Anybody know what version of Android is running on the Framework Chromebook?
AFAIK the Chromebook runs ChromeOS.
While they do support Android apps
, they do so using a runtime
, specifically using Native Client to run in their Browser Engine.
So there is no real Android version
here,- it’s all about the runtime.
Native Client has been dead for a while now. You’re thinking of a previous system (ARC) Google had for running a select few Android apps on Chromebooks. The second system (ARC++) added full Play Store access and was at various points based on Android 6, 7, and 9, but I think it’s dead now too (at least for new devices).
The current system for running Android apps on Chrome OS (arcvm) is actually the third version, and it’s based on the same virtualization system that crostini (Linux) and borealis (Steam) use. It’s currently based on Android 11 (I believe on all devices, but I can confirm that it’s Android 11 on the Framework at least).
Here’s Google’s blog post announcing arcvm last year: Making Android Runtime on ChromeOS more secure and easier to upgrade with ARCVM | ChromeOS for developers
Awesome! Thanks for the link. That probably explains why my Chromebook never got above Android 9 even though it was supposed to. Sounds like it should make using Android apps somewhat less flaky.