The Chrome Operating System (Chrome OS) will soon have a feature that is noticeably missing on their hybrid mobile-and-desktop platform. The beta program of the OS revealed Android Parallel tasks, a feature that will enable Android apps to run smoothly in the background while other desktop applications are in focus.
Currently in the Chrome OS, Android apps will pause when they are put in the background. This is different behavior from usual desktop operating systems like the Windows and macOS. On these platforms, apps in the background continue to run along even when "minimized."
The pausing behavior is okay for phones, but for users who like to multitask on a Chromebook, this can be a problem.
With Android Parallel Tasks, Android apps will continue to run even when they are in the background.
The feature was first rolled out in the beta channel for Chrome OS 64. Google has not announced when the feature will make its way to the public, but it is expected to be a staple of the Chrome OS 64 in the near future.
It should be noted that not all Android apps pause on the Chrome OS 64. Some, like Spotify, continue to play music even in the background. However, some games tend to pause, which might ruin the experience when simply multitasking.
The pausing effect happens on phones because sometimes users forget to check what apps are running, especially if the phone's screen size is small. Pausing background apps may save battery life and also conserves processor power for use in the main task,
However, this is least necessary for desktops where power is not a problem.
Android Parallel Tasks is expected to be installed on updates to the Chrome Pixelbook. Multiple Android apps will then be able to run side-by-side with no pausing and data loss, if current expectations are to be met.
