CrossOver 20 for Chrome OS brings Windows apps to Chromebooks

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CrossOver 20 for Chrome OS uses the Linux container to enable Windows app support on Chromebooks

By Brandon Russell

Published Oct 13, 2020

With the release of CrossOver for ChromeOS, anyone with an Intel Chromebook can run Windows applications, opening up new possibilities.

Over the past several years, Google has slowly turned Chrome OS into a more powerful computing platform, allowing people to use Progressive Web Apps, Android apps, and even Linux apps. While Google is working on its own means of bringing Windows app support to Chrome OS, third-party companies like CodeWeavers have released solutions that Chromebook users can take advantage of today. Today, CodeWeavers released CrossOver 20, bringing Windows app support out of beta for Chrome OS.

CodeWeavers on Tuesday announced (via Liliputing) the arrival of CrossOver 20 for Chrome OS, which makes it easy to run Windows apps on recently released Chromebooks. CrossOver was first released for Chromebooks all the way back in 2017, but back then it was the Android version of the app designed for Chromebooks. The latest release is no longer just the Android version but rather a new version that uses the Linux container available on supported Chromebooks.

CrossOver is separate from the software Google is working on to bring Windows app support to Chromebooks. Google is partnering with a different company called Parallels for that initiative. Unfortunately, that initiative will only be available to enterprise users, and Google hasn’t said whether this feature will be available to consumers in the future.

You can purchase a stable version of CrossOver 20 for Chrome OS for $40. If you want the software plus 12 months of support and updates, that’ll cost $60. The software plus a lifetime of support and updates will run you $500. It’s worth noting that there are minimum specs. Your Chromebook must support Linux applications and have enough space (200MB of disk space is recommended by CodeWeavers).

The stable release of CrossOver opens up a lot of possibilities for Chromebook users. It also makes Google’s Chrome OS a more viable option as a productivity machine for students and professionals. However, not all Windows applications are compatible with CrossOver, so it’s worth browsing the CodeWeavers compatibility database before you purchase the software. Alternatively, you can take advantage of the free trial option to test a few apps out before committing to a purchase.