Updated | Google throws a bone to Microsoft by making Chrome available for download at the Store
12/19/2017 Changelog: Microsoft takes down the Chrome installer from the Store.
Microsoft has now confirmed to The Verge that it is removing the Chrome installer app from the Microsoft Store as it violates the Store policies. Microsoft emphasized the need for apps which can provide a unique value and said, "We welcome Google to build a Microsoft Store browser app compliant with our Microsoft Store policies." Google declined to comment on the development.
Original article follows —
It is well known that Google and Microsoft do not share the coziest of relationships when it comes to consumer software. The Mountain View Goliath never really supported any of Redmond's app stores and all that was made available in the Store was a barebones Google search app. In a rather subtle dig, Google has made the Chrome installer available for download in the Microsoft Store. But don't get your hopes high, though. The Store link is just a web wrapper for downloading the actual installer.
Once the 'app' is downloaded, it opens a web wrapper app that points to the actual download link. This does not offer any benefit over using Edge to download the Chrome installer as anyone normally would. Since the installer is an executable, users of Windows 10 S who have been waiting to use Chrome on their walled-garden laptops will be disappointed.
While Google's intentions of releasing a 'bookmark app' to the actual online Chrome installer is not clear, Microsoft on its part, does not allow browsers using rendering engines other than EdgeHTML in the Store. The Chrome installer in the Store, however, provides an alternative way to download the popular Chrome browser circumventing the need to use a primary browser such as Microsoft Edge. Also, those who have restricted privileges in corporate environments but still would like to install Chrome for some reason might find this workaround useful, provided the account is provisioned for Store access.
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