Google is merging ChromeOS and Android

Google is finally combining Android and ChromeOS into a single platform. This isn't the first time the idea has been floated.

TechRadar's Lance Ulanoff reports that Sameer Samat, the President of Android Ecosystem at Google, has told him blog that Google is combining Android and ChromeOS. We have heard about such rumors for a long time, nearly a decade. But this pretty much confirms it.

Last year, reports emerged stating that Google wanted ChromeOS to compete with iPad. That's an interesting idea. In 2023, I reported that Apple was working on a low-cost MacBook to compete with Chromebooks. Well, that's supposedly happening soon according to a report by Apple Insider, Apple is expected to launch a MacBook with an A18 processor, similar to the one on iPhones. Apple's upcoming iPadOS 26 improves things drastically with multitasking bringing it closer to macOS, hopefully the new Chrome OS/Android will be up to the challenge.

As a matter of fact, let me quote some new multitasking features that were announced for Android 16. The Desktop Mode will add a new desktop windowing system to open, group, resize multiple app windows. Android 16 also supports custom keyboard shortcuts for navigation, launching apps. It also adds Taskbar Overflow, which shows icons of recently opened apps. Now, it makes a lot more sense. This is closer to ChromeOS.

Samat also seemed to be interested on how people were using their laptops these days, what they're getting done. This could have been a subtle hint at the app ecosystem that people can expect on ChromeOS/Android. For example, whatever you do on your laptop, you can do the same on Android. Throw in a few slides about Gemini AI, Gmail, Google Docs, etc. and you got yourself a nice little promo. That's probably how they would market it to attract users, I suppose.

A laptop running on Android is interesting for sure. Well, it can't be worse than Windows, I imagine. The real question is, which devices would be compatible with this upcoming operating system.

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