86 PCWorld JANUARY 2022F E ATU R E ANDROID ON PC
is limited, it has a huge library of Microsoft
Store and legacy Windows apps not available
to Chrome OS. Running the Android version
of Photoshop Express on a Chromebook is no
substitute for running Photoshop on a
Windows 11 PC.
Winner: Chrome OSPERFORMANCE
Android apps do not run natively on either
Chrome OS or Windows 11. Both operating
systems apply some (surprisingly different)
behind-the-scenes techniques to enable
support. A performance penalty applies to
both cases, but is it enough to make a
difference? That depends on your use.
Most modern Android smartphones are
far more capable than required by most appsyou might use. The Windows 11 and Chrome
OS devices I used for my testing had at least
an 8th-generation Intel Core i3 processor with
more than adequate performance for most
situations. I found that all apps launched
quickly and responded to either mouse or
touch input with no significant lag.
Ask more of an app, however, and you
may run into problems. Scrolling through
filters in Adobe Photoshop Express on
Chrome OS, for example, was less
responsive and smooth than on a modern
Android smartphone. The app was usable,
but felt a step behind my input. Filters and
other image adjustments could take a
second or two to apply.
3D can also be an issue. Popular Android
games like Genshin Impact and Pokemon
Unite will launch
on Chrome OS,
but on the
Chromebooks
I’ve tried, they
freeze before I
can get into
gameplay. Even
Hearthstone
froze and
crashed at the
login screen.
Android app
performance in
Windows 11 is
more difficult toFiles can be downloaded and accessed from Android apps in Chrome OS, via the
Play Files folder.