Chrome OS received an update to add in official support for Linux applications, last year. The initial support was very rough around the edges, to say the least because it runs in a protected container on top of the actual operating system, there were plenty of caveats. but since then the company has been working hard to fix things up and make it more user-friendly. With each update for this newly added support to the platform, we are seeing an increase in the number of Linux apps that can be used. The latest addition is full USB support for Linux applications on version 75 of Chrome OS.
Currently, the Linux container in Chrome OS can’t access any USB devices. That means developers using Android Studio can’t debug phones over a USB connection, users can’t access files from flash drives, and so on. Input from external mice and keyboards work, but that’s about it.
The feature is best described as a passthrough from USB to an instance in Crostini. Put simply, it allows Crostini’s Linux instances to natively access USB ports. That also means that — for now and possibly for some time after release — this will require some added steps to gain access to.
Earlier, if you wanted to use an application that used audio for anything then you had to wait until February of this year before audio support was added. Another big omission that rendered a number of apps useless was full support for USB
Thankfully, this is changing as Chrome OS 75 will bring full USB support for Linux applications that you install. This information comes to us thanks to Keith I Myers and we can see from the screenshot above that he’s running the official developer build on his device. This is great news for those who have wanted to replace their desktop software with Chrome OS because this type of support isn’t limited to common devices like thumb drives. Keith says he went through and tested all sorts of things including a 3D Printer, Arduino, and even an Intel Movidius Compute Stick.