Google has announced that Chrome app launcher will be removed from Windows, Mac, and Linux (Photo : Getty Images/Bloomberg)
Google is shutting down Chrome app launcher service because a survey conducted by the tech giant showed that users mostly launch the apps from within the browser. The implementation will take several months, until existing installations will also be removed by July 2016.
Chrome app launcher has breathed its last, as Google is discontinuing the service Windows, Mac and Linux, but Chrome OS users will still be able to use the feature. Since users on other platform prefer launching Chrome apps directly from within the browser, the decision emphasizes on "simplicity and streamlining browser features," Google announced on Chromium blog.
The app launcher serves as shortcut to pop open Chrome apps, without having to open the browser and while the launcher is going away, the app will still be available. "Chrome apps can still be accessed by clicking the apps shortcut in the bookmarks bar or typing chrome://apps in the omnibox," Engineering Director Marc Pawliger wrote on the blog.
The blog further clarified that the removal process will take "several months" beginning with the removal of the launcher as a default add-on, so new installations will not ship the shortcut facility. Later, users who will have the launcher installed will be notified about the development with a message, before Chrome app launcher finally disappears from all platforms except Chrome OS, currently used by Chromebooks.
Looking back at Chrome app launcher's journey, the tech titan rolled out the Chrome add-on on Windows in July 2013. Mac got the tip by December that year while it took another year before the feature was introduced to Linux in July 2014.
Google has time and again pulled the plug out of a service that could not sell to the company's expectations. Last year, the Chrome notification center was discontinued for the similar reasons, TechTimes pointed out.
To developers, Chrome apps are portal to expand their reach to a wide range of potential audience. These apps run on the world's leading browser, which maximizes discovery of the contents and features developers have to offer. The advantage is that instead of maintaining separate application files for Windows, OSX, and Linux, a single application uploaded on the modern browsers runs on all the platforms and even mobile devices via Cordava.
The following video instructs on how to fix missing Chrome app launcher issue.
