Google to pull the plug on the Chrome App Launcher by July 2016

When Google launched their range of web-based applications like Docs, Sheets, Slides and the like, it quickly blurred the lines between traditional desktop apps that were launched via an icon on users’ desktops. And to help further blur this distinction of where the apps lived, Google introduced a bespoke launcher for these Chrome apps back in July 2013, initially for Windows. It was subsequently rolled out to Mac in December that year, then to Linux users the following July.

Using this desktop launcher, users could directly launch web apps by clicking an icon--just like they were accustomed to with launching conventional desktop programs.

But Google has found that users were just not accessing Chrome apps using this launcher as frequently as they expected them to--users preferred to launch them directly from the Chrome browser itself. Which is why they are removing this desktop app come July 2016.

The Chrome app launcher will first stop being included as part of the browser over the next few weeks, then will disappear altogether over the next several months. Finally in July it will be removed for users who already have it. It will however remain part of the Chrome OS used on their netbooks--an implementation in which the Chrome App Launcher is central to the experience.

This decision is in line with Google’s quest to streamline the Chrome browser, sluggish performance being an area in which it has been criticized for in the recent past. By removing extraneous and seldom-used features, they hope to speed up the browsing experience and utilize fewer resources while running.