Chrome OS Device incorrectly marked incompatible with Minecraft Android

Normally, Chromebooks that can run Android apps can only run Android apps that have been optimized for Chromebooks, this means making sure the app can run on a Chromebook that does not have a touchscreen, and making sure it can run at a similar experience on Android and Chromebooks. However, Minecraft has not been optimized for Chromebooks, and because of this, Minecraft is not designed for Chrome OS.

Jonathan - Thank you for explaining. At least I more fully understand why this has occurred. I'm still disappointed that it worked so well and then became "unsupported," but they're not much more I can do about it. I guess my only hope is to wish really hard for Chromebook optimization at some point in the future.

Jonathan - Thank you for explaining. At least I more fully understand why this has occurred. I'm still disappointed that it worked so well and then became "unsupported," but they're not much more I can do about it. I guess my only hope is to wish really hard for Chromebook optimization at some point in the future.

QUESTION

Hello! Seeing that MCPE runs well on the Pixelbook (from what I can see with the newest version available to the Pixelbook), surely you could just whitelist the Pixelbook as a compatible device in the Google Play Console and not other Chrome OS devices?

BACKGROUND

Having looked at the Google Play Console, it appears to me that it's possible for app developers to whitelist just some models of existing devices, so in this case you could switch off all Chromebooks except for ones that support touchscreens eg. the Pixelbook and Pixel Slate (which both have a touchscreen which is as functional as what you'd get on an iPad Pro).

Even if the Pixelbook and Pixel Slate were the only ones with support I'm sure that it would make the situation better as it would encourage users of those devices to buy the game from the Google Play Store instead of switching their device to dev mode (which could prove a security risk just to play Minecraft) and downloading an APK from a dodgy mirror (which would count as piracy and wouldn't pay you guys)!1 

I am desperately wishing for you guys to just toggle that one little switch that allows me and my friends to have fun together ─ honestly, it's the only game we  play ─ and it's a real shame when one of us can't play. Having switched from the Surface Pro 4 to a brand-new Pixelbook as my go-everywhere computer, this is the only thing that I really wish I could have with me.^{2 Please toggle that one switch I'm begging you lol} 

¹ I haven't done that, just for the record; and I won't be due to the fact that I don't want my Pixelbook wiped!

² I've got Linux, so that's good for PC-like apps, but it can't play at the capacity of the Java edition yet due to lack of HW acceleration and besides, it's not part of the Better Together line.

TL;DR

By just toggling on support for the Pixelbook computers in the Google Play Console, Minecraft could be accessed and enjoyed by thousands of Pixelbook users ─ in fact it allows said users to play with their friends and family and be Better Together!

QUESTION

Hello! Seeing that MCPE runs well on the Pixelbook (from what I can see with the newest version available to the Pixelbook), surely you could just whitelist the Pixelbook as a compatible device in the Google Play Console and not other Chrome OS devices?

BACKGROUND

Having looked at the Google Play Console, it appears to me that it's possible for app developers to whitelist just some models of existing devices, so in this case you could switch off all Chromebooks except for ones that support touchscreens eg. the Pixelbook and Pixel Slate (which both have a touchscreen which is as functional as what you'd get on an iPad Pro).

Even if the Pixelbook and Pixel Slate were the only ones with support I'm sure that it would make the situation better as it would encourage users of those devices to buy the game from the Google Play Store instead of switching their device to dev mode (which could prove a security risk just to play Minecraft) and downloading an APK from a dodgy mirror (which would count as piracy and wouldn't pay you guys)!1 

I am desperately wishing for you guys to just toggle that one little switch that allows me and my friends to have fun together ─ honestly, it's the only game we  play ─ and it's a real shame when one of us can't play. Having switched from the Surface Pro 4 to a brand-new Pixelbook as my go-everywhere computer, this is the only thing that I really wish I could have with me.^{2 Please toggle that one switch I'm begging you lol} 

¹ I haven't done that, just for the record; and I won't be due to the fact that I don't want my Pixelbook wiped!

² I've got Linux, so that's good for PC-like apps, but it can't play at the capacity of the Java edition yet due to lack of HW acceleration and besides, it's not part of the Better Together line.

TL;DR

By just toggling on support for the Pixelbook computers in the Google Play Console, Minecraft could be accessed and enjoyed by thousands of Pixelbook users ─ in fact it allows said users to play with their friends and family and be Better Together!

similar bugs have been closed as not bugs or invalid on unsupported platforms or wontfix...

please consider that this feels like a bug to your users because minecraft android used to work fine on many chrome os laptops.

as noted in another comment - the pixelbook and slate are particularly well suited to the mobile experience.

similar bugs have been closed as not bugs or invalid on unsupported platforms or wontfix...

please consider that this feels like a bug to your users because minecraft android used to work fine on many chrome os laptops.

as noted in another comment - the pixelbook and slate are particularly well suited to the mobile experience.

I see 2 reasons for this.
1. Adding Chromebooks requires additional effort during development (i.e. testing), probably not worth it given the number of likely users
2. Minecraft is owned by Microsoft - so they want people to buy Surface tablets and not Chromebooks to play Minecraft.

I see 2 reasons for this.
1. Adding Chromebooks requires additional effort during development (i.e. testing), probably not worth it given the number of likely users
2. Minecraft is owned by Microsoft - so they want people to buy Surface tablets and not Chromebooks to play Minecraft.

Minecraft is yet again not available in the Play Store for Pixel Slate. For the commenter above, it's not about "whitelisting" these devices, since an APK is normally available to all devices as long as they have the desired capabilities (e.g. touch screen), and these devices do. You can check this by looking at the APK manifest.

However Mojang/Microsoft specifically blacklist these devices. After they release the APK to the Play Store, they have to individually list each device (manufacturer, model etc.) that they don't want allowed, and they have to do it for each new APK version they release.

Minecraft is yet again not available in the Play Store for Pixel Slate. For the commenter above, it's not about "whitelisting" these devices, since an APK is normally available to all devices as long as they have the desired capabilities (e.g. touch screen), and these devices do. You can check this by looking at the APK manifest.

However Mojang/Microsoft specifically blacklist these devices. After they release the APK to the Play Store, they have to individually list each device (manufacturer, model etc.) that they don't want allowed, and they have to do it for each new APK version they release.

Thank you for your report!
However, this issue has been temporarily resolved as Awaiting Response

Is this still an issue in the latest version?

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Observed Results:
(Briefly describe what happens)

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Thank you for your report!
However, this issue has been temporarily resolved as Awaiting Response

Is this still an issue in the latest version?

If it is, please be sure to include steps to reproduce the problem:

Steps to Reproduce:
1.
2.
3.

Observed Results:
(Briefly describe what happens)

Expected Results:
(Briefly describe what should happen)

If your ticket does not look like the example given here, then it's likely to be closed as incomplete.

This ticket will automatically reopen when you reply.

Quick Links:
📓 Issue Guidelines – 💬 Mojang Support – 📧 Suggestions – 📖 Minecraft Wiki

Hello,

This is still an issue on at least some chromebooks. I am on a Google Pixelbook(2017) which has full support for Android apps. 

Steps to Reproduce:

Method A

1. Open play store app on chromebook
2. search for "minecraft" 
3. app does not display in search results

Method B

1.Open Google Play store in a web browser 

2.Login with the same account associated with the chromebook

3. search for "minecraft"

4. chromebook is shown as a non compatible device. (screenshot attatched)

Observed Results:
Minecraft is not able to be installed on the chromebook. 

Expected Results:
Minecraft was able to be installed and played through the playstore prior to v1.12. Minecraft Java edition can be played through the linux container(crostini) on some chromebooks and performs well. 

If Bedrock can be played and is supported on mobile device( Pixel 3 - Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 - 64GB storage - 6 GB ram) why is it no longer supported on chromebooks with better specs? (pixelbook 2017 - Intel 7th Gen i5 - 128GB storage - 8GB ram.)

Thanks,

Evelyn

Hello,

This is still an issue on at least some chromebooks. I am on a Google Pixelbook(2017) which has full support for Android apps. 

Steps to Reproduce:

Method A

1. Open play store app on chromebook
2. search for "minecraft" 
3. app does not display in search results

Method B

1.Open Google Play store in a web browser 

2.Login with the same account associated with the chromebook

3. search for "minecraft"

4. chromebook is shown as a non compatible device. (screenshot attatched)

Observed Results:
Minecraft is not able to be installed on the chromebook. 

Expected Results:
Minecraft was able to be installed and played through the playstore prior to v1.12. Minecraft Java edition can be played through the linux container(crostini) on some chromebooks and performs well. 

If Bedrock can be played and is supported on mobile device( Pixel 3 - Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 - 64GB storage - 6 GB ram) why is it no longer supported on chromebooks with better specs? (pixelbook 2017 - Intel 7th Gen i5 - 128GB storage - 8GB ram.)

Thanks,

Evelyn

Mojang has marked this issue as invalid several times.

Given Education Edition's recent release on Chromebooks and previous user experience it would not be unreasonable to assume that Bedrock Edition can run on Chromebooks (contrary to the support page answer). Perhaps Mojang should review in the meantime.