Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Computing
  3. News

Bring window support to Android with Remix OS, available for free on January 12

Jon Martindale
By

Remix OS, the Android based operating system aimed at improving the productivity of its users, is set to be made free to everyone by its developers at Jide. Starting January 12, anyone who wants to try out the Alpha of the unique OS, will be able to do so without being charged a penny.

The Remix OS is designed to offer an alternative to traditional OS users. Anyone with Intel or AMD based systems can download and try out the operating system, which is based on Android KitKat – though it will soon be upgraded to Marshmallow.

Recommended Videos

It is in an alpha, state so not everything will be working right, and there are features still to be implemented. But for the most part Remix OS is a fully functioning system. It gives full access to all of the apps in the Google Play Store, and if you link up your Google account you can even download apps that you’ve previously purchased on Android smartphones or tablets.

Related

Unlike more familiar Android platforms, Remix also offers the ability to work in a traditional windowed app interface. It’s lightweight and portable, letting you take your system with you on a USB stick, offering what Jide describes as a “portable, private workspace.”

The idea behind the operating system is to make computing less tethered than it is now. With a powerful, desktop experience and added Android functionality, users can carry their mainstream PC with them wherever they go, without relying on desktops or laptops.

However, Jide is also pushing its own hardware as part of this announcement. The recommendation is the Remix mini with the Remix OS pre-installed. It comes packing a quad-core cortex A53 CPU, along with up to 2GB of RAM and 16GB of flash storage space in a unique casing.

While the OS is free, the Remix mini is not, even if it is very affordable, at just $70.

On top of the OS announcement, Jide has also partnered with African mobile phone brand Tecno, in order to bring more Android tablet options to the continent. Jide hopes to offer a more productivity driven system in an affordable package than is currently available with existing brands.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Jon Martindale
Jon Martindale
Computing Coordinator
Jon Martindale is the Evergreen Coordinator for Computing, overseeing a team of writers addressing all the latest how to…
Google Pixel 5 vs. iPhone 11: Should you buy Android’s best or iOS’s finest?
Google Pixel 5 Front

The Google Pixel 5 is very much a Google flagship smartphone. Lacking some of the bells and whistles of more expensive phones by Samsung or Apple, it nonetheless gets the fundamentals spot-on. Its camera is unsurprisingly excellent, and it comes with very slick software, a sharp touchscreen, 5G support, and also a much bigger battery (compared to the Pixel 4). It's also priced at a reasonable $700, making it a direct competitor to last year's iPhone 11, which also begins at $699.

However, which phone is better: The Pixel 5 or iPhone 11? We pit the two devices against each other in a head-to-head, looking at how they compare in a number of categories. This should tell you all you need to know about the two smartphones.
Specs

Read more
Oppo brings Android 11 goodness to its latest version of ColorOS

Oppo has announced ColorOS 11, the newest version of its own user interface installed in its smartphones, and one of the first to be built over Google’s Android 11. Anyone familiar with ColorOS may be wondering what happened to ColorOS 8, 9, and 10, as the last version to be released was ColorOS 7. The reason, according to Oppo, for skipping these is to make it less confusing to people about which version of Android the UI is built around, and clarifies the stock Android features that can be found inside.

ColorOS 11's new Always-on screen, and other customizations Image used with permission by copyright holder

Read more
The Galaxy Note 20 brings seamless Android app integration to Windows 10
samsung announces android apps your phone windows 10

At the Samsung Galaxy Unpacked 2020 event, Samsung and Microsoft announced an improved Android app integration in Windows 10. The feature works with Microsoft's Your Phone app and the new Note 20 Series phones, aiming to bring Android phones and Windows PCs even closer together.

As presented in a demo during the event, the improved feature is part of the Link to Windows ability in Samsung phones, previously announced in 2019. With it, along with the existing ability to access notifications, messages, photos, and calls, Galaxy Note 20 series owners will soon be able to enjoy a new "Your Phone Apps" feature in Windows 10. Through a shared WiFi connection, this allows access for Android apps installed on Note 20 phones, directly on a Windows 10 PC.

Read more