Google is Working on a Chrome OS Emulator for Future Android SDK Release
Android application support on Chromebooks was fairly rudimentary when it was first unveiled, but the company has been working to make the integration better as evidenced by recent Chrome OS commits. The end goal is to flawlessly support Android apps on most Chrome OS devices, though only a handful of Chromebooks are able to use Android apps right now. Due to the limited number of Chromebooks devices supporting Android apps, it can be difficult for a developer to test their Android apps on an actual Chrome OS device. Google wants to make it easier for developers to test that their apps work properly on Chrome OS, and as such, they’re now working on a new Chrome OS emulator integrated into the Android SDK.
Just as Android SDK users can run Android OS emulators on their computers, you’ll soon be able to run a similar emulator with Chrome OS on board. This allows you to test how your application will behave under the unique, fixing any UI related oddities or other bugs that may pop up. This new emulator is revealed by a commit spotted in the emulator branch of the Android Open Source Project (AOSP).
One of the files included in said pull request hints that these images will be available on Stable, Beta, Dev, and Canary builds of the Android SDK for Windows, Mac, and Linux, although it seems that we’ll only be getting x86 images for these emulators. It’s nonetheless a real improvement and something that should help developers boost the experience of using their Android applications on Chrome OS.
The new Pixelbook is right around the corner, but given its rumored price many developers may want to check out this free emulator alternative. If you’d like to read more, check out the commit to have a look for yourself.
Source: AOSP Via: Android Police
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