CHROME OS FLEX
OVERVIEW
This is a review of Chrome OS Flex running on a Dell Inspiron 11-3180 (AMD A-9420 CPU, AMD Radeon R-5 onboard GPU, 4 GB RAM, 128 GB eMMC). It is complimentary to @murbert's review in an earlier comment.
INSTALLATION
I prepared the installation USB using my Dell Latitude 3120 running Windows 11. I installed onto my Dell Inspiron 11-3180, which was running Kubuntu 22.04 LTS. The 3120 is a COSF certified device; the 11-3180 is not certified.
COSF, like Windows, uses its own installer (the "Chromebook Recovery Utility"), and the installer operates similarly to the Windows Media Creation Tool. A small executeable was downloaded to the 3120. When executed, the installation process began.
I was prompted to insert a USB, the COSF ISO was downloaded onto the USB, and the USB was set up as a boot device, all without my intervention at any point. The process ran verification at two points, verifying first that the downloaded ISO was correct, and second that the USB as prepared was correct. The process took 22 minutes. When the installation USB was finished, I was notified and prompted to remove the USB.
Installation onto the 11-3180 was straightforward. I booted from the USB and the installation process began. The installation process is simplicity itself, a series of screens, each with a single step in the process, and a "Continue" button at the bottom of the screen. At the end of the process, the 11-3180 turned inself off.
When I turned the computer back on, the login screen opened, I entered my Google account password, and I was off and running. COSF does not have a post-installation setup routine.
USB preparation and installation process followed the ChromeOS Flex Installation Guide precisely, and I followed the guide on the 3120 while installing onto the 11-3180. At one point in the process, I was asked whether the device was being set up for an adult or a child. I assume, without knowing, that setting the device up for a child sets up Google Chrome for safer browsing.
Installation requires that the user link to or create a Google account. That is no surprise because COSF is designed as a "thin client" access point for online Google applications/services and would be more or less useless unless linked to a Google account.
COSF does not have an "install alongside" option. COSF, like Chrome OS, is designed to be the only operating system on a device and to have complete control of the device. Dual booting is not supported.
HARDWARE ISSUES
COSF documentation has a long list of hardware limitations/issues, probably related to the fact that Chrome OS is hardware-specific and makes firmware/kernel/OS modifications to speed up Chrome OS.
A few of the issues: Sandisk USBs do not work with the "Chromebook Recovery Utility" installer and will hang at the point where the installer starts to write to the USB. COFS cannot be installed on RAID drives. Installation on Legacy BIOS is unsupported and problematic. Earlier Intel GPUs (e.g. GMA 500-900 series) do not work with COSF and devices will not boot. NVIDIA cards don't work reliably with COFS. Problems often arise with external GPU cards when the CPU has onboard graphics. Mirroring with high-resolution monitors might or might not work properly. CD and DVD drives aren't supported and might not work. Fingerprint readers, Firewire ports, IR (face recognition) cameras are unsupported and probably won't work. Thunderbolt functionality is not supported, but Thunderbolt ports can be used for USB and Displayport purposes. Stylus and active pen input is not supported. Wifi dongles are not supported. The list of hardware issues is relatively long, but I think I've caught most of the important issues.
In general, taking everything into consideration (including the list of certified models which seems heavily weighted toward business-level computers rather than consumer-level computers), it seems to me that COFS is intended for use on vanilla Intel/AMD-based business/education laptops 5-years old or less with no bells and whistles. Anything outside that lane is likely to run into issues.
I have not yet run into any hardware-related issues on the 11-3180, but the 11-3180 is a close cousin of a certified Dell computer, so I'm not surprised. Sleep and recovery is working fine, display is working fine, scaling is working fine, sound is working fine, the touchpad is working fine, the camera is working fine, and the USB, SD and HDMI ports are all working fine. No hardware drama so far.
Battery life seems a bit better with COSF than the battery life I got from Solus Plasma or Kubuntu, but it isn't so much improved that I'd sing about it. I normally got about 3 to 3.5 hours out the battery using Solus Plasma and Kubuntu, and in the two rundowns from 100% to 15% using COSF it looks like the battery life might be 4-ish hours. But that might be a difference in use as much as it is a difference in efficiency.
LOGIN ISSUE
Google requires that a user log into Chrome OS Flex using a Google Account, just as Windows 11 now requires users to sign into Windows 11 using a Microsoft Account. I don't have a problem with that in either case, but Google does not allow logging into Chrome OS Flex (or Chrome OS) with a device-specific PIN, as Microsoft does. That puts users in a bind, because a secure password will be long, containing upper case, lower case, numerals and characters like #, $, & and so on, and that will make the password difficult if not impossible to remember.
My Google Account password, as is the case with all my passwords linking to protected personal information, is 24 characters long, computer generated and total gibberish. No way in hell am I going to remember it. I refuse to simplify it, because to do so would put my Google Account at risk. So I had to print it and keep it in my wallet. Google needs to rethink the PIN issue.
SPEED
Boot speed is remarkably fast, about 1/3 of the time needed to boot Solus Plasma or Kubuntu on the 11-3180. With COSF, the 11-3180 opened the login screen in 9-10 seconds (as opposed to 25-30 seconds with Kubuntu), and went almost instantaneously from login to desktop (as opposed to a 5 or so seconds on Solus Plasma and Kubuntu).
Desktop operating speed also seems fast in comparison to Kubuntu and Solus Plasma, although that is a subjective assessment.
All in all, It seems clear (and this is confirmed by what I've read) that Google has gone to great lengths to optimize the boot process, the DE, and Google applications to cut response time to the absolute minimum.
I called my Chromebook friend, who tells me that a Chromebook boots even faster, 3-5 seconds. I think that the reason for the longer COSF boot time (9-10 seconds) is that OEM boot processes are designed to check more hardware than Chromebooks, which deploy a limited subset of hardware and can skip a lot of pre-boot checks that COSF has to perform.
But on the 11-3180, which is low-spec and no speed demon, 9-10 seconds is warp speed compared to Windows or the other distros I've installed on the 11-3180 over the last few years.
KERNEL
I ran uname -r in the terminal, and the kernel was reported as "5.10.147-20159-g06a9a2b12b31". I'm not sure if that is the kernel running COSF or the kernel running in the Linux container. I believe that the OS Layer (see below) is Debian-based, so that is consistent with the 5.10 kernel. Google's documentation says that COSF and Chrome OS are on an identical update/upgrade cycle, kept in sync. I understand that Google modifies the kernel for use with Chrome OS and COSF, and adds Google-developed wifi, printer and hardware drivers over and above what is supplied in the kernel.
OS LAYER
Chrome OS Flex (as well as Chromium OS and Chrome OS, as I understand it) is currently based on Debian GNU/Linux 11 (Bullseye), but heavily modified to reduce the number of processes running, cut out cruft, and optimize for speed and stability. Neofetch lists the DE as "Generic". I have not used COSF long enough to know whether or not I'll run into stability problems in the long term, but so far COSF seems rock solid, and that is what I expect to find long term.
DESKTOP ENVIRONMENT
The COSF desktop environment is very high quality, which is no surprise, and consistent from top to bottom, which is also no surprise. As far as I can tell (trading screenshots back and forth with my Chromebook friend) the Chrome OS and COSF desktop environments are identical in design. The UI is very different from the Windows/Budgie/Plasma DE's I'm used to using, but it is very well-designed, intuitive and user-friendly.
The DE reminds me of Google Android in terms of appearance and "look and feel". Almost all of the icons, for example, are identical. Although a user coming from Windows 10 will face an adjustment, anyone with an Android tablet or smartphone is going to be in a familiar visual environment. I suspect that Google is merging design motifs between Android and Chrome OS, and that is reflected in COSF's design.
The DE is built around Chrome, so Chrome users will find familiar settings. The COSF and Chrome settings are accessed from different points (Chrome through the three-dot bar and COSF by clicking on the information widget). I had both open at one time for a while, and it wasn't a good experience because I got confused about which was which ("Who's on first ..."). That's an area where COSF (and probably Chrome OS) could use a bit of refinement.
LINUX
Linux can run on COSF, but requires that the BIOS be set so that Virtualization is enabled. I had Virtualization disabled on the 11-3180 so I was initially blocked from installing Linux, but eventually figured it out. The default Linux installation sets up a 10 GB Linux container, which I changed to 20 GB. Linux on COSF seems similar to WSL2, in the sense that no DE seems to be installed, but Linux apps can be installed. The Linux container seems to be Debian-based (it uses Debian Bullseye repostiories) and uses standard Debian apt commands.
APPLICATIONS
COSF packages all of the standard Google apps (Chrome, Mail, Calendar, Meet, Chat, Docs, Sheets, Slides, Maps, Messages, Google Drive, Gallery and so on). Many ordinary home desktop users will probably need nothing more than what is packaged. COSF integrates seamlessly with all of the packaged apps, as expected, and all work flawlessly.
However, the ability to run apps other than the apps included in the COSF is problematic, to say the least.
Because COSF runs Linux in a container, it is theoretically possible, I suppose, to install Linux apps (Edge, Aisleriot, Gnome Mahjonng, and so on) and run them in COSF. I'm not sure how practical this solution is for ordinary home desktop users, though, because the Linux container needs to be activated each time a user wants to run a Linux app, and it looks to me as if the apps must be started from the command line. I'm going to wait until I have cold, snowy Wisconsin day before I chase this down.
COSF does not support the Play Store, so Android Apps cannot be used on COSF. That is a huge disadvantage for ordinary home desktop users, because the Apps section of the Chrome Web Store is deprecated, on the path of destruction, and bit-by-bit apps will no longer be available through the Chrome Web Store. Eventually the Apps section of the Chrome Web Store will be removed entirely. As a result, fewer Chrome Web Store apps are now available for installation and over time, none will be available.
I gather that this is a move toward standardization around Google Play and Android apps, but it does leave ChromeOS Flex, which does not have access to Google Play, out in the cold.
FLATPAK/SNAP SUPPORT
COSF supports Flatpak if the Linux container enabled. I don't know about Snaps.
As is the case with Linux apps, I'm going to wait until I have cold, snowy Wisconsin day before I try to install Flatpak and an app or two. As is the case with Linux apps, I think that the Linux container needs to be turned on to run a Flatpak app, which is problematic for ordinary home desktop users.
THEMES/WALLPAPERS
A ton of COSF themes are available in the Chrome Web Store. Several hundred wallpapers are available in COSF desktop settings. I prefer to test/evaluate a distro OTB, so I didn't look farther than a quick click-through.
SUPPORT AND /MAINTENANCE
COSF has extensive documentation and a community-based support forum, but Google does not directly support COSF outside the education/business markets. In short, consumer installations of COSF are, like Linux distro installations in general, "roll your own".
BOTTOM LINE
Chrome OS Flex meets most of my criteria for recommending a distro to ordinary home desktop users.
COSF is based on a stable Linux kernel, is efficient, uncluttered and stable, installation is graphical, intuitive and automated, the DE is simple, intuitive and graphical, the DE is consistent with modern design standards, well-designed and well-implemented, the apps included in COSF are mainstream and selected, individually and as a group, to meet the needs of an ordinary home desktop user, DE/App theming is consistent, top-to-bottom, and the Google team is large enough and has sufficient skills to maintain the distro.
Where COSF falls down is in application availability. Although the embedded apps are sufficient for light users, Google's refusal to give COSF access to the Play Store for Android apps, combined with the impending demise of the Apps section of the Chrome Web Store and the (probable) requirement that users start up the Linux container each and every time the user wants to run a Linux app or Flatpak, suggests to me that most ordinary home desktop users will eventually, become frustration.
I've discussed this in other comments in this thread, so I won't repeat myself in any depth, but I think that COSF is primarily designed for and useful to education/business institutions transitioning from Windows to Chromebooks. That's the bottom line.
