Google’s remote desktop Android app for Chrome, which has amassed more than 10 million downloads on the Play Store, has undergone a major change from being a native Android app to using web app architecture.
A hugely popular app that has been a firm favorite among users of any OS, including Windows, Mac, and Linux, Google’s Android app had not been updated for several years leaving many to wonder about its future as they started to consider alternatives.
It seems that two or three years of radio silence have seen Google working behind the scenes to translate the app from a regular Android app to a less favorable web app that many criticize for its tendency for being buggy.
Google Chrome Remote Desktop web app
Nevertheless, unsuspecting mobile users looking for an easy, and importantly, free, way to connect with their desktop or laptop, can still download the app from the Play Store, giving the illusion that it is indeed a fully-fledged Android app.
Despite a general sentiment that web apps are inferior and less capable, Google has been testing this latest update for almost a year (according to 9To5Google); the publication noted some pretty serious issues when it joined the testing program.
For those unfamiliar with underpinning app technology, the new app is most clearly identified from its new Google Material Theme UI interface which is a notable improvement over the now very dated-looking Material Design 1.
Real-world reviews and rants are yet to flood in, with many users likely having ditched Google’s remote desktop software for failure to keep it up to date, but already, 9To5Google has shared its feelings of disappointment amid high hopes for a significantly improved app that it believes has failed to deliver.
Via 9To5Google
