Google made a version of ChromeOS that runs on Pixel, including on an external monitor

Ben Schoon | May 13 2024 - 11:41 am PT

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The dream of using your smartphone to power an entire computing experience is very much alive and well and, according to a new report, Google has shown off that its possible to have a Pixel phone powering ChromeOS on an external monitor.

Google has long made it clear that ChromeOS and Android are to exist as separate entities, but that’s never stopped many from wishing that they could plug an Android phone into a monitor and start using ChromeOS. After all, the lightweight OS runs on devices far more underpowered than modern smartphones.

As it turns out, Google seems to agree.

As reported by Android Authority, Google recently held a “private” event where the company showed off a Pixel 8 powering ChromeOS on an external monitor.

It’s not clear why Google did this, as the event apparently never made mention of any intentions to make that functionality more widely available, rather just giving “smartphone makers the tools” to run Android and ChromeOS from the same device.

Among those tools is the Android Virtualization Framework, Android Authority says, which was introduced in Android 13. While it’s not the goal, AVF technically allows Android devices to run a virtual machine of another operating system. And, apparently, this special build of Chromium OS has “official support” for running through the AVF.

Top comment by Arthur

Liked by 24 people

If they aren't going to go all in like Samsung to create a DeX like Desktop computing experience then running Chrome OS off your phone is an even better alternative assuming the version of Chrome OS it runs isn't some gimped because of the phone's hardware limitations.

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The project is apparently called “ferrochrome.”

In a second post, this build is shown in action running on a Pixel 7 Pro’s screen rather than an external monitor.

But, sadly, it doesn’t sound like this is something Google intends to launch anytime soon. That said, though, Google has finally started to open up support for Pixel phones (starting with Pixel 8) to connect to displays over USB-C, so maybe the two are related.