Google confirms plans to merge ChromeOS into Android

There was hypothesis for a very long time that Google may at some point mix Android and ChromeOS, the working system that powers its big selection of Chromebook laptops. Final yr, a report from Android Authority indicated that Google is at present endeavor a “multi-year challenge to completely transition ChromeOS into Android.” Though Google by no means confirmed this on the time, it has now completed so.

Sameer Samat, president of Google’s Android ecosystem, confirmed throughout an interview with TechRadar that the corporate is “going to be combining ChromeOS and Android right into a single platform.” Samat made the feedback after inquiring concerning the reporter’s MacBook, saying he was “fascinated about how individuals are utilizing their laptops as of late.”

Samat oversees Android’s growth and implementation throughout a variety of units, together with cellular, wearables, TV, vehicles, and extra, so it appears he could now have laptops beneath his belt as effectively.

There are nonetheless a variety of unanswered questions

It may take a number of years to see this all unfold

Acer

Whereas this information about Google formally combining ChromeOS with Android is thrilling, there stay many unanswered questions, particularly concerning when customers can count on to see this totally realized. If final yr’s report is any indication, this might take a few years to occur.

Moreover, does this imply that within the foreseeable future, we will count on to see Google promoting Chromebooks that run a fully-fledged model of Android? I hope so, as a result of contemplating the dimensions of the Android ecosystem and the hundreds of thousands of apps accessible, it will make Google’s Chromebook laptops nearly as resourceful as a Home windows PC or a Mac. Whereas Chromebooks can run a variety of Android apps proper now, they don’t seem to be suitable with all of them attributable to ChromeOS’s limitations. Android Headlines reported final yr {that a} Google Pixel Laptop computer was in growth, in order that could possibly be what Google is constructing as much as by merging ChromeOS with Android.

There are already indicators that Android is adopting extra PC-like options. Later this yr, Google is predicted to launch a quarterly replace for Android 16 on its Pixel telephones, which features a new desktop mode for multitasking “constructed on the inspiration of Samsung DeX.” This implies Pixel customers with Android 16 will quickly be capable of join their telephones to an exterior show and use their Pixel nearly like a PC.

I am very excited to see the outcomes of the ChromeOS and Android merger, and even with the restricted info accessible, I am extra optimistic about the way forward for Google’s Chromebooks than I’ve been because the first one was launched again in 2011.

Associated

Samsung’s Galaxy S26 lineup could see a major shake-up

The Galaxy S26 Edge is rumored to be taking part in a big function in subsequent yr’s Galaxy S26 lineup.