Google might be merging Chrome OS and Android in the near future

Google has maintained Chrome OS and Android as two separate products for years now, but we’ve some overlap between the two here and there. There have been some serious questions over whether or not Google should fold both operating systems into one unified OS, and although it hasn’t happened yet it looks like we might see it happen in the next few years.

Google will reportedly be merging Chrome OS into Android, and importantly not the other way around. Chrome OS (and Chromebooks) have done well in the low-cost sector of the market, but it’s nothing compared to the sheer dominance of Android as a mobile operating system. It would only make sense to bring the best of Chrome OS into Android and ship that on all devices, unifying products, services, and most importantly, Google’s Play Store.

There are still some cloudy questions over exactly how this is going to work, as Google is reportedly preparing this to work on smartphones and PCs. It’s not clear if by PCs Google means all computers, including Windows and OS X machines, or if it will just be a new lineup to replace the Chromebooks and Chrome OS. Chrome OS essentially relies on the Chrome browser to do just about everything, so it makes sense that this Chrome OS/Android merger could be centered around Chrome. That would keep things extremely widely available to as many users as possible, which is exactly what Google wants.

Rumors suggest we’ll see an early build of this new operating system next year, but Google isn’t planning on releasing an actual product until sometime in 2017.

source: Wall Street Journal

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