We have always tried to run Android apps on Chrome: with virtual environments, adapted operating systems or some programs … but none seemed to work properly because of discrete Android applications structure, until now.

However, the solution may have come up with Archon: an extension for Google Chrome that with a few simple steps, allows you to run almost any Android application on your computer without complications or multiple steps. In this article, you will learn how easily it can be done in a few simple steps.

How To Run Android Apps On Chrome

Step 1: Download and Install the Suitable Version of ArChon

1. The first thing to do is to get your version of ARChon, and for thi, you need to access the project repository in GitHub. Now you need to look at the descriptions carefully to know which version suits your operating system (if it fails, try another version). If you could not figure out the one that suits your Operating system then Download This Version.
2. Once you have the folder downloaded on to your PC, unzip the .zip file with any program available on your computer.
3. Now move on to the extensions page on chrome and enable the “Developer Mode” that is available on the top right corner of the page.
4. Now click on the “Load unpacked Extension” option and upload the folder that you have unzipped in the earlier process.

Step 2: Try with a Sample Application:

Before you start installing applications, here we have a demo app available to check whether everything is working properly or not.

All you need to do is download this file, install it in the same way as we have done with the extension in step 1. Ignore all the warnings that pop up in Chrome and click on “Launch”.

If everything works well then a window of the application will pop up on the screen as shown below. If it’s done, you are ready to run any Android application in Chrome.

Step 3: Run your Favorite Android Apps on Chrome

As you can see, Archon does not use the conventional “.apk format” because of which we need to make little changes in order to make it compatible with extension.

You can do this by yourselves, but you can also take advantage of the community that is interested in the project. Here is the community to get hold of the applications you want.

We have tried this with both Instagram and Angry Birds, and both work perfectly. Not all applications will work seamlessly: some will fail or need some more tricks to make them work (diligence to inform before testing), but on an overall, most applications produce very good results.

To find applications that always work or even don’t work at all refer to this document. Here you can find links to download and run android apps on chrome without having to make changes in the .apk files yourselves.

Please do leave comments in the comments section, if you are interested to know the process to convert the .apk files of applications that are not available in the list provided.

One Step Closer to Unification:

By this process, it is possible to move applications from Android to Chrome with a significantly small effort, which is a great sign: the unification between desktop and mobile may be much closer than we think, something that would be great news for everyone.

Hopefully, Google sees the change that this type of projects can bring forward and encourage them to be the final push that is missing from Android to take off at all.