For years, Google, now known as Alphabet, has supported two operating systems on two very different tracks: Android and Chrome. But now the company is nodding in the direction of Android.
Google is working toward allowing its low-cost Chromebook computing devices to work on the popular Android operating system. The work will take place over the next year, according to a person with knowledge of the matter. Google is not indicating it plans to stop development of Chrome OS, but making Android work on Chromebooks opens the door to one of the few products that Chrome OS, the lesser-known operating system, had to itself.
Chrome OS should not be confused with Google’s popular Chrome web browser.
News of the shift was first reported earlier Thursday by The Wall Street Journal.
The first Android operating system for mobile devices was introduced about seven years ago as a direct competitor to Apple’s iOS mobile operating system. Since then, it has become the most widely used operating system in the world. Its development was led by an executive named Andy Rubin, who went on to lead much of the company’s robotics efforts before leaving Google last year.
Google introduced Chrome OS about a year later, surprising some who wondered why the company needed two operating systems. Interestingly, its early development was led by Sundar Pichai, who is now the chief executive of the part of Alphabet that is still called Google. Chrome OS has gained a following in academia but very few other places. According to IDC, a market research firm, about 3.9 million Chromebooks were shipped to the American education sector last year.
If Google should drop the Chrome OS, it will follow in the footsteps of Microsoft. The latest version of Microsoft’s flagship Windows operating system is meant to run on both PCs and mobile devices. Apple still supports separate operating systems for mobile devices and PCs.