Google is turning old Macs and PCs into Chromebooks with Chrome OS Flex

Whether you have a legacy Windows PC in the classroom or a legacy Mac in the home office that doesn’t support macOS 12 Monterey, Google wants to turn it into a Chromebook. Google today announced Chrome OS Flex Early Access, which allows you to download the Chrome OS operating system installed on Chromebooks on Mac or Windows computers.

Chrome OS Flex is essentially the official version of Google CloudReady that Google acquired when it bought Neverware in 2020. Flex allows individuals, schools, or businesses to download Chrome OS on a USB drive for free (CloudReady charges fees and annual subscriptions for schools and businesses, respectively) and install it on their Mac or Windows computer. The operating system can also be booted from a USB stick rather than being installed or run through a network deployment by the IT department.

Google is positioning Chrome OS Flex as a response to older Macs and Windows computers that may not support the latest version of their native OS and/or that may not be owned by people with replacement budgets. Instead of buying new hardware, consumers or IT departments can install the latest version of Chrome OS Flex.

Chrome OS Flex is configured to run on the same codebase and release schedule as the Chrome OS used by the Chromebook.

For years, the Chromium OS-based Chrome OS alternative CloudReady has been positioned as a way to transform older consumer, business, and school hardware. Then Google picked it up. Google will automatically migrate CloudReady home, school, and enterprise users to Chrome OS Flex when the OS becomes stable.

A Google spokesperson told Ars Technica that Google has no current plans to add the Google Play Store and Android apps to Chrome OS Flex as Google is “primarily more focused on core OS capabilities.”However, Google will continue to evaluate. Google has detailed other differences between Chrome OS Flex and Chrome OS.

Google has also pointed out how Chrome OS Flex differs from CloudReady. Chrome OS Flex will add Google Assistant, Chrome Browser and Share with Environment. Chrome OS Flex also adds a Linux development environment for compatible hardware for educational and enterprise customers.

However, Chrome OS Flex does not allow certain system-level access that CloudReady Home supports, including shell and TTY command line access.

Google Chrome OS Flex is currently available as early access on the development channel with expected bugs. According to a blog post today by Thomas Riedl, Director of Products, Enterprise and Education at Google, Chrome OS Flex has already been tested with “Google employees and other large customers.”The stable version of the OS will be launched “in the coming months,”the blog says.

“After logging in, the user’s cloud profile loads and automatically syncs their settings, bookmarks, and policies,” Riedl explained. He added that IT professionals will be able to use the Google cloud-based admin console with more than 500 policies and controls, including security-focused ones such as a sandbox.