Google kills Windows 10 on Chromebooks
Project Campfire extinguished
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It appears thatGooglehas dropped its plans to allowWindows 10to be installed alongside Chrome OS on Chromebooks.
The plans – known internally as Project Campfire – would let Chromebook owners installWindows 10so that they could switch betweenMicrosoft’soperating systemand Chrome OS – the default operating system made by Google that ships with Chromebooks. The feature was often referred to as Alt OS – in reference to the ability to install an alternative operating system.
While that feature would have made Chromebooks even more versatile, an eagle-eyed member ofRedditspotted that a change to theChromium Gerritsuggest that the Alt OS feature will be deprecated – which means it will not be worked on or added to Chrome OS.
Windowless
Although Google never officially announced the feature, there will be many people who will be disappointed that it has been dropped.
The ability to install Windows 10 would have made Chromebooks even more useful, as you’d be able to run programs that aren’t supported on Google’s limited Chrome OS software.
However, it’s not entirely surprising that this feature has been dropped. Part of the appeal of Chromebooks is that they are lightweight affordable laptops with excellent battery lives – which means they usually come with low-powered components.
Chrome OS is built from the ground up to run on hardware like that, but Windows 10 is a lot more resource intensive, so would likely struggle. There’s a good chance that on many Chromebooks, using Windows 10 would have been a sluggish and annoying ordeal.
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However, Microsoft is working onWindows Lite, which is a version of its operating system that’s designed for low powered devices. It would have been the perfect fit for Chromebooks, but with the Alt OS feature now dead, we may never see that happen.
ViaAbout Chromebooks
Matt is TechRadar’s Managing Editor for Core Tech, looking after computing and mobile technology. Having written for a number of publications such as PC Plus, PC Format, T3 and Linux Format, there’s no aspect of technology that Matt isn’t passionate about, especially computing and PC gaming. He’s personally reviewed and used most of the laptops in our best laptops guide - and since joining TechRadar in 2014, he’s reviewed over 250 laptops and computing accessories personally.
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