Google to Kill App Launcher

Google’s attempted invasion of the Windows desktop is now officially over. The Chrome-maker recently announced that the Chrome app launcher will be removed from Windows, Mac, and Linux in July, though it’ll stick around in Chrome OS. Google says it’s dumping the app launcher in the name of streamlining the browser after discovering that most Chrome users “prefer to launch their apps from within Chrome.”

The app launcher was one of three Chrome browser features that appeared to be specifically designed to turn Chrome into a “platform within a platform” on Windows. In addition to the app launcher—which sat in the taskbar and allowed users to fire up Chrome apps just like a normal desktop program, miming Windows Start menu functionality—Google killed Chrome’s notification center in October. That feature was replaced with native web push notifications, a standardized feature that sites can use across all browsers.