Most Mac users don’t dream of replacing macOS with anything other than the latest updates, but Google wants to consider at least another option, Chrome OS.
Google describes the new Chrome OS Flex as a “free and sustainable way” to install Google’s online OS on your Mac or PC. Target audiences are underfunded schools and businesses looking for “modern computing with cloud-based management,” but they’re also pretty appealing to the average user. Chrome OS Flex Chromebook An extensive library of Google web apps and extensions that run shows (excluding Android apps).
Sounds crazy, but it’s not. Chrome OS Flex wasn’t designed to deliver the performance of today’s Apple Silicon Macs. Rather, it’s because thousands of Macs and PCs collect dust on the shelves and are pushed into drawers that haven’t been turned on or updated for years. They are slow and clunky, don’t have enough space or memory, but still have some life left. And Google wants to squeeze all the last bits out of them.
Chrome OS doesn’t care about specs like Macs and PCs. Sure, you can get a Core i7 Chromebook with 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage, but it doesn’t require much high-end specs. Chrome is designed to be a fast cloud-based operating system that is agnostic to log and cache files. So Chrome OS Flex only needs 4GB of RAM and 16GB of storage, so any older Mac will do. According to Google, Chrome OS Flex can be installed in “a few minutes” and has been tested on Mac. 2009 MacBookHowever, basically, as long as your Mac is connected to the Internet, it will work on relatively modern models as well.
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Google CEO Sundar Pichai tweeted, “Bringing the same speed, security and simplicity as Chrome OS to existing hardware.” This seems like a great solution. Chrome OS Flex is great for older Macs that can’t properly run Big Sur or Monterey that you want to give to your kids or older parents. Google’s app is clearly the focus, but you can also access the iCloud app for email, contacts, calendars, photos, drives, notes, reminders, pages, numbers, keynotes, and more.
To get started, you can sign up for Early Access at Chrome OS Flex site..After registering and downloading Chrome Recovery Extension Utility, Google can boot to a USB stick with at least 8GB of storage that can be used to permanently install (and replace an already installed version of macOS) Chrome OS Flex on a Mac or run it Describes how to create a drive. Directly from a USB drive. To boot from your Mac drive, hold down Command-R at boot time and click[[Startup security utility,Choose Allow booting from external or removable media.. Then hold down the Option key while rebooting and select the Chrome OS Flex drive.
I’m a longtime Mac user, but I also have a Chromebook. Chrome OS is much lighter than Windows or macOS, and most of the tedious work is done in the cloud. It takes a few seconds to launch and the app opens in no time. There is no slower speed than ever before. Even the latest Macs require little maintenance or know-how on Chrome OS devices, even if they are heavily loaded and struggle to update for more than 30 minutes. In short, they just work. And now, so will your dusty old Mac.
Michael Simon has covered Apple since the iPod was iWalk. His obsession with technology dates back to his first PC, the IBM Thinkpad, which has a lift-up keyboard for replacing drives. He is still waiting for it to come back in style tbh.
