Google Brings OS That Can Turn Old PCs And Macs Into Chromebooks

JAKARTA - Google has just announced a new operating system, Chrome OS Flex, a free cloud-based OS made to turn an old PC or Mac into a Chromebook.

This new OS has apparently been developed by Google a few years after it acquired Neverware, the maker of CloudReady, in 2020. It is made for schools and businesses that have an old PC or Mac that crashes after years of use.

However, anyone with access to a USB drive can use it to give an older PC or maybe even a low-powered one a new lease of life.

In this case, Google had the idea to bring the full Chrome OS Flex experience to almost any computer. However, the main issue to deal with is the sheer number of PC configurations out there that could hinder the adoption of Chrome OS Flex.

Google's Director of Product Management for Chrome OS, Thomas Riedl, said that the installation experience is still a little difficult for consumers if they have to go into the BIOS and configure their machine to boot from a USB drive.

Both Chrome OS and Chrome OS Flex use the same codebase and will follow the same release rhythm. To the user, the two systems should look and feel nearly identical. Google is very clear, that this is still a very early release and unfortunately users can't expect everything to work flawlessly yet.

Launching TechCrunch, Wednesday, February 16, then, will Google bring Android apps? A Google spokesperson said the team is currently focused on building the OS experience, but has no plans to add support for the Google Play Store and Android Apps to Chrome OS Flex.

"But of course, we're continuing to evaluate how to improve Chrome OS Flex in the future," the spokesperson said.

Unfortunately, this new operating system can only be used for older Macs, not the latest ones, especially the newer M1 devices. Since it's based on the work of CloudReady, there's also an enterprise component here.

All the usual IT management capabilities that apply to Chrome OS also apply to Chrome OS Flex. Companies can also apply their Chrome OS license to Chrome OS Flex devices.