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Google brings Chrome to the Windows Store as just a download link

Google brings Chrome to the Windows Store as just a download link

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Just in case you couldn’t Google for it

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Apple is planning to bring iTunes to the Windows Store next year after delaying its release, but one particular app we never expected to see in the store is Google’s Chrome browser. In a surprise move, Google has published Chrome in the Windows Store this week, but not in the way you might be expecting.

Google has simply packaged an app for Windows 10 that opens itself to the Chrome download page. Downloading Chrome will then open up the link in your default Windows 10 browser. It’s a hilarious snub of the Windows Store, and makes it clear Google isn’t planning to bring its browser to Microsoft’s store any time soon.

Chrome will likely never arrive in the Windows Store

There are many reasons Google won’t likely bring Chrome to the Windows Store, but the primary reason is probably related to Microsoft’s Windows 10 S restrictions. Windows Store apps that browse the web must use HTML and JavaScript engines provided by Windows 10, and Google’s Chrome browser uses its own Blink rendering engine. Google would have to create a special Chrome app specifically for Windows 10 S, much like it would have needed to do to support Windows Phone years ago. It’s extremely unlikely that Google is even considering the work involved in such a project.

The vast majority of Windows 10 machines do not run Windows 10 S, so Google can simply get away with listing an app that redirects Windows 10 users to the Chrome download page. If a Windows 10 user searches for Chrome in the Windows Store, they’ll now get an app that’s as useful as performing a Google search for Chrome.