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An upcoming change to Google Play Services may soon allow users to stream apps from their phone to their Chromebook. This is based on a new report from XDA Developers, following an initial teardown in update version 21.21.12.
Google hasn’t provided any details in the code below as to exactly how it would work. But the implications of the code that was found are quite simple. The changes first refer to a string labeled “apps_stream_enabled_description” which also says “Cast app to Chromebook”.
The minor change to that simply points to a string named “apps_stream_enabled_title” with the “Apps” descriptor.
What could this mean for apps for Chromebook users who have Android phones?
Now, this feature was first suggested in February. And it appears that the change is directly linked, and unsurprisingly, to Phone Hub. For clarity, this is the Chromebook and Android feature that allows deep integration of notifications, phone control, and more on Chromebooks. And, based on previous changes related to this feature, Chromebooks will also be able to stream apps via that feature.
This will be done via a new system web app used to sync both video and bi-directional data to WebRTC. Then, in effect, it will mirror your phone’s screen for the apps in question, then stream data to and from that source device and Chromebook.
In short, allow users to access apps on their phone, via a stream, on their Chromebook.
Will it be a Pixel exclusive and when will it arrive?
As with at least some other features, while not associated with Chrome OS, the current expectation is that this feature will be a Pixel-branded exclusive. Namely, it will only work with Pixel-branded smartphones, if the current assumption is correct.
Meanwhile, there’s also no way to say exactly when it might arrive. And there’s no guarantee that it will actually be a Pixel-exclusive feature when it does. This is if it gets to everyone. But it certainly isn’t active yet.
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