Follow
In just a few years, Google Chrome has become one of the most reliable and popular browsers in the world. And while there are many things that people love about Chrome, one that likely wins is the ability to download any number of apps from the Chrome Web Store.
Launching Chrome applications can be done in a number of ways, including directly from inside the Chrome browser and by using the launcher app.
Or, at least, you used to be able to the access the Chrome App Launcher, because Google just announced it will be getting rid of it this summer, cutting its support for Windows, Linux, and Mac.
The app launcher used to be one of the few Chrome browser features whose sole purpose was to transform Chrome into a “platform within a platform” on Windows. Is this removal a sign that Google is finally abandoning that idea?
Come July 2016, the Chrome app launcher will cease to be available, so Chrome users will have to go through the browser itself to launch apps. But is that really such a tragedy?
According to Google, not many Chrome users preferred to open Chrome apps from outside of the browser, as a vast majority clearly showed they were more interested in opening apps from within Chrome itself.
This also answers the question about the reason behind the tech giant’s decision to close down the Chrome app launcher. There is one bit of good news, still, for users of Chrome OS.
If they prefer the app launcher, Google announced that it won’t change its support for the launcher on that platform, so all Chrome OS users are free to continue using it as before.
Google explained that the removal process will start in the next several weeks and will take some months before everything is completely cleared away.
However, people who use the Chrome app launcher – or those who have never used it even though it’s installed – will start receiving notification about the upcoming changes. The alerts bring users up to date with the fact that the app launcher will stop working in the near future.
Many users won’t be surprised by this news, as it was starting to be a little redundant to have both the app launcher and the app shortcut button within the Chrome browser. The option that was used the least just had to go.
Image Source: Pure Info Tech
