What you need to know
- Google will end support for Chrome Apps beginning this year.
- Submissions for new apps will end in March and support for Chrome Apps on Windows, Mac, and Linux will go away in June 2020.
- Chrome Extensions aren't going anywhere and developers are being encouraged to transition to Progressive Web Apps or Chrome Extensions.
Google has finally announced a timeline for phasing out Chrome Apps. It will begin in March 2020 when the Chrome Web Store will no longer accept new submissions. However, developers will be able to update their existing apps all the way into June 2022.
That doesn't mean many people will be able to actually use them, however, because starting in June 2020, support for Chrome Apps on Windows, Mac, and Linux will end. This will leave Chrome Apps only available on the Chrome OS platform until June of 2021 when it will begin to end support for them there as well. The full timeline can be viewed below, taken from the Chromium blog post where it was announced.
- March 2020: Chrome Web Store will stop accepting new Chrome Apps. Developers will be able to update existing Chrome Apps through June 2022.
- June 2020: End support for Chrome Apps on Windows, Mac, and Linux. Customers who have Chrome Enterprise and Chrome Education Upgrade will have access to a policy to extend support through December 2020.
- December 2020: End support for Chrome Apps on Windows, Mac, and Linux.
- June 2021: End support for NaCl, PNaCl, and PPAPI APIs.
- June 2021: End support for Chrome Apps on Chrome OS. Customers who have Chrome Enterprise and Chrome Education Upgrade will have access to a policy to extend support through June 2022.
- June 2022: End support for Chrome Apps on Chrome OS for all customers.
While this is bad news for Chrome App users and developers, the good news is that Chrome Extensions aren't going anywhere, and Google is actually encouraging developers to transition their Chrome Apps to a Progressive Web App or a Chrome Extension. There is even a website dedicated to it along with tips on how to migrate your users.
