Back in 2015, Google had launched the beta ‘App Runtime for Chrome (ARC) project’ for developers to run and test their Android apps on Google Chrome browser. Google had also released another tool called ARC Welder with an updated runtime and expanded app support.
This tool runs on a runtime implemented using Native client. It is sandboxing technology which simply put allows Chrome plugins to run the app in its native interface and speed.
At its early stage, this tool was only available for developers, but now it can be downloaded by anyone to run Android apps in the browser. Wondering how? Here’s our step-by-step-guide for you:
First things first:
• Only one app can be loaded at a time
•Based on the app, you’ll have to select the layout (portrait/landscape) manually
• Users also need to specify, whether they want to run the app on phone or tablet mode
• Users must be using the latest version of the Google Chrome browser (we tested it on Chrome 67)
• This tool is based on Android 4.4, so make sure to test the app that supports Android 4.4 and above
Steps to follow:
- Open Google Chrome on your PC
- Search for ARC Welder app extension for Chrome
- Install the extension and click on ‘Launch app’ button
- Now, you’ll have to download the APK file for the app you want to run
- Add the downloaded APK file to the extension by clicking on ‘Choose’ button
- Select the ‘Orientation’ and ‘Form-Factor’ settings for the app
- Now, click on ‘Test’ button to open the app.
Note: Not all the Android apps run properly with this tool, you may have to play with the settings like orientation and form-factor to make it work.
