Google Makes Linux Apps On Chrome OS Official

Alongside a plethora of other announcements in kicking off Google's 2018 I/O event, following recent rumors and indications in their dev channel, Google has officially confirmed support for "Linux Apps" on Chrome OS.

Google has begun the roll out of allowing Linux applications to run on Chrome OS natively by means of a Debian-based virtual machine. Other Linux distribution support is expected in the future and the initial support is for Google's high-end Pixelbook.

This support is available via Project Crostini and is a proper solution compared to past open-source attempts for getting Linux applications/distributions running on Chromebooks. The VM will be able to access your downloaded files and other basic rights but being sandboxed otherwise for security reasons. APT and friends will work within this VM from the terminal as will graphical applications, assuming your Chromebook/Chromebox is powerful enough.

The initial Linux Apps support for Chromebooks is available via the Chrome OS Dev Channel and there is an experimental enable-cros-container flag for enabling the functionality. This support will be expanded as the year moves on.

Also announced today as part of Google I/O 2018 is the Android P Beta and much more.