I'm not going to lie that it would be my top pick, but it's news and we need to cover it. It's been several months now he presented chrome OS Flex, an operating system very similar to Google's that aims to carve out a niche for itself among the more discreet teams. A few hours ago, its release became official, so interested users can now install the operating system in the form of a stable version.
The version that is available is chromeOS Flex 103, and as we said it is similar but not the same as the system that Google offers for its laptops. It lacks, perhaps, the most important thing: support for Android applications and the Play Store, with which I'm sure many of us would see this operating system for PC/Mac with different eyes that, as it is offered, leaves much to be desired.
chromeOS Flex does not support Android apps
For everything else, chromeOS Flex does include the Chrome browser, the same interface as chromeOS, cloud synchronization, Google Assistant, Family Linx, Smart Lock and the option to share files with devices connected to the same network.
Google has certified about 400 devices like they work with chromeOS Flex and expect that number to go up in the future. Being certified means that the audio (input and output), display, network, USB ports, webcams, and other components must work without issue.
The requirements to be able to install chromeOS Flex are:
- A computer with an Intel or AMD processor compatible with 64 bits.
- 4GB of RAM.
- 16GB of storage.
- That the system can be installed via USB.
- BIOS compatibility.
- A computer from 2010 or later.
Interested users can follow this tutorial to install chromeOS Flex.
It's a good option? Editor's opinion
Personally, without having tried it but having informed myself about what it brings and how it works, i would say no. Ever since it was called Chrome OS, Google's desktop operating system has been like a can't-want, basically a do-it-all browser. chromeOS from Chromebooks is no longer like that, as it supports Android apps and that does a lot, but this version for PC or Mac is very limited.
In my opinion, in Linux there are many options that are much more worthwhile, and more for those who are not afraid to try. For example, Lubuntu (LXQt), Raspberry Pi OS (if the computer is 32bit) or even many distributions with Xfce will offer the same as any other Linux, without limitations. And if you want/can do without the desktop itself, i3wm or any window manager works fine on pretty much any hardware.
But that's my opinion, and if chromeOS Flex exists it's because Google thinks it will be used. Right now it's official, and time will tell if Google was right or if we passed on its new proposal.
You are absolutely right, it is just a system that is based on using the browser for everything, without the possibility of installing anything. And that leaves us with a silly box with a very "cool" look and that's it. That look is the only thing in which it competes, as standard, with lubuntu for example, but in terms of possibilities of use, any distro beats it by far.