Googlebook Laptops Lack Chromebook-Style Linux App Support, Android Authority Reports

By contrast, ChromeOS lets users enable a Linux development environment in Settings. According to Android Authority, that setup creates a container for installing Debian packages and running them straight from the app drawer. Members of the Android Authority team said that while digging around in Googlebook OS, they could not replicate the same straightforward way of installing Linux apps as they could on a Chromebook. The report added that although there are plenty of new support pages for Googlebooks discussing new features, there is limited information on how to install or run Linux apps.

Google may promote Googlebooks as the evolution of its Chromebooks, but the report says the limitations of an Android-based interface are already peeking through. While Googlebooks easily run Android apps, the early crop of laptop devices lacks proper support for Linux apps, a crucial feature ChromeOS has supported for years, according to the report.

Android Authority's findings focus on the installation and visibility of Linux apps. On Googlebook, the process goes through Android’s Terminal rather than a dedicated Linux development environment, and installed Linux apps do not appear in the app drawer. That leaves users without the same launch point that ChromeOS provides, where Linux apps can be run from the app drawer alongside other applications.

The report does not say whether Google plans to add a ChromeOS-style Linux app setup to Googlebook in a future update. Google’s stated position, as cited by Android Authority, is that GUI Linux apps are not the main focus at present. The early Googlebook laptops otherwise run Android apps without difficulty, according to the report.