Chrome OS is going to be combined with Android, and the combined OS could be revealed as soon as next year, according to The Wall Street Journal.
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The report says the merger has been underway for “roughly two years”, and it refers to the end result as “Android”, which makes it sound like Android will play host to the merge and integrate parts of Chrome OS. However, combining the different software is a trying task, and the earliest Google would show off a combined operating system under the Android brand would be sometime next year. Google’s web browser will apparently keep the Chrome name.
Though Chrome OS has produced a few popular devices – including numerous best-selling laptops on Amazon.com – the Google operating system remains a niche product, with just 3 percent of the PC market, according to IDC, the research firm. The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Google is planning to effectively kill off Chrome OS and fold its best components into Android by 2017. The goal here is to get Google apps and services onto as many devices ass possible and help developers get more exposure. There’s no word on whether that will affect Android’s current standing. It didn’t make much sense then but the tablet – which by name, many were expecting to run Chrome OS – was actually running Android instead. The OS can technically run on a big PC monitor, but its user interface is designed for smaller phone and tablet screens, so it might look kind of unusual on a ginormous monitor.
What do you think of today’s news?
The move would see Chromebooks rebranded…to something, and Android brought to the fore as the primary OS moving forward.
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The Chrome Web browser-distinct from the Chrome OS platform for devices-will continue to be published and developed by Google as the default browser for computers and smartphones.
