Google details Windows apps support on Chrome OS

In an interview with the Verge Google group product manager for Chrome OS, Cyrus Mistry, has revealed how the company will bring Windows app support to Chrome OS.

The feature will work by integrating Parallels, the virtual machine commonly used on macOS, into ChromeOS, allowing users to boot a full version of Windows in a virtual machine on ChromeOS.

The feature will require a high-end ChromeBook, and will initially come to only Chromebooks in Enterprise. It will also require a full license for Windows 10.

In the future users will also be able to use Parallels to run Windows apps directly from the Chrome OS launcher, without the full Windows desktop, using Parallels’ Coherence feature.

“We worked with Parallels because they really have done this before,” Mistry explained. “They understand the concept of running an entirely separate OS within another OS. They’ve done it with Mac and they’ve done it with Linux.”

Mistry said Parallels offers “the best of both worlds,” and running Windows in a virtual machine was more secure than offering dual boot support.

Mistry said the feature will be available to enterprise users later this year, and that resellers can bundle Parallels Desktop with enterprise Chromebooks.

Enterprise Admins who are interested can register their interest here.

via XDA-Dev