Gizcoupon reported on May 11th that following the release of the necessary “cross-device service” component in April, Google has officially announced that Chromebooks now allow streaming applications from your Android phone.
Google designed the streaming of Android apps to “complete quick tasks, such as replying to a conversation, checking the status of a ride or delivery, and editing a shopping list.” You can launch it through one of the following three ways:
- Via a notification in the messaging app
- Through the “recently used apps” list in Phone Hub
- You can access ‘all apps’ through the ‘recently used apps’ list in Phone Hub
Streaming of Android applications is available for Pixel 4a and newer devices running Android 13+ as well as some Xiaomi devices, including 12T, 12T Pro, 13, and 13 Pro. Your Android phone and Google Chromebooks must be on the same Wi-Fi network (not all public/private networks are supported) and physically close to each other.
It is worth noting that if your current network environment does not support app streaming, you can “use Instant Tethering to place both devices on the same LAN.” (Gizcoupon note: Instant Tethering is Google’s convenient hotspot service.)
Google reminds users that app streaming sessions may terminate if the user stops the relevant operation, the phone is too far from the Chromebook, or a connection error occurs. In addition, “when you try to close the window, the app window will terminate the ongoing activity,” and a system notification will let you “end the streaming” at any time.