Google Is 'Very Committed' to Chrome OS After Android Merger Reports
The man in charge of Android and Chrome OS has said that Google remains committed to the latter, despite multiple reports that the company plans to merge the two operating systems later this year. “There’s a ton of momentum for Chromebooks and we are very committed to Chrome OS,” Android and Chrome OS SVP Hiroshi Lockheimer said on Twitter. “I just bought two for my kids for schoolwork!”
The Wall Street Journal first reported on Google’s plans for Chrome OS and Android yesterday, calling the move a “long-awaited recognition that the different computing approaches embodied by Android and Chrome are no longer relevant to Google.” The story was later corroborated by The Verge and fellow Vox Media site Recode, which reported that Google would work with partners to produce Android devices in traditional PC form factors. A Google spokesperson told The Verge that Chrome OS was not being “killed,” and together with Lockheimer’s statement this would suggest that we can expect to see Chromebooks for the foreseeable future.
But rumors of the eventual merger have persisted for years, not helped by Google initiatives like getting Android apps to run on Chrome, or the new Android-powered Pixel C laptop/tablet hybrid. And, well, back in 2009 Google co-founder Sergey Brin himself said that Chrome OS and Android would “likely converge over time.” So while Chrome OS may continue to live on, it seems probable that next year will see Google’s computing ambitions rely more on Android than ever before.
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