Google announces Chrome OS Flex for Macs and PCs

Google has announced early access to a new version of its Chrome OS named Chrome OS Flex. The latest version of Chrome OS, designed for schools and businesses, is run on old Macs and PCs. According to Google's blog post, the operating system can be installed in just a few minutes.

Both Chrome OS Flex and Chrome OS use the same code base and follow the same release cycle. For the user, both operating systems should look and feel virtually identical. Google is obvious that it is still a very early release, and users shouldn't expect everything to work perfectly right away.

Google did say that some features may depend on the hardware of the PC you're using.

This is not the first time Chrome OS has shown up on devices it didn't ship with. Google recently acquired Neverware, which previously sold CloudReady that enabled users to convert old PCs into Chrome OS systems. That set off speculation about where we might see the next version of Chrome OS and its future in the PC space.

The new Chrome OS and Chrome OS Flex will enable users to use some of Chrome OS' existing features, including background updates, sandboxing, Android phone notification syncing, and Web apps. According to Google, users can download an early access version of Chrome OS Flex to their computers or run it from a live USB.