your liking (possibly on SD card)
6. Open the folder and copy the apk file on your PC
Now, is the time to install the APK ChromeOS Tool to automatically change the APK that we want to run on a PC. Here are the instructions according to the operating system that we use.
Windows
1. Download the file msi node.js (not the exe file)
2. We install node.js.
3. In a command prompt, execute the following string: command prompt, run the command: npm install apk ChromeOS-g
OS X / Linux
- In a terminal run the command: sudo apt-get install npm
- (For Ubuntu): execute the command: sudo apt-get install lib32stdc ++ 6 node.js
- Download
- Unpack the tar.gz file you have downloaded
Open a terminal in the location of the file you just extracted, and type these commands in order (ENTER after each line): ./ to configure. Execute the following command: sudo npm install apk ChromeOS-g.
Now we have installed the tool to edit the APK. Let’s see how to use it:
1. Open a terminal command in the position where we extracted the apk to edit.
2. Execute this command: ChromeOS-apk [FILE NAME APK].
3. We put the package name of the app if prompted. You can find this name in Play Store from a web browser.
4. Enjoy !