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Google's Chrome OS Flex supporting Macs that Apple has long forgotten
Apple has supported Macs for many years, but inevitably the day will come when the support plug is pulled, and security patches dry up.
And once that happens, it's the beginning of the end.
And then it's time for the scrap heap.
Well, if you're someone who didn't send their old Mac off to the scrap heap (or, as it would be today, the recycling center), then you might be able to give the system a new lease of life thanks to Google.
Yes, you read that, right. Google.
Chrome OS Flex is Google's latest project, and it brings Chrome OS to Macs and PCs. Aimed at businesses and schools, it is currently in the early access stage and has been designed to be installed in minutes and will look and feel the same as Chrome OS.
Google has published a certified models list of systems that will run Chrome OS Flex, and on that list are a number of Macs that are either verified to work or will work but with minor issues.
Also: Apple's M1 Pro MacBook Pro is an amazing Windows 11 laptop
Here's the listing:
Macs supported by Google Chrome OS Flex
We can decipher this list into something a bit more useful, and we can see that they span 2009 to 2015:
- iMac 21.5-inch Midv2010
- iMac 21.5-inch Mid 2011/Late 2011
- iMac 20-inch Early 2009/Mid 2009
- Mac Mini Late 2014
- MacBook 13-inch Early 2009/Mid 2009
- MacBook 13-inch Late 2009
- MacBook 13-inch Mid 2010
- MacBook Air 11-inch Mid 2012
- MacBook Air 11-inch Mid 2013/Early 2014
- MacBook Pro 13-inch Mid 2009
- MacBook Pro 13-inch Mid 2012
As you can see, a lot of Macs here going back over a decade. Macs that Apple has long forgotten.
Oh, and Chrome OS Flex also runs on a variety of PCs from vendors ranging from Acer, ASUS, Dell, HP, Microsoft, Toshiba, and many more.
It's an interesting project and a good way to offer a new lease of life for older macs. That said, I wonder just how many Macs are still around from the 2009 to 2015 era.