Google Is Feeding Chrome OS to Android

The rumor that Google would merge Chrome OS and Android have been persistent in the last couple of years.

The existence of two Google developed operating systems, the massively popular Android for Mobile, and the more niche ChromeOS for desktop computing, has often confused tech pundits and seemingly consumers.

For years, people have wondered if Google would merge its Android and Chrome operating systems, and the company has steadfastly held to them important but distinct pieces of its strategy.

As a “browser only” OS, Chrome OS has struggled to get the app ecosystem traction that Android and Google Play have excelled at. Google will show an early version of the new unified Android OS next year, the WSJ said, citing anonymous sources. The goal is to launch a new OS that has features of both in 2017, with an early preview coming in 2016.

What will be interesting is seeing what changes, if any, Google makes to Android to adapt it to a PC environment. Of course, from the end-user perspective, this will offer users a highly more integrated experience between their Chrome OS running devices and their Android OS running devices, with apps and the likes far more interchangeable between the two.

Beginning in 2017, Google will only have a single operating system on the market, with Android featured on tablets, smartphones and notebook computers. It can be frustrating when you try to compose an email or blog post in a browser tab, switch to another app for a moment and come back to find the page has refreshed and your text has been deleted. This Halo product could be the keystone for trying out builds of the OS, with Google telling reporters at the event that the tablet would receive updates every 6 weeks. Chromebooks will end up being rebranded to an as-yet undetermined name. I have a suggestion: laptops?