T-Mobile might just be on the way to becoming the favorite carrier
for those rocking a Samsung flagship. The carrier was the first to update the Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 edge to Android 5.1.1, and it has now started rolling out the latest version of Android for the Galaxy S5.
That’s right – Galaxy S5 users on T-Mobile just scored Android 5.1.1
before most Galaxy S6 and S6 edge owners around the world.
We’re not sure what changes are included in the update, but you can
expect to see performance improvements, support for RAW and lower ISO
values if you’re using a third-party camera app
that makes use of Lollipop’s camera API, and a slew of bug fixes. The
update should be rolling out over the air later today and over the
coming days, and you can also download the full firmware from our firmware section or update through Samsung Kies.
Have you received the Android 5.1.1 update on your Galaxy S5? Let us know in the comments! Firmware Details:
Sony's latest flagship phone, the Sony Xperia Z3,
comes with a new feature -- Remote Play. While it wasn't available when
the phone was launched, Sony recently turned it on. If you own a PlayStation 4,
you'll be able to stream games to your phone and play those games with
either a PS4 DualShock controller or with onscreen controls.
If you already own the Xperia Z2 or Z2 Tablet, the good news is that Sony has enabled Remote Play for those devices as well. And while modders have managed to get Remote Play working on other devices,
that involves a bunch of work that most people won't bother with, since
it involves rooting and flashing certain files to trick the app into
thinking it's running on a Sony-certified device.
Anyhow, if you already own the official devices, here's how to get started. I used the Xperia Z3 for this.
Setting up
Setting up is really easy. First, you'll need to download the PlayStation Remote Play app from the Google Play Store.
Remember how I said it doesn't work if you don't have a compatible
device? Google Play won't let you download the app unless you do.
Once you have the app installed on your Xperia phone, you'll need to
ensure that Remote Play is turned on in your PlayStation 4 settings.
Navigate to Settings > View Controller Guide > Register and turn it on.
When you first start up the app, it will ask if you want to connect
the PS4 DualShock controller to the phone. If you only have one
controller, I suggest skipping this step for now. This is because you
may need to use the controller when setting up and if you only have one,
you won't be able to do so since it will be locked to the phone until
you pair it again to the PS4. That said, you can return to doing this
any time by clicking on the settings button in the app.
Before
you begin pairing the Xperia phone and the PS4, make sure both devices
are on the same home network, then hit the search button on the app. If
the phone doesn't detect the PS4 (like in my case) automatically, you
can still use a number code to pair up your devices.
Ideally,
you'll want the PS4 to be on an Ethernet connection, but Remote Play
will still work even if both devices are on Wi-Fi. Also, if you're away
from home, you can also connect to the PS4, though it's best not to do
this with a mobile connection as it will chomp through your data plan.
Connecting this way does take a while, so it's really not recommended.
Latency was also an issue -- it takes ages for your input instructions
to be relayed back and forth through the Internet.
If you have a fast connection, you can also make the video quality better by heading to Settings > Video Quality for Remote Play and switch it to High.
Ta-da! All set up and ready to go.
One controller to rule them all
To get the best experience from Remote Play, it's best to use the
DualShock controller with the phone. You can buy a clip-on mount, the Game Control Mount GCM10,
that lets you attach your Z3 to the controller, though this method can
be tiring after a while as the combined weight is fairly hefty.
Just simply stick the Z3 to the suction cup and you're all set to go.
I suggest putting the phone somewhere you can see, such as on the
table, and holding the controller normally. It's also best to have a
dedicated controller if you think you'll be using Remote Play a good
deal, since it's quite tedious to switch between pairing with the phone
and the PS4.
If you choose not to use the DualShock controller,
the Remote Play app does have onscreen controls, but they take up quite a
bit of screen real estate, and aren't very useful for fast action games
such as Call of Duty.
What you can expect?
While streaming quality was generally smooth, the whole process is
really dependent on your router being able to handle the load
(especially if you choose the highest quality stream). Depending on the
action on the screen, you may see artifacts and noise that aren't
apparent in the original on the TV.
Also, if you're trying to
aim on the comparatively tiny display in first-person shooters, good
luck. Unless you have exceptional eyesight, you'll be squinting most of
the time or holding the screen really close to make things out.
Of course, if you're using Remote Play on the larger Z3 Tablet,
that shouldn't be a problem. Smaller screens are less of an issue with
games such as Driveclub, in which you're just driving a car around.
Sony and Android
Sony will keep this exclusive to its own devices for now (it needs to, given the company's dismal mobile business results),
so it's unlikely you'll see this feature appearing on other Android
handsets any time soon. That includes those that have been certified PlayStation-compatible, which only means they're able to use DualShock controllers to play Android games.
If you're feeling adventurous, you can always check out our guide on how to root your phone, and then with a bit of work, you can get Remote Play working on your Android device.
The Nexus 7 doesn't have an SD card slot, but it's easy to use an SD card reader to transfer your photos, video, apps,..
Google's Nexus 7 is both cheap and powerful and its small size makes
it easy to carry round. It has no SD card slot as standard, but with
only a few steps and minimal fuss, you'll quickly be able to transfer
your images from your digital camera's SD card.
You can then
review, edit and quickly share them without needing to boot up your PC.
It'll also allow you to watch videos stored on the card, meaning you
don't need to clog up your precious internal storage with huge video
files.
Apart from your Nexus 7 and your SD card full of great photos, you'll need three things:
From here, the process is delightfully simple. Download and
install the NMI app. Next, insert the OTG USB cable into the micro USB
port at the bottom of your Nexus. That then leaves you with a full-size
USB port, into which you'll pop your SD card reader and of course, your
SD card.
You can then open the NMI app (it will ask you if you want it to
automatically open when you connect an SD card) and browse your files,
saving the ones you want to your device.
From there, you can open any of your photos as normal with apps like
Snapseed or Instagram to edit and share to your heart's content. If
you're a budding photographer, being able to quickly review your images
on a bigger screen -- to check for correct focus etc -- could be
invaluable, especially as the Nexus is much easier to haul around than a
laptop.
It'll work with the Nexus 7 and the bigger Nexus 10 and the cable works with the Samsung Galaxy S3 without needing the app -- a browser automatically opens to show your snaps. I don't have every Android phone
made to hand so I'm not sure what the results will be on other devices,
but for the cheap price of the cable, it's probably worth a punt
anyway.
If you want to install other apps and use Android as it was meant to be
used, you'll need to root your Kindle Fire HD. Here's how.
The
Kindle Fire HD
is a cracking little tablet, but it's very much Amazon's way or the highway (the highway in this case being the
Google Nexus 7
) -- you're stuck with Amazon's customised interface,
Amazon's choice of apps, and Amazon's favourite services (like Lovefilm
and the Amazon Cloud Player). If you want to install other apps and use
Android as it was meant to be used, you'll need to root your device.
After rooting, you can revamp the Kindle Fire HD interface if you wish.
If you're new to rooting, it gives you advanced control over your tablet. While your Kindle Fire HD
won't seem much different after you've completed the process, you can
then do all kinds of tweaks and customisations -- remove the adverts,
run the stock version of Android, install apps from Google Play, and so on.
It's not all sweetness and light, though. You will void your warranty,
so you need to be extra careful about what apps you install in future.
Many users happily run rooted Android devices, and I worked through the
following steps without any major issues, but as you're turning off the
official Amazon-approved main road, CNET can't take responsibility for
where you end up.
If you're ready to supercharge your Kindle Fire HD and give it the life it's always dreamed of, read on.
Before
you start: this process has been tested on a Kindle Fire HD running the
newest 7.2.3 firmware (check your version by visiting Device/ About in
Settings). For help upgrading to this version, see the official Amazon page.
You'll also need a decent level of battery left on your
tablet (at least 60-70 per cent is recommended). Finally, make sure
everything precious on your Kindle Fire HD is safely backed up, should
the worst happen.
1. Download the rooting tools
You'll need a selection of rooting tools first of all, some available
from official sources and some put together by Android enthusiasts. Make
a new folder on your desktop to hold these files, called 'rooting' or
similar.
Download the ADB Drivers (debugging tools) for the Kindle Fire HD and Bin4ry's Root Tool listed on the first post from this thread on the Phandroid forums.
Run the Kindle Fire ADB drivers.exe executable first, clicking through
any warnings or security alerts you see. If the drivers fail to install
correctly, try switching to the alternative driver download link from
the forum post I just mentioned. Once this is done, extract the contents
of Root_with_Restore_by_Bin4ry_v17.zip to the same folder.
Install the drivers necessary for your computer to recognise the Kindle.
Now a fiddly bit. Go to your Windows user account folder (eg
C:\Users\Dave) and create a new folder called '.android.' -- Windows
will remove the final dot, but you must include it to begin with. Save a
plain text file into this folder called 'adb_usb.ini' containing just
the line '0x1949'. This informs the rooting tool what device you're
working with. Once that's done, your software is ready to go.
This is what your customised .ini file should look like.
2. Prepare your Kindle Fire HD
Next, turn your attention to your Kindle Fire HD and say goodbye to it
in its unrooted state. Open the Settings screen (tap 'More' on the
notification bar) then go into Device and ensure 'Allow Installation of
Applications' is set to 'On'. In the Security section tap the 'On'
button next to 'Enable ADB' (you'll receive another security alert,
which you can dismiss). These two settings let the rooting tools do
their stuff.
'Allow Installation of Applications' needs to be switched to On.
'Enable ADB' needs to be switched On too.
3. Root your device
Now for the rooting proper. Connect the Kindle Fire HD to your computer
using a USB cable and give it a few moments to be successfully detected.
Open up a command prompt window (type: cmd in the Start screen on Windows 8, or click Start and type: cmd in Windows 7 or Vista, then press Enter).
Switch to the folder containing your root files (type: cd desktop\rooting, where 'rooting' is the name of the file you created earlier, then press Enter). Then type the following command:
stuff\adb devices
and hit Enter.
You should see that an Android device has been detected (under 'List of
devices attached'). If it isn't, there's likely to be a problem with
your drivers -- try uninstalling and reinstalling them, or visiting
Device Manager in Control Panel and updating the Kindle drivers from
there (right-click on the Kindle entry and choose 'Update Driver
Software'). Ideally you should see two entries for your Kindle in Device
Manager. With the device detected successfully, type: RunMe and press Enter.
This
batch file contains the instructions needed to root your Kindle Fire
HD. Check the device is unlocked, then press '1' (on your computer's
keyboard) and Enter. Keep an eye on the Kindle's screen and choose
'Restore' when you get the option to.
The device will reboot and
may run slowly during the rooting process, but keep your eye on the
command prompt window for further instructions. Unlock your Kindle each
time it reboots, and when you see the confirmation message on your
computer, the tablet has been successfully rooted. Your customisations
can begin!
You'll see a confirmation message once the rooting is complete.
The Kindle Fire HD is more difficult to root than many other Android
devices, and the procedure doesn't always run smoothly -- the plethora
of forum threads across the Web on the topic are testament to this.
If you're experiencing problems I'd recommend this excellent thread on Phandroid,
which I'm indebted to for helping with this guide. After the initial
post you'll find a list of issues and potential troubleshooting fixes.
In
some cases it may be necessary to download the full Android SDK from
Google; in other cases running a factory reset on your Kindle Fire HD
before attempting the above steps may resolve your problem. I wouldn't
want to put you off, however -- I managed the job in an hour with only a
couple of minor hiccups. Keep an eye on CNET UK's How To section for some ideas on how to make use of your newly unrooted Kindle.
If you run into problems check the drivers are successfully installed.
Tony Stark spends his fair share of time rocketing through the sky
and blasting his foes in the Iron Man movies, and those activities form
the cornerstone of the Iron Man 3 game. You’ll fly through a variety of
environments, scooping up power-ups and currency, dodging hazards, and
shooting down villains. The rewards you earn can advance and unlock over
a dozen new Iron Man suits with different capabilities and special
attacks.
The game defaults to tilt controls when first installed, which can be
cumbersome if you’re playing in a public place, so switch to full touch
controls from the options if that makes you more comfortable.
Regardless of which control style you choose, the game is a stiff
challenge. Luckily, many of the regularly rotating side missions add up
your total performance over many runs, so even if you’re crashing and
burning a lot, you’ll still finish tasks that give you packs of credits
you can spend on improving your Iron Man suits.
Puzzle Quest has been around in various incarnations on mobile
devices for quite a while. Its fusion of match three gameplay and
RPG-style character progression proved to be two tastes that go great
together. This incarnation of the game lets you collect a wide array of
Marvel heroes, and use their unique powers at the right time to achieve
victory. For example, you’ll likely fall in love with Black Widow’s stun
effect very early, as it buys you valuable rounds free from the
constant pressure of enemy attacks.
Marvel Puzzle Quest will have you fighting everything from street
thugs to arch villains, and the little bits of over the top story
surrounding each mission provide a nice touch of narrative around your
matches. To defend yourself from enemy attacks, you’ll have to shatter
certain gems that have countdowns on them before they reach zero. It’s
really rewarding to think a few moves ahead and position a gem to score a
great combo or bonus turn.
Why feature two endless runners on the same list? Because Spider-Man
Unlimited and Iron Man 3 feel totally different! For starters,
Spider-Man sports a kid friendly, cartoonish feel that fits Peter
Parker’s wise-cracking attitude. It also focuses on missions with a
defined end, such as beating a villain or grabbing several of a certain
item, with the endless mode set aside for leveling up outside of the
story. Play well, and you’ll unlock a wide variety of playable alternate
dimension Spider-Man characters, like the Japanese-inspired Mangaverse
Spider-Man.
Where Spider-Man Unlimited really shines is in the wide variety of
obstacles you’ll have to navigate to succeed. Swipes on the touch screen
navigate many objects, but you’ll also tilt your device for
wall-crawling, hold and release for web-swinging, and tap rapidly to
unleash a string of furious punches and kicks on villains. The regular
changes of pace will surely keep you on your toes and engaged.
Android
5.0 Lollipop is now being rolled out to select Android devices. The
updated operating system includes numerous new features, one of which is
a new battery-saver mode. When enabled, this feature will improve
battery life by reducing your device's performance and limiting most
background data. It's similar to features found in devices from Samsung, LG and HTC.
This
feature is great for those times your battery is running low and you
just can't seem to find a charger. In fact, Google claims that enabling
the battery-saver mode will extend your device by up to 90 minutes. There are two ways to enable the feature on stock Android. The first is to swipe down on the notification tray all the way until you see the battery percentage. Tap on the Battery icon, click the Menu button (that three vertical dot icon in the top right corner) and select Battery saver. The second method is to enter Settings, click on Battery, tap the Menu button and select Battery saver.
From here you can set the mode to turn on automatically
once your battery reaches 15 or 5 percent, or you can manually switch it
on. By default, battery saver mode is set to never turn on
automatically, however you will be prompted with a notification asking
if you'd like to turn it on once your battery reaches 15 percent.
When
battery saver mode is enabled, an orange bar will appear at the top and
bottom of the screen. The feature will turn off automatically when you
begin to charge your device.
This
app is more than just music. Unlike most Internet radio apps, this one
is actually like traditional radio and offers various types of content,
including talk shows, news, sports, and entertainment. You might think
that this widespread focus might weaken the music side of iHeartRadio,
but have no fear because it excels there too.
Availability
Only in Australia, New Zealand, and the United States. (Though it is possible to circumvent this with an Android VPN.)
Selection
Not
only does it boast a collection of 18 million songs from 400,000+
artists, it allows you to tune into 800+ live AM/FM radios from all over
the country. It’s safe to say that you won’t run out of content for a
long time with this app.
Interface
iHeartRadio feels
fresh, clean, and modern. There’s nothing particularly eye-catching
about it, but that’s why it’s so great: it steps out of the way and
makes it easy for you to do what you want. Live radios? Custom
playlists? Navigating songs? It all makes sense and never feels like an
obstacle.
Features
The beauty of iHeartRadio is
that it’s as close to an all-in-one solution as you’ll ever get as far
as Internet radio for Android is concerned. Choose from any number of
curated music radio playlists or create your own stations based on your
favorite genres, artists, songs. The “For You” feature will even tailor
music to your personal tastes.
Is there anyone out there who hasn’t
yet heard of Pandora? This service is so popular that its name has
almost become synonymous with “Internet radio,” at least for music. For
live radio streams and non-music radio content, you’ll need to look
elsewhere.
Pandora pioneered the idea of a dynamic music playlist
by way of its Music Genome Project, without which we might still be
stuck in the land of MP3s and music player apps. Indeed, this app is as much about discovering new music as it is about playing music that fits your specific tastes.
Availability
Only in Australia, New Zealand, and the United States.
Selection
While
there is a surprising genre diversity in Pandora’s selection, the total
size of their music database is quite small, hovering at somewhere
around 1 million. It falls way short of its competitors, such as
iHeartRadio’s 18 million.
To be fair, I’ve found a lot of good
music on Pandora that I haven’t encountered anywhere else, but at the
end of the day, Pandora’s stations can and will grow repetitive.
Interface
There
isn’t much complexity to Pandora’s design, which shines through in its
interface. You pick the station you want (or create a new one) and it
starts playing. From there, you can skip songs or go back and switch
stations. It’s very straightforward, which is a major plus for a mobile
music app.
Features
While the lack of complexity might’ve
been great for its interface, Pandora suffers for being a one-trick
pony. Or maybe it doesn’t suffer at all. If the only function you need
is the ability to “play songs like this song/artist/genre”, then Pandora
is perfect for you. But if you need anything else, Pandora won’t have
it.
Cost
Free with ads. To remove ads, you can upgrade to
Pandora One for $4.99 USD per month. Pandora One is applied per-account
rather than per-device, so this carries over onto all devices that you
might use to listen to Pandora.
TuneIn
is the most popular result when searching for “radio” on the Google
Play Store and for good reason. Like with iHeartRadio, you can tune into
sports, news, talk shows, podcasts, and even live radio streams from
around the world. It’s a strong contender in the “all-in-one radio app”
category.
Availability
Worldwide.
Selection
Stream
from a choice of 100,000+ real radio stations. Unlike the other radio
apps on this list, TuneIn does not have its own library of songs
dedicated to streaming music.
Interface
Aesthetically
speaking, TuneIn is ahead of the trend with its sleek layout that works
well on phones and tablets. However, due to the complicated nature of
the app itself, not everything is as straightforward as it could be. It
may take some time to get used to it.
In terms of performance,
TuneIn is very hit or miss. The app is intensive on resources and will
require a good deal of power from your device in order to run smoothly.
On my 2-year-old Galaxy S3, I experienced more choppiness than I would
normally tolerate.
Features
TuneIn’s defining feature is
its commitment to being “the real radio app”. Its entire design is built
around the principle of tuning into live radio stations. Its global
presence is the primary reason why it has such a massive userbase (over
50 million monthly active users), which is something that no other app
on this list can say.
In addition to the 100,000+ real radio
stations, TuneIn allows content creators to broadcast their own streams
that users can tune into.
Cost
Free with ads. Upgrade to the pro version for $9.99 USD to remove ads and unlock the ability to record what you’re listening to.
This
little gem of an app does not receive the attention that it deserves.
Perhaps it’s the name that repels potential users (which is pronounced
“ZEE-ah”, by the way) but if you just look past that for a moment, you
might be pleasantly surprised.
XiiaLive, which is powered by SHOUTcast technology, taps into online radio stations that feature music, talk shows, and more.
Availability
Worldwide.
Selection
XiiaLive
can only tune into SHOUTcast stations, but there are 50,000+ to choose
from so you’re bound to find a few that you’ll like. Many of those
stations are music-centric by genre, but others focus instead on talk
shows and other content.
Interface
The interface is one of
the weaker points. The layout is a bit confusing at first and doesn’t
get much better over time while the graphics themselves remind me of a
modernized look straight from ’90s. Everything feels cramped on my
phone, though certainly still usable.
Features
By far the
most useful feature of XiiaLive is the ability to rewind with a seekbar,
a feature that I’ve yet to find on any other Internet radio app. As
awesome as this feature might be, it currently only works with certain
stations. There’s also a “Scan” feature that you can use to find new
stations, much like the scan function of a traditional radio.
Plus, what’s great about SHOUTcast is that it allows you to start your own radio station.
Cost
Free
with ads. For $3.99 USD, you can upgrade to the pro version which
removes ads, allows advanced filtering of stations, increases the rewind
time from 5 minutes to 60 minutes, and unlocks the ability to add
homescreen shortcuts to specific stations.
Like Pandora, Songza is Internet radio in its most primitive form: the ability to stream music playlists
of a particular taste. However, there are a few key differences that
separate Songza from Pandora, namely the fact that Songza’s playlists
are curated by a team of music experts.
Availability
Only in Canada and the United States.
Selection
Songza
has access to over 20 million songs that have been carefully split into
hundreds of playlists. Each individual playlist may only have a few
dozen songs, but if you ever get tired of that particular playlist, you
can always switch to another one.
I’ve been listening to Songza on a near-daily-basis for over a year and I’ve yet to explore everything it offers.
Interface
The
interface for Songza is rather unique, partly due to its underlying
design (which is explained in more detail down below). It feels fresh,
looks good, and is unlike any other Internet radio app, but rest
assured: it’s intuitive enough that you’ll get used to it in just a few
minutes.
Features
The most notable aspect of Songza is its
“Music Concierge” feature, which takes the day of the week, the time of
day, and the user’s mood (e.g., “Aggressive”, “Mellow”, or “Seductive”)
and presents a selection of fitting playlists.
Playlists can also
be searched and browsed according to activity (e.g., “Coding” or
“Working Out”), genre (e.g., “Easy Listening” or “Showtunes”), or even
decade (e.g., “90s Rock”).
Android
File Transfer is a free Mac app from the Android team. With it
installed, you’ll see a window like this every time you plug in your
device:
From here you can transfer files to and from a separate Finder window. Simple.
You
might notice that my Android’s file system is a bit of a mess. Guilty. I
should probably get around to cleaning that up. Happily it’s easy to do
with this tool: I can CMD- or right-click any file and click “Delete”.
I
point this out only because there doesn’t seem to be many other
features. Seriously: copy-paste doesn’t work, there’s no search, and you
can’t use quick look to preview your files. Pretty much all you can do
is transfer and delete files.
This is your best option for the quick transfer of files. If you want full integration with your Mac’s Finder (or one of its alternatives), you’re going to need to try a third-party tool.
If
you want to browse Android files using the Finder, you won’t find a USB
option. You can, however, acquire your files over the network — and a
program called DroidNAS is the simplest way to set that up. It’s one of
many ways you can access your Android device wirelessly.
In
just a few taps, you can make your Android’s various folders, including
the entire SD card, shared on the network. This gives you full access
to your files from Finder, assuming both devices are on the same
network.
In
my tests, browsing folders was a little slow, but everything worked. I
transferred a half-gig file to my Android device without any hiccups.
In
theory DroidNAS is supposed to make your Android device visible from
Finder, so you need only click an icon to start browsing your files. If
you’re using Mavericks or later, however, that won’t work.
DroidNAS hasn’t fixed this problem, instead offering this workaround: Press Cmd+K in Finder and enter IP address AND share:
smb://IP_ADDRESS:Port/Share
for example:
smb://192.168.1.101:7777/SD Card
Here’s what that looks like:
It’s a bit of extra work, sure, but after setting it up once, you’ll get the hang of it.
It’s
not a perfect solution, and it’s a lot slower than Android File
Transfer’s wired connection. But if you’d rather not fuss around with
wires, it’s a good approach.
It’s now possible to run Android apps in the Chrome browser — it just takes a little bit of work.
Google has officially brought four Android apps to Chromebooks, so it would seem that it’s only a matter of time before more and more Android apps become officially available on the Chrome browser. If you can’t wait, however, let’s run through a few options for running Android apps in Chrome right now.
Note: We’ll be looking at Chrome on Windows here, but the same processes should work on Macs or Linux devices as well.
Prerequisite: ARChon Custom Runtime
Before getting started, you’ll need to download this Chrome extension.
This allows Android apps to work properly on Chrome, but it’s still
very much unofficial and unstable, so don’t expect everything to work
perfectly.
There are three download options available for the
runtime that depend on your system. To check if you have a 32-bit or
64-bit browser, you can navigate to chrome://chrome in your address bar, or you can click the three line menu button in the upper right and select About Google Chrome at the bottom.
Once you’ve downloaded the correct version (and this may take a while, as it’s a 100MB file), unzip the folder. Then type chrome://extensions into your address bar to view a list of all your current extensions. Here, select the Developer Mode box in the upper right.
Now you’ll want to pressLoad unpacked extension
and select the folder where you unzipped ARChon. Make sure it is
enabled, and you’re good to go. You can now choose from one of the three
options below, depending on which you find easiest.
Option 1: APK Conversion in Android App
Your
Android apps as they are now on your phone or tablet are not able to
run in Chrome. To make this possible, they have to be repackaged to be
compatible with ARChon. This would be a pretty complicated task — if it
weren’t for this Android app: ARChon Packager
.
Once
you’ve got the app downloaded and installed, open it up. You’ll be
given two options for choosing an app: an installed app, or an APK from
your phone’s storage. An APK is the installable file for an app, but you
don’t need to worry about that if you just want to use a regular app
you already have installed. Select Installed application and choose next.
I chose Pulse
as the app I want to try on Chrome. You can then select if you want it
to run in phone or tablet mode in Chrome, and if it should be oriented
for portrait or landscape. You can also give it access to the files on
your PC or enable ADB
if you’re a developer.
Once you hit Finish, the
app will be converted into a nearly Chrome-ready ZIP file. You then
need to transfer that file over to your computer either by using a USB
cable, or by selecting the share button at the end of the process to email it or upload it to your preferred cloud storage service.
When the ZIP file is on your computer, unzip it. You’ll then want to go back into chrome://extensions, select Load unpacked extensions, and select the unzipped folder. Once it’s loaded in, click Launch to access the app.
And there you have it. Using this method, Pulse ran perfectly for me.
But if you don’t have an Android device, the next option might be better for you.
Option 2: APK Conversion in Chrome App
For this option, you’ll need to download Twerk
from the Chrome Web Store. You will also need an APK file already, the
installable file for an app. APKs are notoriously hard to get hold of
because of the high likelihood of malware in so-called “cracked” apps, but there are quite a few legitimate APKs available for download straight from the developers over at the XDA forums.
If you have obtained a legitimate APK, this method will work perfectly. Otherwise, move on to option 3.
The process here is simple. Launch Twerk from the Chrome App Launcher or enter chrome://apps into your address bar. Then, locate your APK file in your local file browser and drag it over into the Twerk window.
You
can then select several options, like whether to run it in portrait or
landscape, and build it by pressing the pink Android at the bottom. Then
you’ll choose where to save it.
After that, head back into your Chrome extensions (chrome://extensions in your address bar) and select Load unpacked extension.
Find the folder that Twerk created and select it. Your app should now
be in Chrome, and you can launch it just like any other Chrome app!
Option 3: Find Converted APK Online
This
option is probably the simplest out there because you don’t have to
tinker with any of your own apps. For this one, you’re just going to
download apps that are already compatible with ARChon — the biggest
disadvantage is the limited amount of apps available like this.
Visit this community-created Google Spreadsheet of apps
that have been tested with ARChon. Most of them have a download link at
the far right to download the files, but you take your own risk when
downloading these. There is no guarantee that they are safe files, so
exercise regular caution. You can also try browsing this Chrome APKs subreddit.
Once it is downloaded, unzip it if it’s zipped, go to your Chrome extensions page (chrome://extensions in your address bar), and select Load unpacked extension. Find the unzipped downloaded folder and select it to load it into Chrome. You can now find it at chrome://apps to launch like a regular app!
What Is Your Favorite Android App On Chrome?
As
we bide our time until Google makes this an official feature, this is
your best bet for getting tons of Android apps running on your Chrome
browser. What is your favorite app that you’ve been able to get running? Do you have any other methods of running Android apps on Chrome that you’d recommend? Let us know in the comments!
