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Google Chrome adds support for Android kiosk apps, expanding business opportunities and improved device management

March 9, 2017

Google Chrome version 57, coming soon, adds support for Android kiosk apps and for kiosk application management, the company announced in a blog. An app in Google Play can be pushed to a Chrome device and then be locked down so that the application is front and center.

This means an IT administrator has the flexibility to install either Chrome kiosk apps or Android kiosk apps on managed devices through the Chrome management console, which decreases deployment time and effort. In addition, with public session kiosks, an IT administrator can install more Chrome packaged apps and extensions in addition to hosted apps.

Google is also making it easier to manage Chrome devices with two additional developments.

The company is making it easier to sign up for a Chrome kiosk, eliminating complex domain registration and verification steps. Name, email address and phone number are all that is needed to sign up and manage devices.

Second, Google is launching new Chrome device management APIs for kiosks. These APIs offer programmatic access to various kiosk policies. IT administrators can schedule a device reboot through the new APIs, for example, and integrate that functionality directly in a third party console.

The company has also added a new stability API that allows kiosk app developers to improve the reliability of the application and the system.

What began as a consumer laptop built on the Chrome browser has expanded to digital signage, currently used in thousands of Toyota showrooms, small computing sticks called Chromebits, and kiosk devices that securely provide single use apps for employees and customers alike.

The addition of Android kiosk apps on Chrome broadens the possibilities for digital signs and kiosks on Chrome devices, providing the option of either a web or Android app approach.