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Chrome OS to test early GPU support for Linux apps soon - 9to5Google

If you've kept up with Chrome OS in the past six months or so, you'll know that one of the more interesting new features to launch is Linux apps support. While this has potential to introduce all sorts of new applications to Chrome OS, there are some features missing that hold it back, in this early stage. One of the most anticipated features, graphics acceleration (or GPU support), necessary for running Linux games and some other apps, will be available to test soon on Chrome OS.

As it stands, Chrome OS's Linux apps support (internally known as Crostini) can be used to run some (non-intense) games on your favorite Chromebook. However, without GPU support, they're running exclusively using the main processor, which makes many games slower or entirely inaccessible.

Of course, games aren't the only programs that use the GPU. One major application that Google has been hard at work trying to perfect for Chrome OS is Android Studio. While Android Studio itself can run on Chrome OS today through Linux apps support, the Android Emulator, used for testing your Android app on a simulated device, makes heavy use of the GPU.

A proposed code change, discovered on Chromium's Gerrit source code management, will create a new option to enable the GPU inside of the Linux apps virtual machine. Additionally, the short term plan for GPU support in Chrome OS Linux apps is laid out plainly.

At first, only users of the Beta, Dev, and Canary update channels will be able to try out GPU support. This is because Google considers the feature to be in "pre-alpha" stage and that it is therefore "not ready for everyday use."

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