I bought a Chromebook to understand what it is.

I recently bought my first Chromebook. I was a bit worried that it might be too limited for me, but it is surprising how much time is spent in the browser. I can access special software using remote desktop connection to for example a stationary Windows 10 computer.

During my research of which Chromebook to get I settled on the ASUS Chromebook Flip C302 2-in-1 model with Intel-m3 CPU. The computer is passively cooled, and I really appreciate the noiseless experience. It has an IPS-screen which is fantastic to work with.

During my research, I found out that the Google Play Store is being rolled out on Chromebooks. Not all of them are supported yet. This means that it will be possible to run Android apps on Chromebooks soon. And this is a big thing since the Chrome Web Store does not contain much of interest.

The question is what implications this will have on the market of Android tablets. Most tablets have smaller screens compared to Chromebooks, while the resolution of the tablet screens usually is higher. On the other hand, the Chromebooks have more powerful hardware and includes a keyboard at a lower total cost.

Google is also working on a new operating system called Fuchsia which has been speculated to be targeting IoT-products. Recent screenshots do, however, reveal a possible successor to Android which is free of Linux and possibly Java as well leaving the problems of Oracle behind.

VMWare is now supporting Chromebooks to accelerate enterprise adoption of the platform. Microsoft is targeting the educational market with Windows 10 S but is heavily dependent on useful applications in their App Store.

The move to make Android apps available in Chromebooks is probably brilliant and will make Android tablets obsolete in favor of Chromebooks. If JetBrains would create a cloud version of their IntelliJ IDEA, I would hardly need to use anything else but Chromebooks in the future.