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Google is shutting down a browser you probably didn't know existed
- Google recently announced it was pulling the plugs on Lacros, an experimental browser launched for Chromebooks.
- The company began working on Lacros in 2020 and made it available for testing in 2023.
- Lacros’ discontinuation, however, does not affect Chromebook users.
A recent announcement from Google indicated that Chrome OS would begin using more of the Android stack going forward. While this will take time to implement fully, one change that Google has already made is ending development work on its experimental browser, Lacros.
Google started working on the Lacros browser in 2020, and it was made available for testing in 2023. While Chromebooks have always featured a Chrome browser, Lacros was meant to split the browser from the underlying OS to ensure quicker updates. The Mountain View tech giant also hoped the Lacros would help improve the overall performance and stability of Chromebooks.
When it was launched for testing, several Chromebook users enabled a flag to use Lacros. It seemed to some that Google would launch the browser at any time. However, it appears that the company has decided to put an end to this experiment. In a community post, Google announced, “As we refocus our efforts on achieving similar objectives with Chrome OS embracing portions of the Android stack, we have decided to end support for this experiment.”
The post noted that Lacross would not be supported on Chrome OS version M128. However, the company states that feedback and testing results from the community of users who took to Lacros helped it make several vital improvements to Chrome OS. In its post, Google assured Chromebook users that they would not be impacted by this move and added that updates as well as fixes for Chrome and Chrome OS would continue to be rolled out per usual.