Have you heard of ChromeOS? The chances for a negative answer are highly likely and that’s not your fault. Designed to offer a lightweight computing experience at a fraction of the cost of conventional Windows laptops, ChromeOS never reached its full potential. Google tried to market it as the OS of choice for affordable student-centric laptops but it never picked up. ChromeOS has existed for a while and now, Google has plans to merge it with Android.
Although rumours of a ChromeOS-Android merger have been around since 2024, Sameer Samat, the President of Android Ecosystem at Google, recently confirmed in an interview that Google is merging ChromeOS and Android into a single entity. The merger marks a significant change in strategy for Android’s future, one where Google would want to challenge the supremacy of iOS and macOS.
The confirmation, as reported by Android Police, comes from an interview where Samat stated, “we’re going to be combining ChromeOS and Android into a single platform.” In the interview, Samat was interested in knowing how the interviewer utilises his ecosystem of iPhone, MacBook and iPad to get his work done.
“I asked because we’re going to be combining ChromeOS and Android into a single platform, and I am very interested in how people are using their laptops these days and what they’re getting done,” Samat stated.
Although no specific details have been mentioned about the project, the news sheds light on how the learnings from ChromeOS could be implemented in Android to make it a more versatile mobile platform. That said, the news does bring questions upon Google’s Fuschia as an alternative OS.
For those who are unaware, Fuchsia is Google’s open-source operating system designed for a wide range of devices, from smart home appliances to mobile phones and computers. Unlike Android and Chrome OS, Fuchsia is built on a microkernel called Zircon, which was designed to be more secure, efficient, and flexible. Fuschia was supposed to work seamlessly across all kinds of devices, including computers, smart home appliances and more.
Will Fuschia succeed Android and ChromeOS in the future? All we can do is wait to learn any updates from Google.