What you need to know
- Chromebooks could soon get a new dedicated app store dubbed App Mall.
- It will likely give a unified experience like having Android apps, web-based apps, and linux-based apps.
- It is currently in the testing phase, locked under a Chrome flag, and will likely launch as a shortcut with "discover.apps.chrome" URL.
Chromebooks are likely to gain a unified app store dubbed App Mall, where users can find all their favorite apps and games.
Google is apparently gearing up to launch App Mall — a dedicated app store for ChromeOS, notes 9to5Google, which is currently in the early testing phase and behind a flag. The ChromeOS App Mall is described as “an app to discover and install other apps.“
Although it's stuck behind a flag at the moment, 9to5 notes when it goes official, there will be a dedicated website (discover.apps.chrome), which is yet to go live. A snapshot shared by 9to5Google shows us a glimpse of what a web-based experience would look like. It looks a lot like a traditional Play Store with relevant sections and categories.
We can see popular apps like Pinterest, WhatsApp, and LinkedIn under the “apps and games” section. The other sections in the pane include a search bar followed by Home, Apps and Games, Perks, What’s New, and a Help section.
Users will be able to find Android apps next to web apps within App Mall. 9to5 further hints that Chromebooks allow users to install different kinds of apps aside from Android and web apps like games through Steam and Linux-based programs — all of them are expected to be found in the same place with the new App Mall.
Nonetheless, the App Mall is a welcome addition to ChromeOS and Chromebooks in particular, particularly as Google prepares to introduce 15 new devices this year, the company announced in January. Out of the 15, six are for Advanced Use and nine for Learning Anywhere, which the company teased along with new Duet AI enhancements to Workspace for Education and Classroom.
