Chrome Remote Desktop app for Android launched with Windows and Mac access

Google has extended its Chrome Remote Desktop feature to the Android platform in the form of an app, making it possible to access Windows and Mac machines via Android smartphones and tablets via the new Chrome Remote Desktop app for Android.

"Since 2011, Chrome Remote Desktop has let you remotely access your machine from another laptop or computer in a free, easy and secure way. And now, with the release of the Chrome Remote Desktop app for Android, we're making it possible for you to do the same thing from your Android device," states Husain Bengali, Remotely Controlled Product Manager at Google on the official blog.

The Chrome Remote Desktop app for Android would enable users to access any data on the system by downloading the app on smartphone and as well as on PC via the Chrome Webstore.

Available only for Android running smartphones and tablets, the app can access data on both Windows and Mac OS running systems. The blog also mentioned that a similar app for iOS users would arrive later this year. "Download the Android app from the Play Store, and stay tuned for the iOS app later this year."

To use the app for remote access, users will have to set up the Chrome Remote Desktop app on their desktop machine after downloading it from the Chrome Web Store. They can then access these machines via the Chrome Remote Desktop app for Android.

The Chrome Remote Desktop app for Android is sized at a low 2.1MB, is compatible with Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich and later, and is available to download from Google Play Store.

Notably, Microsoft released its own Remote Desktop apps for Android, iOS and Mac in October, allowing users of these platforms to remotely access their Windows devices and servers. Microsoft's Remote Desktop app offers remote access to a Windows PC through the Remote Desktop Gateway. The iOS and Android app offers a multi-touch experience through Microsoft's remote desktop protocol (RDP) and RemoteFX supporting Windows gestures on the iPad and iPhone.

Microsoft's Remote Desktop app also allows users to securely connect to their data and applications with the use of Network Layer Authentication (NLA) technology. It comes with connection centre that allows easy management of all remote connections. The Remote Desktop app also offers high quality video and sound streaming with improved compression and bandwidth usage, according to Microsoft's claims, in addition to support for easy connection to external monitors or projectors for presentations.

In addition to the above features, the Microsoft Remote Desktop app for Mac also offers support for printing from Windows applications to any printer configured on the Mac and allows users to access local files on the Mac even from Windows applications.