Google Wants to Turn Your Old Mac into a Chromebook With Chrome OS Flex

[MacRumors]

Google has announced early access to Chrome OS Flex, a method of replacing the operating system on older PCs and Macs "within minutes" to essentially turn them into Chromebooks.

The company is encouraging individuals, schools, and businesses to download Chrome OS Flex so they can "easily try modern computing with cloud-based management" while extending the lifespan of older devices, thereby reducing e-waste.

The idea is that if you have an aging Mac lying around that can't run macOS 12 Monterey, then you can install Chrome OS Flex on it using a bootable USB stick and then try out what Google's cloud-first operating system has to offer. From the website:

The free upgrade your PCs and Macs have been waiting for.

Install Chrome OS Flex on your PCs and Macs so they are secure, boot fast, don't slow down over time, update automatically in the background, and can be managed from the cloud.

Google says Chrome OS Flex has the same look and feel as the Chrome OS shipped with every Chromebook, as it's built on the same code base and includes Google Assistant, the Chrome browser, and Nearby Sharing. However, there's currently no Google Play Store, and Google has outlined some other, mainly system-level limitations of OS Flex that distinguish it from Chrome OS on native Google devices.

Chrome OS Flex is the result of Google's 2020 purchase of Neverware, a company that offered an app called CloudReady that allows users to convert old PCs into Chrome OS machines.

Google says it will automatically move CloudReady home, school, and enterprise users to Chrome OS Flex when the OS is stable. Use of OS Flex is free for individuals, but schools and businesses using CloudReady will continue to be charged a fee and subscription rate, respectively.

If you want to try out Chrome OS Flex, you can learn more and download it on the Chrome Enterprise website. As this is early access, expect some bugs, although the OS can be booted directly from a USB stick if you don't want to commit to installation. A stable version of the OS is expected to launch in the coming months.

Article Link: Google Wants to Turn Your Old Mac into a Chromebook With Chrome OS Flex

 

[Chester Stone]

There's no need to run macOS Monterey on older macs. Just run them on the OS with which they shipped!

For the 2015 MacBook Air 11" pictured, macOS Sierra still works wonderfully, without all the weird discolorations and permission popups.

 

[MakeAppleAwesomeAgain]

There's no need to run macOS Monterey on older macs. Just run them on the OS with which they shipped!

For the 2015 MacBook Air 11" pictured, macOS Sierra still works wonderfully, without all the weird discolorations and permission popups.

Also without recent security updates.

 

[Seanm87]

Why? Why would anyone do this?

 

[ApeBot]

No thanks.

 

[djgamble]

There's no need to run macOS Monterey on older macs. Just run them on the OS with which they shipped!

For the 2015 MacBook Air 11" pictured, macOS Sierra still works wonderfully, without all the weird discolorations and permission popups.

Partly agree. However, it gets to a stage where you can't use the internet because no modern browsers work (and if they do, there's serious security/rendering issues).

I use a 2008 Mac Pro with a Vega 64 and have installed Monterey (using OpenCore). This OS supports my semi-modern GPU and all the features I want.

But yeah... I wouldn't go OpenCore'ing old Macs that doesn't support Metal in order to install Monterey. That's just silly.

Chrome? Meh. Guessing it'll give you a modern web browser, a word processing app and some Android-style games? I'll stick with Monterey on my 2008 Mac Pro thanks

 

[djgamble]

Why? Why would anyone do this?

The single use case I can think of is that your OS can no longer browse the internet because nobody's making a modern web browser for it anymore.

Not sure if you've tried, but the internet now essentially refuses to work if you try surfing on an old Mac. I got Lynx going on an eMac the other week... couldn't do much better than that.

 

[singularity0993]

Why not install Windows instead? Especially since this “Chrome OS Flex“ doesn’t even support Android apps or Virtual Machines.

 

[ApplesAreSweet&Sour]

If ChromeOS doesn’t implement some sort of virtual, cloud based substitute for Metal, or really just any kind of GPU, then I don’t see what big advantage there could be to running anything but the latest supported MacOS.

My old Mac would be acceptable if it just had a GPU that was more than the absolute minimum

 

[fhall1]

It'd be nice if they'd let me use my 5 year old Chromebook as a Chromebook!

 

[LV426]

Ouch! That’s gotta be kind of embarrassing for Apple. They won’t support old yet viable hardware, whereas Google will.

 

[chucker23n1]

Also without recent security updates.

This. Running an old unsupported OS on a device with Internet isn't a good idea.

 

[BanjoDudeAhoy]

The first thing that came to mind was…

I’ll admit I have limited experience with Chromebooks - but that’s partially because I really didn’t enjoy the experience.

 

[oldoneeye]

One of the reasons I buy apple is to avoid data slurps from OS providers .... why would google be doing this I wonder

 

[BanjoDudeAhoy]

Why not install Windows instead? Especially since this “Chrome OS Flex“ doesn’t even support Android apps or Virtual Machines.

This is what I’d rather do. I have an old Mac mini here (from 2006 or 2007) and it runs Windows 10 surprisingly well with an SSD inside.

 

[one more]

“Install Chrome OS Flex on your PCs and Macs so they are secure…”

“Secure” from the company whose business model is based entirely on user data mining, LOL!

 

[neuropsychguy]

Why not install Windows instead? Especially since this “Chrome OS Flex“ doesn’t even support Android apps or Virtual Machines.

Windows on an old Mac? That’s going in the wrong direction (my main computer is running Windows 11 so I’m not anti-Microsoft or anti-Windows).

This is a great solution if you need mostly internet-based features (like a Chromebook). A lot of K-12 is based around Google Docs and other websites. ChromeOS is fine. Most of the issues with it are due to poor quality hardware. I have two higher-end Chromebooks that work well (other than terrible WiFi adapters in them but that is not an issue unique to Chromebooks).

Having a light OS like ChromeOS will extend the life of many computers. I install Linux as my computers age, including on my 10+ year old Mac Mini. An SSD and Linux on that makes it run smoothly and with current security updates and features (which I don’t get sticking with OS X). It is also much more responsive than putting Windows on it, which I've tried.

 

[ChromeCloud]

As a power user, the idea of installing Chrome OS on my old devices is not appealing. I'd rather install Linux or even Windows.

For very casual users, though, it's pretty cool. I can see my grandma using a 10 year old MacBook to browse the web and write documents with this OS.

 

[Wahlstrm]

Why? Why would anyone do this?

I was actually looking into the possibility of doing this a few years back with my old 2007 MBP since Chrome OS is basically designed to run well on a potato..

A 10y old Mac would likely still run Chrome OS better- or at least just as good as brand new chrome book would today.

It’s not for everyone, but it’s a great way to put some new life into older hardware

 

[no_idea]

Why not install Windows instead? Especially since this “Chrome OS Flex“ doesn’t even support Android apps or Virtual Machines.

Right…because everyone needs virtual machines for their computer…

 

[orbital~debris]

So essentially zombifying trusty old Macs.

Or another analogy, building an unintelligent droid army for the Google control ship to direct.

 

[jeffpeng]

I guess the question why anyone would do this is answered best with "Since some people, especially schools, have committed all in to ChromeOS.... for whatever reason."

The move isn't that stupid. A lot of schools have old outdated Macs around that don't get new updates anymore, and this way Google can make a quick bank on those machines without having to sell a single Unit, and those schools can migrate their Mac fleet to ChromeOS, which they already run on the newer machines they have.

Even more "interesting" .... considering Linux for Apple Silicon is a a thing and progressing steadily, it's not that far fetched to actually see it running on M1 MBAs in the not too distant future. Might even be the best option you'll eventually have if you want to give your kid an actually decent notebook that still complies with ChromeOS being required to run on it.

Maybemaybe this will make Apple think about offering new versions of MacOS for older hardware. Really looks kinda bad if Google can make modern software run on old Macs ... but Apple "can't". (I mean... we know that they can. They just don't want to.)

I guess the one question more people should ask is: "Should we really entrust the data of children and elderly people to Google?"

 

[dndk]

For the 2015 MacBook Air 11" pictured

That's a 13"

 

[Minxy]

A good move from Google that could undermine the Windows monopoly on PC OSs. I'm surprised it hasn't gone the whole hog to do a fully blown Chrome OS because so many schools, colleges and public work places pay big money for Windows and if there could be a cheaper option then it will help reduce the cost of public spending and perhaps improve education and the public sector.

 

[genovelle]

Ouch! That’s gotta be kind of embarrassing for Apple. They won’t support old yet viable hardware, whereas Google will.

It just shows how flimsy Chrome OS is and how little power it has. Lol