We installed ChromeOS Flex on an old laptop — with impressive results
If you have an older laptop that you want to put to use again, ChromeOS Flex is an excellent, user-friendly option.
While many Linux distributions offer low system requirements for those trying to revive an older laptop, these can require some technical skill to install and set up.
Since the ChromeOS graphical user interface is similar to what you would find on an Android device, it is intuitive and user-friendly to first-time users.
Google recently made ChromeOS Flex freely available, so we thought now would be a great time to try installing the operating system on an older device.
I had an old entry-level Lenovo Ideapad 320 lying around that I got in 2017.
Even though it is not on Google’s ChromeOS Flex supported devices list, it still worked.
It has an Intel Core i5 7200U, 4 GB of RAM, a 1TB HDD, and Intel HD 620 integrated graphics.
Although it shipped with Windows 10, I noticed it had become sluggish in the past year.
While I could swap out the mechanical hard drive for an SSD and add more RAM — which should noticeably speed up performance — I wanted to first test the impact of a lightweight operating system like ChromeOS Flex.
ChromeOS Flex is a barebones version of Google’s Chromium-based ChromeOS, with the key difference being that Flex does not natively support Android applications.
Installing ChromeOS Flex was straightforward. It was as simple as navigating to the Help page and following the instructions.
This involved installing the ChromeOS Recovery Utility on a USB with 8GB or more storage space.
After creating the boot drive, I restarted the laptop, pressed its designated key (F12) to enter the boot menu, and selected to boot from the USB.
The key you need to press to enter the boot menu differs for each manufacturer, which Google’s help page also lists.
From there, it was just a matter of following the installer prompts. It is important to note that installing ChromeOS wipes the data from any drives present in the machine.
If you are hesitant to commit fully to installing Google’s operating system, there is an option to run a stripped-back version from the USB first.
One drawback of running ChromeOS Flex is its reliance on an Internet connection.
However, ChromeOS Flex’s automatic update feature is a boon for users who often forget to update their systems manually.
Another useful feature is the ability to connect your Android smartphone to Flex using the phone hub feature. This lets you access the recent Chrome tabs opened on your phone and view notifications and media.
Phone hub also synchronises all the saved Wi-Fi networks from your smartphone to your laptop, eliminating the need to re-enter passwords.
The default applications that came installed with ChromeOS Flex were:
- Google Chrome
- Files
- Gmail
- Google Meet
- Google Chat
- Docs
- Slides
- Sheets
- Google Drive
- Google Keep
- Google Calendar
- Messages
- YouTube
- YouTube Music
- Camera
- Google Maps
- Settings
- Explore
- Calculator
- Chrome Canvas
- Text
- Web Store
- Linux apps
- Screencast
- Play Books
- Play Movies
You can install other applications through the Chrome web store. However, Chrome has ended support for many of its Chrome Apps.
For those applications that are no longer supported, you are redirected to the application’s web version, opening as a tab in Google Chrome.
I managed to install Solitaire, Google Keep, and Polarr Photo Editor, while apps like Canva and SoundCloud redirected me to their websites.
The Files application lets you access any files you have downloaded onto the device and integrates with your Google Drive account.
All the applications launched fast and were responsive. Resizing and dragging windows between two monitors was smooth and did not stutter or produce any visual artefacts.
Since ChromeOS is a web-based operating system, I ran the Speedometer 2.0 browser benchmark, which measures the responsiveness of web applications.
To make the comparison as fair as possible, I closed all other applications and browser tabs when conducting the benchmark.
On Flex, I got a result of 93.9 runs per minute using Google Chrome, while the same benchmark on Windows 10 gave a 78.6 score.
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