I review Chromebooks for a living, and I install these 5 apps every time

[admin]

Just got a new Chromebook? Here are some tips on which apps you should install right away and how, from someone who's unboxed hundreds of new ChromeOS machines.

I review Chromebooks for a living, and I install these 5 apps every time : Read more

 

[Toms_Reader1967]

The great thing about Chromebooks, then (when invented) and now (proven, robust) is that you almost never need specific apps, and the windowing system used in the browser (just a single click to switch tabs!) is nearly perfect.

For example, I can open Google Docs in one tab, Microsoft 365 in another tab (almost fully-supported online edition, which can now even handle redlining), YouTube in another (not playing, just for a break), the NYTimes in another tab.

Use the browser's hamburger menu, or F11, to maximize the viewable area, then slide the mouse pointer to the screen top to drop back down the tab. Switch tabs (which equals switching apps in this context) easily with a click. Even, with an external monitor, have two de facto app windows open side by side for easy visual draft comparisons. (11" screens work best in full-screen only mode)

Apps, except for unsupported areas like video players (hence the Android version of VLC is loaded on my Chromebook), suck. No "tab switching", need to "switch" apps. Google is aso still wrestling with window sizing on Chromebooks for Android apps (it offers three sizing options - phone, tablet, and resizeable with a warning).

My main browser window is the equivalent of "Workspace #1. If I need a second "workspace", just open a new browser window with different tabs. How simple is that?

Thus my first choice is always run web browser-friendly "applications" just in a tabbed browser window. On Chromebooks browser memory seems better managed than on MSFT Windows.

If I want the look and feel of an app without the risks of Android, the hamburger menu in the browser lets me break out a web page as a pseudo application, essentially hiding the "frame" of the underlying browser window. (PWA - do we still use that term - Progressive Web App?).

I only resort to an actual Android app if the browser window or PWA conversion don't work. Hell, VLC.

There is one way in which the ability to use Android apps shines, but only in relation to Android tablets with obscenely short support cycles. Chromebooks now, generally speaking, have a much longer support cycle than most Android tablets. Since all Chromebooks need to run Android apps is Google Play and the app itself, both of which get frequently updated by Google in the Play Store, it follows that we can securely run Android on our Chromebook much longer than on our Android tablets. That's a big plus...IF you prefer the Android app look and feel over the browser window look and feel in the first place.

BTW Netflix will not run higher than 720p via the Android app, but resolution isn't capped in the Chromebook browser.

 

[rklrkl64]

Chromebooks can run Android, Linux (Debian) and ChromeOS apps out of the box, which is more than most laptops can do out of the box! The early weakness of ChromeOS on Chromebooks was its always-online nature, but this was resolved by local storage (Chromebooks now have reasonable local storage and many have a microSD card slot too) and the ability to run apps locally.

I picked up a 2-in-1 Chromebook recently for £171 ($233 inc tax) and it's quite an impressive device for the money. I installed VLC (Android) and LibreOffice (Linux) for offline document/media use, Firefox (Linux) for more customisable browsing and some of my favourite Android apps (Fotmob's app for football scores is way better than their cut-down Web version). With a microSD card added for £27, I now have a total of 768GB of local storage, which should be more than enough for the potentially 9 more years of support the device has.

Chromebooks in 2024 are great entry level laptops for basic tasks and there is a "Plus" range now with higher minimum specs (and a higher price to boot) should you want to do a bit more than the basics. ChromeOS is a lightweight OS compared to Windows, so a lower spec CPU and less RAM (8GB is fine - something you can't say about Windows 11!) still gives you a performant device. Now if only major OEMs would consider a full Linux distro pre-installed on similar hardware - that would be my dream laptop (no, I don't want ultra-expensive Linux laptops from Dell, Lenovo, System76 or Tuxedo).

 

[anscarlett]

Chromebooks can run Android, Linux (Debian) and ChromeOS apps out of the box, which is more than most laptops can do out of the box

wsl allows you to install any Linux distribution you choose. I'm currently running nixos via
https://github.com/nix-community/NixOS-WSL

 

[anscarlett]

BTW Netflix will not run higher than 720p via the Android app, but resolution isn't capped in the Chromebook browser.

Netflix runs in 4k hdr just fine on my rock5b running android12

 

[rklrkl64]

If you're absolutely stuck on Windows then, yes, WSL 2 is indeed a way to run Linux applications on Windows. However, you're still running the resource-intensive Windows underneath so it's really not going to run well on entry-level laptops. Personally, I'd use dual boot betwwen Linux and Windows or, if you rarely need to run Windows, single boot bare metal into Linux and then either try using Wine or Proton to run Windows apps/games or run a Windows VM in Linux (which can limit the CPU cores and RAM allocated to it).

Chromebooks are refreshing to me in that they're the only PC devices released by major OEMs that explicitly don't ship with and don't support Windows, which I see as a major bonus. Now if only major OEMs could do the same with Linux pre-installed instead...

 

[CajunMoses]

The way that the author uses a laptop is very different from the way that I do. So, no, I wouldn't have any use for the first four of his recommendations, even though I'd concede that they're great Android apps. For example, if I'm going to watch Tubi or any other video streamer, I'm going to be sitting in front of an actual TV, not a Chromebook. VLC, though, is different. There are lots of video formats that Chromebooks can't open. VLC has never failed to open any file format that I've thrown at it. So it truly is indispensable in my opinion. Along with that, I need the Google Home and Google Nest apps. If given a choice between a Web app and Android app version, I'd always strongly recommend sticking with the Web app.

 

[MiddleEarthTR]

The great thing about Chromebooks, then (when invented) and now (proven, robust) is that you almost never need specific apps, and the windowing system used in the browser (just a single click to switch tabs!) is nearly perfect.

For example, I can open Google Docs in one tab, Microsoft 365 in another tab (almost fully-supported online edition, which can now even handle redlining), YouTube in another (not playing, just for a break), the NYTimes in another tab.

Use the browser's hamburger menu, or F11, to maximize the viewable area, then slide the mouse pointer to the screen top to drop back down the tab. Switch tabs (which equals switching apps in this context) easily with a click. Even, with an external monitor, have two de facto app windows open side by side for easy visual draft comparisons. (11" screens work best in full-screen only mode)

Apps, except for unsupported areas like video players (hence the Android version of VLC is loaded on my Chromebook), suck. No "tab switching", need to "switch" apps. Google is aso still wrestling with window sizing on Chromebooks for Android apps (it offers three sizing options - phone, tablet, and resizeable with a warning).

My main browser window is the equivalent of "Workspace #1. If I need a second "workspace", just open a new browser window with different tabs. How simple is that?

Thus my first choice is always run web browser-friendly "applications" just in a tabbed browser window. On Chromebooks browser memory seems better managed than on MSFT Windows.

If I want the look and feel of an app without the risks of Android, the hamburger menu in the browser lets me break out a web page as a pseudo application, essentially hiding the "frame" of the underlying browser window. (PWA - do we still use that term - Progressive Web App?).

I only resort to an actual Android app if the browser window or PWA conversion don't work. Hell, VLC.

There is one way in which the ability to use Android apps shines, but only in relation to Android tablets with obscenely short support cycles. Chromebooks now, generally speaking, have a much longer support cycle than most Android tablets. Since all Chromebooks need to run Android apps is Google Play and the app itself, both of which get frequently updated by Google in the Play Store, it follows that we can securely run Android on our Chromebook much longer than on our Android tablets. That's a big plus...IF you prefer the Android app look and feel over the browser window look and feel in the first place.

BTW Netflix will not run higher than 720p via the Android app, but resolution isn't capped in the Chromebook browser.

I have owned three different Chromebooks, two Lenovo and one ASUS and all of them have performed very well for me EXCEPT with Android. I kept getting maximum RAM usage and could not figure out what was the problem. I found that after a lot of forum searching that turning off the Google Play Store my memory usage dropped considerably! I only use Chrome OS or Linux apps and get along just fine.

 

[Jj75]

VLC for Chromebook, even the latest version, is impossible to watch if you use subtitles, because it simply cannot process them, and instead overlays them on top of one another, so that there is this meaningless distracting mess at the bottom of the screen. This is more the shame because VLC colour rendering is so lovely compared with its competitors. But I watch with subtitles, partly because I can't follow the sound easily, partly as when I watch it's in noisy places, and most importantly because my partner's first language is not English, and that means no VLC. There are alternative apps which work but they have much duller colour rendering, and greyer blacks, as well as intrusive ads and even live Internet connection requirements (so no aeroplane watching for that one).

VLC really ought to fix that. Because it's not a functioning app as far as I'm concerned.

 

[MiddleEarthTR]

VLC for Chromebook, even the latest version, is impossible to watch if you use subtitles, because it simply cannot process them, and instead overlays them on top of one another, so that there is this meaningless distracting mess at the bottom of the screen. This is more the shame because VLC colour rendering is so lovely compared with its competitors. But I watch with subtitles, partly because I can't follow the sound easily, partly as when I watch it's in noisy places, and most importantly because my partner's first language is not English, and that means no VLC. There are alternative apps which work but they have much duller colour rendering, and greyer blacks, as well as intrusive ads and even live Internet connection requirements (so no aeroplane watching for that one).

VLC really ought to fix that. Because it's not a functioning app as far as I'm concerned.

Do you mean the Android version of VLC? I did not like it either so I use the Linux version (3.0.21 Vetinari) and it handles subtitles just fine. I can change sub position, size, color and font.

 

[Jj75]

Do you mean the Android version of VLC? I did not like it either so I use the Linux version (3.0.21 Vetinari) and it handles subtitles just fine. I can change sub position, size, color and font.

I believe it is the Android version - it's from the Play Store downloaded via my Lenovo Duet 5 Chromebook 4GB. I believe there is no other version for ChromeOS.

Thank you for the suggestion re Linux. Might you have any suggestion for a very low resource demanding Linux which someone without tech knowhow could install on a Chromebook with low ram please? My Duet 5 struggles with many tasks because of the low ram, even just running the system UI, so I don't think it can handle a virtual machine.

 

[MiddleEarthTR]

I believe it is the Android version - it's from the Play Store downloaded via my Lenovo Duet 5 Chromebook 4GB. I believe there is no other version for ChromeOS.

Thank you for the suggestion re Linux. Might you have any suggestion for a very low resource demanding Linux which someone without tech knowhow could install on a Chromebook with low ram please? My Duet 5 struggles with many tasks because of the low ram, even just running the system UI, so I don't think it can handle a virtual machine.

You need to confirm your CB can run Linux. All of mine do but some of the older models do not.

Here are all the Chromebooks that run Android and Linux apps

Does your device have Android app Chromebook support? How about Linux apps? Here are all the Chromebooks that support one or both.

www.androidauthority.com

***ALWAYS MAKE BACKUPS OF ANY FILES ON YOUR LOCAL DRIVE BEFORE STARTING***
I never had a problem losing files but I always make backups of everything.
I DO NOT run Android on this machine...

This is my model:
Lenovo IdeaPad Duet 3 Chromebook
11.0" (2000 x 1200)
Snapdragon 7cG2
4GB RAM
128GB eMMC
On my device I do this:

• Open settings
• Scroll down to and click on "About ChromeOS"
• Scroll down to and click on "Linux development environment"
• Start "Linux development environment"

https://support.google.com/chromebook/answer/9145439?hl=en
In forums it is commonly called crostini.
Here is a short video:

View: https/www.youtube.com/watch?v=Re8RYmnCaKg

When you enable Linux decide how much space to give Linux.
I divided mine half and half so I have around 70 GB allocated to Linux which is more than enough.
My linux is Debian version 12 (bookworm) As of 17 July 2024
I do regular updates using sudo apt update and sudo apt upgrade
If you know Linux you can install any apps you need.
Install VLC:
sudo apt install vlc
I also installed Nemo file manager:
sudo apt install nemo

Let us know if this works for you please.

 

[Jj75]

You need to confirm your CB can run Linux. All of mine do but some of the older models do not.

Here are all the Chromebooks that run Android and Linux apps

Does your device have Android app Chromebook support? How about Linux apps? Here are all the Chromebooks that support one or both.

www.androidauthority.com

***ALWAYS MAKE BACKUPS OF ANY FILES ON YOUR LOCAL DRIVE BEFORE STARTING***
I never had a problem losing files but I always make backups of everything.
I DO NOT run Android on this machine...

This is my model:
Lenovo IdeaPad Duet 3 Chromebook
11.0" (2000 x 1200)
Snapdragon 7cG2
4GB RAM
128GB eMMC
On my device I do this:

• Open settings
• Scroll down to and click on "About ChromeOS"
• Scroll down to and click on "Linux development environment"
• Start "Linux development environment"

https://support.google.com/chromebook/answer/9145439?hl=en
In forums it is commonly called crostini.
Here is a short video:

View: https/www.youtube.com/watch?v=Re8RYmnCaKg

When you enable Linux decide how much space to give Linux.
I divided mine half and half so I have around 70 GB allocated to Linux which is more than enough.
My linux is Debian version 12 (bookworm) As of 17 July 2024
I do regular updates using sudo apt update and sudo apt upgrade
If you know Linux you can install any apps you need.
Install VLC:
sudo apt install vlc
I also installed Nemo file manager:
sudo apt install nemo

Let us know if this works for you please.

Thank you very much indeed, this is very helpful. I'm preparing for going away but as soon as I have time I'll try what you've suggested!