Google killing Chrome apps on Windows

Three years back, Google launched Chrome apps which would run within Chrome browser. At that time, Chrome apps were able to run offline, send notifications, and connect to hardware unlike websites. Since then, the web standards have evolved and most web browsers now support features like service worker and web push to build robust Web Apps. So, Google has now decided to kill Chrome apps. They will be removing support for packaged and hosted apps from Chrome on Windows and other platforms over the next two years.

As we continue our efforts to simplify Chrome, we believe it’s time to begin the evolution away from the Chrome apps platform. There are two types of Chrome apps: packaged apps and hosted apps. Today, approximately 1% of users on Windows, Mac and Linux actively use Chrome packaged apps, and most hosted apps are already implemented as regular web apps.

Existing Chrome apps will remain accessible on all platforms, and developers can continue to update them. In the second half of 2017, the Chrome Web Store will no longer show Chrome apps on Windows. In early 2018, users on these platforms will no longer be able to load Chrome apps.