Google isn’t afraid to experiment, and as a result, the company ends up having to kill off a lot of products and services that didn’t end up being as successful as it had hoped. Chrome apps aren’t really experimental so much as outdated, but they fall into the same category as Google’s experimental stuff because most people don’t even know they exist and the company is killing them off in the near future. About one percent of Chrome users across Mac, Linux, and Windows are actively using Chrome apps, which is why Google announced on Friday that it’s killing them off in 2018.
How many of you actually use Chrome apps on your computers? Unless it’s running Chrome OS, chances are you don’t. This is why Google is deciding to retire Chrome apps from Windows, Mac and Linux. The Search Giant claims only 1% of Chrome users utilizing these three operating systems actually take advantage of Chrome apps. This is because this is software created with Chrome OS in mind. Chromebooks are fast, simple, easy to manage and very convenient, but the lack of applications really made it hard for the platform to grow; then packaged and hosted apps came into the scene. They were a way for Chromebooks to become more useful, and developers were able to have their apps used in multiple platforms. Their lackluster success in other platforms makes them not worth having around, though. The team believes it’s more valuable to simplify Chrome and lighten the browser. Chrome OS will keep these apps around, even though support for Android apps may take over. As you can see, it will be a slow process, but the result will ultimately be the same. But do you care? Have any of you been using Chrome apps on Windows, Mac or Linux? I feel like these computers have so much software around that Chrome apps are unnecessary.
Great Article!
Awesome post!