Is Chrome OS dead? Android wins Google power struggle
Looks like Google will kill off Chrome OS, folding it into Android. In 2017, we're told, Chromebooks will get a new name.
But what will we call the, umm, “merged” platform?
Androme? Chromedroid? Nah, I'm holding out for (ahem) Android OS.
In IT Blogwatch, bloggers read the rumor runes.
Your humble blogwatcher curated these bloggy bits for your entertainment.
Alistair Barr drinks in the rumors, poured by Daisuke Wakabayashi, bought by "people familiar with the matter":
Google engineers have been working for roughly two years to combine the operating systems and have made progress recently. [It] expects to show off an early version next year. [This] move is...long-awaited.
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Chrome OS was Google’s effort to bring [a] browser-centric experience to more devices [but] Android...only worked when software and apps were downloaded. ... As mobile device and app usage soared, Android prevailed. MORE
Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols says it "makes a great deal of sense":
[Both] are Linux-based operating systems. [They] support apps in different ways but share the same foundation. ... Both have their own strengths they could bring to a merged smartphone, tablet, and desktop operating system.
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Alas, while the marriage license may be signed, the actual release date is still over a year in the future. MORE
And Andrew Martonik analyzes thuswise:
While Chrome OS and Android operate in separate arenas...their interconnection and convergence has been signaled since Sundar Pichai took over management of both...in 2013.
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While Android 6.0 Marshmallow is a fine tablet OS, it's hardly the winner on large devices that [it is] on phones.
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Chrome OS still doesn't feel like a "finished" operating system...basic features are still missing, and core portions...just don't feel like they'll ever be properly done. MORE
So where is the Chrome OS market? Let's turn to Google SVP for Android and Chrome OS Hiroshi Lockheimer:
There’s a ton of momentum...and we are very committed to Chrome OS. I just bought two for my kids for schoolwork!
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My kids are in first and third grade. MORE
Meanwhile, Drew Olanoff notes that this chatter isn't really new news:
I’ve spoken to sources over the past few years about it.
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Here’s the deal. Mobile rules the world [Pichai said]. It’s no secret. ... What Chrome OS lacks is native apps. [It] is quite boring. So boring that schools love them.
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Chrome OS always felt like it could be a “mode” that you should be able to turn on within Android. ... If Pichai’s cry [wasn’t] enough to tip the hand...the announcement of the Pixel C sure was.
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Google...is a nesting doll when it comes to products...with each new thing somehow relying on the last. MORE
And Finally...
Bismillah! It's been 40 years of Rhapsody...
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