In July, Google announced a partnership with Parallels to run Windows 10 apps on a device running Chrome OS. In an interview with the editors of The Verge, Google has now explained what that will look like in the future. This is how Windows apps will soon also work on your Chromebook.
Parallels Desktop will boot a full copy of Windows 10 for the initial implementation of the upcoming feature. The full version of Microsoft’s operating system is then displayed in a Chrome OS window, just as it is done on a Mac, for example.
The window in which Windows is displayed looks exactly like any Android app on the Chrome OS. At the top you will find three buttons on the right: minimize, enlarge and close. There is also a deep integration between both operating systems. When you open a program on your Chrome OS that you would normally open on Windows, the virtual environment is started immediately and you automatically get access to Windows.
However, this may change in the future. Google has indicated that in a while you should also be able to open a Windows app without booting the system. But we are not that far yet.
Windows on Chrome OS is for the business user
It is intended that you purchase Parallels Desktop as a company, because the function is aimed at the business market. The option will soon be offered through the Chrome Enterprise Upgrade program. You also need to have a valid Windows license.
Parallels is meant for real power users. Your Chromebook should be well-stocked and have at least an Intel Core i5 or Intel Core i7. If your Chromebook has a fan, you need at least 8 GB of RAM. If it doesn’t have a fan, you need 16 GB.
While the final hardware requirements have yet to be released, it does mean that the average user is likely to get nothing or little from Windows on Chrome OS. The hardware requirements as they are now are quite substantial – and consumers often buy such a Chromebook because you get a good laptop for a relatively low price.
With this move, Google is in any case targeting the business market that is transitioning from offline programs to working in the cloud. These are companies that are in a kind of intermediate phase: they still need a few legacy apps, but for the rest they already work completely online. And when the step is finally made, they have excellent hardware in house that works entirely in the cloud.
The option is planned to be launched later this year.
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