Months after it was first reported, it appears Microsoft is fixing the Excel for Android incompatibility issues on Chromebooks. The long term fix is rolling out now but if you can’t wait, here’s a short term solution.
Browsing: Android
The Android version of Excel can’t be installed on a range of Chromebook models, including my Pixelbook. This situation has been going on for nine months, which is nearly nine months too long.
The on-again, off-again sale on Google’s Pixelbook is on-again. Through September 3, the base Pixelbook is available direct from Google Store for $749. There’s also a 10% student discount if you qualify.
On Tuesday, the Chrome OS Dev Channel was updated to version 69.0.3497.21, bringing with it some borrowed features from Android as well as additional stability to Project Crostini and Linux apps. Here’s what’s new.
A future version of Chrome OS will be able to use Android’s Always-on VPN feature, automatically helping to secure a Chromebook accessing public Wi-Fi hotspots; essentially a must for enterprise workers.
To make Chrome OS and PWAs display more similarly to native or mobile apps, the Chromium team has proposed a new API that adds notification badges to Android and web apps on Chrome OS devices.
An enhanced Easy Unlock feature is coming to Chromebooks as part of the multi-device “Better Together” feature. Not only will it support Bluetooth with four proximity levels, but also fingerprints.
Google has added long-press app shortcuts to Android apps on the Chrome OS Dev Channel. These behave just as they do on an Android phone: A tap and hold brings up contextual shortcuts.
Although it’s currently showing as “out of stock”, Staples has the Acer Chromebook Tab 10 on its store website for $339, or $10 over the MSRP. Could we see retail inventory in stores to follow?
You can now install Google Duo for voice and video chats on the Acer Chromebook Tab 10 and HP Chromebook X2, even though neither device has a dedicated phone number. Here’s hoping other Chromebooks follow.
While you can use the new Android Messages for web on any supported browser, it obviously works well on a Chromebook too. Setup is simple using a browser and the recently updated Android Messages app.