Google confirms it intends to merge ChromeOS and Android

Google is contemplating how to combine two of its operating systems, ChromeOS and Android, into a single platform.

Lance Ulanoff, editor at TechRadar, was preparing for an interview with Sameer Samat, President of Android Ecosystem at Google. But before he could bombard the Google Executive with questions, Samat started quizzing the editor about his MacBook Pro.

He wanted to know why Ulanoff was using a Mac.

“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 explained.

The conversation shifted to talking about Chrome, CPUs for mobile devices, Android, Gemini, Samsung, Galaxy AI, and Android XR. Unfortunately, Ulanoff and Samat didn’t discuss ChromeOS, so there’s no further clarification of what Google’s plans are with merging ChromeOS and Android.

However, Samat’s remark does seem to confirm a rumor that’s been going around since last year.

Android Authority reported that Google was planning to migrate ChromeOS fully over to Android.

“While both Android and Chrome OS have seen huge success in different markets, they’ve struggled to compete in one product category where they overlap: tablets,” the tech site wrote.

A source told Android Authority that Google was working on a multi-year project to turn ChromeOS into Android, and that the end result could be a platform that could beat Apple’s iPad.

“Android as an operating system is designed for smartphones, tablets, smartwatches, TVs, cars, and soon XR glasses, whereas ChromeOS is primarily designed for laptops. While the term Chromebooks encompasses tablets as well, it’s fair to say that ChromeOS isn’t as suited for tablet use as Android is, at least when it comes to media consumption,” the news outlet continued.

In order to better compete with the iPad as well as manage engineering resources more effectively, Google wanted to unify both operating systems. Allegedly, the Mountain View-based tech company wants future Chromebooks to ship with Android instead of ChromeOS.

Officially, Google has never publicly confirmed its intentions to turn ChromeOS into Android. However, the company did say in the past that ChromeOS would become more like Android. Thanks to Samat’s comment, we now know what this means.