Google: Android And Chrome OS Will Remain Independent For A Long Time
Google chairman Eric Schmidt has dismissed reports that the company will merge its Android and Chrome OS operating systems into one. Schmidt told attendees at Google’s Big Tent event in New Delhi, India, this week that both platforms will “remain separate for a very long time.”
Google sparked speculation over an Android and Chrome OS merger when the company unveiled a new chrome Android statue on its Mountain View campus back in January. The search giant traditionally erects a new statue to celebrate major releases of its Android platform, so it was understandable that the chrome robot raised some eyebrows.
Google told us at the time that the statue meant nothing, and we more or less forgot about it. That was until the company announced an executive reshuffle earlier this month, which saw Sundar Pinchai, the company’s vice president of Chrome and Apps, replace Andy Rubin as the head of Android.
The move fueled merger speculation for a second time, but according to Schmidt, it’s not going to happen. Android and Chrome OS are “certainly going to remain separate for a very long time, because they solve different problems,” he said, before adding that “neither will be abandoned.”
As Google has shut down a number of services recently — the most notable being Google Reader — it’s nice to know the company isn’t going to throw in the towel on these two platforms.
There will be more “commonality” between them, however, so expect to see Android and Chrome OS working together more closely in the future. Although they won’t become one, there’s a possibility Chrome OS could one day run Android apps.
