For instance, Instagram works fine but apps like Uber, which require location services don’t work.Now you have to just download the APK file of any app you want to install on Chromebook from any of the third-party websites. While most of the apps install via the APK files route, not all of them work. Once the app is installed, tap “Open” to start using the app. Press “Install“.ĥ. The app installation might take a little longer than usual but the good news is, all the APKs we tried to install, did install without any fuss. Here, open the APK file and you should see the usual app installation interface from Android. Here, go to Security and turn on “Unknown sources”.Ĥ. Once the APK file is downloaded, open the file manager app and go to the Downloads folder.

We used Solid Explorer in our test.Ģ. Then, download the APK files of apps you want to install from . Meanwhile, go to Chrome OS Settings and click on “App Settings” in the Android Apps section.ģ. The Android like Settings page should open up. So, open up Play Store and install the file manager you want. If you have the aforementioned Chrome OS build, here are the steps to install APK files on Chromebook:ġ. Firstly, you will need a file manager Android app from the Play Store. So, before you try to install any APK files, check out our post on how to get Play Store. The Play Store is available on the Chrome OS 53 update through the developer channel and it’s only available for Chromebook Flip, as of now. To do it, check out our detailed post on how to enable developer mode on Chromebook. To install APKs, you will have to enable “Unknown Sources” and the option is only available on Chromebooks with developer mode enabled.

So, without further ado, let’s get on with it, shall we? The good news is, there’s a way to install APK files on Chromebook and that’s what we are about to tell you.

Thankfully, you can always sideload Android apps through APK files but Chromebook natively does not support these files. However, there’s one catch, that is, many apps on the Play Store aren’t compatible with the Chromebook.įor instance, apps like WhatsApp, Instagram, Uber, Inbox by Gmail, Chromecast, PayPal and more are incompatible because of various reasons like the fact that Play Store treats the Chromebook as an Android 6.0 tablet, the lack of GPS on Chromebooks etc. In our usage of Android apps on Chromebook, we have found Chromebook’s functionality to have multiplied innumerably. Android apps coming to Chromebooks might very well be the defining moment for Google’s Chrome OS platform.

Apk chromebook