Chromium team working on Chrome Remote Desktop app for Android

By Jerry Hildenbrand
published

Todays large-screen Android devices can be a perfect remote viewer for your desktop, and it looks like a native app for Android to do it through Chrome is in the works.

Using your Android phone or tablet as a gateway to your desktop is already possible with apps (opens in new tab) that use various remote viewing protocols, but they all have one common barrier that keeps plenty of people from trying it -- the require a server set up and running on your desktop. While setting one up isn't difficult, it's one of those things that people aren't confident in doing, or just don't want to fool with.

Chrome has offered a built-in solution for a while with the Chrome Remote Desktop function built into the Chrome browser, and that barrier of installing and setting up a separate server goes away, thanks to using your Google account and Chrome's excellent syncing abilities. It looks like the Chromium team is determined to bring this to Android.

While at the moment the project is in its infancy, and most of the functions are still a ways off, this will be an excellent resource once it's finalized and available. We're keeping a close eye on this one!

Source: Chromium Code Review; Via: +François Beaufort

Jerry Hildenbrand
Jerry Hildenbrand
Senior Editor — Google Ecosystem

Jerry is an amateur woodworker and struggling shade tree mechanic. There's nothing he can't take apart, but many things he can't reassemble. You'll find him writing and speaking his loud opinion on Android Central and occasionally on Twitter.

17 Comments
  • Yes! This is something I am very interested in. I use Chrome Remote Desktop almost everyday now and would welcome the ability to use it on my phone and/or tablet.
  • With auto sync of search history and bookmarks and the RDP apps, I don't know I use this feature. But it is better to have more choices than less... Anyone know the advantage of using this verses a RDP app? Posted using Samsung GS III
  • RDP uses Windows' built-in protocols. This is Google's version of the same stuff, but you must have Chrome installed and configured on any system you want to connect to. The advantage, as I said in my post below, is that you can't RDP to a Windows 7 Home Premium machine. You would need this. Also a major advantage of this is that you could connect to your PC from anywhere. To use RDP, you need to be either on the same LAN or have a VPN set up.
  • Thank you so much. Now I think I will use this here and there.
  • I use RDP all the time without being on the same LAN or having a VPN. If you have a router you just have to enable port forwarding and it works fine. I use pocketcloud on my phone all the time to connect to my desktop at home, and it works over 3G or LTE without any VPNs.
  • Actually, though, amazingly enough, you DON'T have to have Chrome installed, and it DOES use a server. Chrome acts as a viewer, and can act as a server, but then Chrome has to be running. Basically that option is for tech support. If you want to be able to connect to your own computer whenever you like (whether chrome is running or not), then you have to install the desktop server piece. After that, you can even uninstall Chrome and it still works. So calling it "Chrome remote desktop" is a bit of a misnomer once it can work from android to the non-chrome server. What makes this possibly better than normal remote desktop is that you don't need a static IP or special NAT port mapping or anything, since it connects through Google using your Google account. (the bad side is that that makes it hard to set up separate accounts for other people...)
  • Using Chrome's remote desktop isn't much different than having to set up server-side software to receive the connection. You can use it now with Chrome on the PC, but you have to be connecting to another PC that has Chrome running on it and the remote stuff enabled. This is not the same as something like Windows RDP, but I guess the case could be made also that the Remote Desktop Protocols are basically the server side software built into Windows. It's just so much more popular and stable than any that I have used with Chrome, and it's certainly nice to not have to install anything else - you can just connect to it. Of course, you can't RDP to a Win7 Home Premium machine, so maybe there *is* really good use for this... Hmmm... /circular-rant
  • I currently use Chrome Remote Desktop to connect from one machine to another in my house. One of my PCs runs 24/7 in a "control" room behind my TV and handles most of our entertainment viewing. I have that machine run more than just entertainment though so I like the easy access to get into it with Chrome always running in the background. I could see using this the same way from my phone or tablet when not at home. I use Chrome on any machine I'm on already so setting it up on a device I use daily now wouldn't be inconvenient for me.
  • I hope this will enable control of an android device from another device.
  • I would really hope this would work for ChromeOS/Chromium. I would love to be able to control my Chromebook through my phone.
  • Wish there was something that could do the opposite, would be great to remotely control an android phone from the PC, but there's absolutely nothing on the market, I think only AirDroid has come close but it's nowhere near being fully remote.
  • This sounds awesome. I use crd every day too and would be great to use it on my Note 2. Posted via Android Central App
  • Heck yeah! My first thought is tapping into services like Amazon Prime Video on the tablet through the desktop. Posted via Android Central App
  • Teamviewer can control more android devices with their latest teamviewer quicksupport (QS) from Google Play. Teamviewer is free for PERSONAL use. QS used to be exclusive to Sammy's handset like G3 but looks like they opened up. Good for personal use but cost a hair over grand for commercial use so I he chrome's rep will do both ways in the future. Posted via Android Central App
  • Sorry, above was in response to ereming1 & Aaron :-) Posted via Android Central App
  • airdroid..check it out on playstore
  • I tried using Chrome remote desktop app. It is good but the process of downloading and remotely accessing computers is very tedious. Researching on Google gave me one very good alternative: RHUB`s remote support servers. It is much easier to use and best part is, it has no download of any kind.