Google’s Chrome browser has grown into one of the most robust, as well as available and popular browsers in the world, and although there are many things about Chrome that make it a great launcher for many people, one that likely stands out is the ability install any number of apps available in the Chrome Web Store. Although currently Google offers multiple ways to launch Chrome applications, including directly from inside the Chrome browser as well as through the app launcher which itself is a separate app that can be installed, Google has announced today that they will be getting rid of the Chrome App Launcher this Summer on Windows, Linux, and Mac platforms.
Starting in July, the Chrome app launcher will no longer be available and Chrome users will simply launch apps from within the browser itself only. Google states that while the app launcher was an easy way for people to open Chrome apps from outside of the browser, they found that users were still more interested in opening apps from within Chrome itself, which has led them to close down the Chrome app launcher altogether. The good news for those using Chrome OS, if they prefer the app launcher, is that Google will not be changing anything in regards to the Chrome app launcher on that particular platform and it will continue to be available to Chrome OS users.
Google states that the process will begin in the next few weeks and will take the next several months before everything is completely removed, but any users who are currently using the Chrome app launcher or at least have it installed, will start to see notices about the upcoming changes very soon, alerting them that the app launcher will no longer be available in the near future. This shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise to many users, as having both the app launcher, and the app shortcut button within the Chrome browser on the bookmarks bar was redundant, and it would only make sense for Google to get rid of the option that was being used the least amount.