Those who have been planning to get their hands on a Chromebook this year are in for a treat. Google has announced that each Chromebook launched in 2017 will support the Google Play Store and Android apps.

Chromebooks became quite popular particularly in the education sector, but that's hardly surprising bearing the device low cost in mind. Aside from that, Chromebooks are easy to operate and also support a slew of other Google services. The devices, offered from manufacturers that also make Windows PC, run Google's popular Chrome OS (operating system), which is an environment most Google Chrome browser users are well acquainted with.

Despite garnering huge popularity in the education sector, Chromebooks failed to sweep home users off their feet. In their bid to address this issue and make the brand more accessible and appealing to a wider range of buyers, the company is gearing up to integrate Android apps in its Chromebooks.

The current generation of the Chromebooks are ideal for basic computing; however, in the absence of the internet, these machines can be quite restricting. This is exactly why this announcement from the search engine giant comes at a perfect time for those who have been considering Chromebooks as an option since bevies of Android apps will now be accessible even in offline mode.

Last year, Google revealed its plan to bring mobile platform-exclusive apps to its desktop platform including older Chromebooks before 2016 ended. On Monday, Google finally rubber stamped the advent of Android apps support for all Chromebooks announced in 2017 and after. However, the company did not divulge a specific date when the Chromebooks will start working with Android apps.

Three Chromebooks including Chromebook Pixel, Acer Chromebook R11, and Asus Chromebook Flip already come with this feature. Furthermore, Google, in collaboration with Samsung announced the Samsung Chromebook Pro and Plus, which will come with the beta version of the Play Store preinstalled at the recently concluded CES.

Chromebooks' Weak Points

Taking into consideration that most of the Android apps are specifically designed for handsets, it will be interesting to see how the company reformats these apps to fit Chromebook screens.

Moreover, Chromebooks do not boast mammoth internal storage since most of their files are stored in the cloud. With the addition of Android apps, it remains to be seen how the company plans to beef up the internal storage of the Chromebooks.

Nevertheless, the inclusion of Android apps will definitely make the Chromebook a more appealing alternative for those looking to purchase a budget-friendly and modest computer this year, since aside from additional functionality for the Chrome OS, 2017 Chromebooks will also be offering an array of offline apps, TechCrunch reported.

Will you be purchasing a Chromebook this year? Let us know in the comments section below!