Link Safe

How To Run Android apps in your desktop browser

You may be surprised to learn that you can run Android apps in your desktop Chrome browser. While not an exact science, it is made possible by a custom runtime called ARChon, which is added to Chrome as an extension and is capable of running apps that have been converted to run with the runtime. This works on Windows, Mac OS X and Linux. Adding the custom runtime to Chrome is
the easy part.

The magic is in the conversion which can be done using a couple of different methods. Getting to grips with both of these will enable you to cover all possibilities, as some Android apps may not convert successfully on the first attempt, necessitating a second attempt with the alternative conversion tool. Meanwhile, if conversion seems a little complicated or time consuming, other users
have compiled lists of links to apps that have been converted already, so all you’ll need to do is download these apps to your computer and run them in Chrome with ARChon.

Install ARChon extension
Prepare the Chrome browser on your computer for running Android apps. Go to http://bit.ly/1Lyv94x and download the version of ARChon to suit your computer (there is a 32-bit and 64-bit version, and an ARM version for Chromebooks). Once the 100 MB fi le has downloaded, unzip.

Add the extension
In the Chrome address bar, enter chrome://extensions to view all currently installed extensions. Select the Developer mode box, click ‘Load unpacked extension’, browse to the folder where ARChon was unzipped and select it. To complete the installation, check the Enabled box.

Install ARChon Packager
At present, your Android apps are not compatible with ARChon. In order to run your apps in Chrome you’ll need to convert them first, which we do with the ARChon Packager from the Google Play store. This app converts APKs stored on your phone and any installed apps

Convert Android apps
With ARChon Packager running, select the app you wish to convert and specify whether it should be in Phone or Tablet mode and be converted to display in Portrait or Landscape mode. Tap Finish to complete and save the ZIP file to cloud storage or copy to your PC.

Unzip the app
Unzip the file on your computer and switch back to the Chrome browser. Once again in the chrome://extensions view, select ‘Load unpacked extensions’ and browse to the unzipped folder.
Click Launch to open the app in the desktop Chrome browser and start using it as normal.

Find APK files
You might have a particular requirement for running an Android app in your browser  for example, you may have lost your phone or be temporarily parted from it. Downloaded APK files can be loaded into ARChron which rules out the need for an Android device.

Convertwith twerk
Import an APK file stored on your computer into Chrome with the twerk app from the Chrome Web Store. Run the extension fromchrome://apps and drag the APK from your file browser to the twerk window. Convert in the preferred mode and orientation, then run it in chrome://extensions.

Find APKs
There can be an element of trial and error when converting APKs to run in Chrome with ARChon you might prefer to take a back seat and let other people do the hard work. Peer-approved APKs can be found in the Chrome APK subreddit (www.reddit.com/r/chromeapks).

Converted APK safety
Remember that if you haven’t converted the files yourself, there’s no guarantee that APKs downloaded from a third party are safe. Stick to ones that have been verified by other users before
proceeding. If you don’t, your Chrome browser could leak your personal details.