Android Marshmallow is here! Use your Chromebook to tap into the potential of the Android Operating System.

Overview

There are two ways to do this that I know of.

1. Android x86 releases, mostly an unmodified version of the Android OS
2. RemixOS by Jide, a version of Android with more application support

RemixOS is the fastest way to get up and running, however, it does have it’s caveats. Firstly, while everything works OOB, you’ll need to define your function keys for brightness, audio and audio inputs. This is identical to the way you would set these up in Linux except, done through the terminal. I’ll make a guide about how to do that in the future. In this guide, I’ll cover how to install RemixOS to your Pixel assuming you want to delete any OS that is on it originally. IF you already have Windows on the Pixel, you can just download RemixOS and run the Windows Installer and partition your drive so on boot you can choose which OS to use.

Marshmallow System Requirements

• Empty 8 GB or larger capacity SD Card/USB Drive
  • You will install the Android Marshmallow to the SD card and boot to it.
    • SD Cards are preferred since you can swap it out with a new one if you corrupt your Android installation
  • You can automate this boot process by flashing your firmware and adding the GBB flag to boot from the SD Card automatically.
    • Or if you do not want to flash your device, press CRTL+L each time your Pixel boots
    • Note that with Android installed, system resources are minimally consumed so you can merely close the lid of your laptop instead of turning it off
      • The Pixel resumes from sleep immediately after the lid is opened
• Pixel charged up to at least 50%
  

  Example of resizing a window by using the touchscreen.

Crunchyroll app example. All videos and audio works just fine!

Make sure to scale your icons in the Experimental Features tab, unless you like tiny buttons!

Best of all, Microsoft Office; specifically Microsoft Word!

Installing Remix OS

1. Simply use the Windows utility from RemixOS or use DD on Mac/Linux to write the iso to an SD Card or USB drive.
2. Insert the SD Card or USB Drive and boot to it using legacy BIOS
3. RemixOS may take a while to bootup
   1. You may have to retry booting the OS if it doesn’t startup right away
4. Once you get the RemixOS splash screen wait for 5 minutes
   1. It may take some time to check all your components
5. Once in RemixOS, setup your device with a Google ID
6. You may find the text to be too small to read.
   1. Go to Settings > Experimental Features > Set zoom level
   2. Set the scale to 1.5-2.0 and reboot when it asks you to
7. Define your keys and you’re all set to use Android on your Chromebook Pixel!

Bugs

Sometimes opening and closing the lid causes the Pixel to reboot. This is also a problem in Linux. A solution might be to port some ChromeOS drivers over to your Android install. Find the missing KO file and load it up on boot. If you have a better solution let us know what you think!

Comments & Questions