Source: Google is turning Chrome OS into Android to compete with the iPad

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• A source within Google has told Android Authority that Google plans to migrate Chrome OS fully over to Android.
• Google announced in June 2024 that Chrome OS would start using parts of Android’s tech stack, but we’ve now learned that the merger goes even deeper than previously thought.
• The reason for this shift is to better compete with the iPad and also make more effective use of development resources.

Google is a massive tech company with nearly two hundred thousand employees, so it definitely has the manpower and resources to develop two different operating systems in Android and Chrome OS. 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 high-end tablet market is dominated by the Apple iPad, and no matter what Google has tried, it has failed to change that. However, a source tells Android Authority that Google is working on a multi-year project to fully turn Chrome OS into Android, and the end result could be a platform that finally bests the iPad.

Android as an operating system is designed for smartphones, tablets, smartwatches, TVs, cars, and soon XR glasses, whereas Chrome OS is primarily designed for laptops. While the term Chromebooks encompasses tablets as well, it’s fair to say that Chrome OS isn’t as suited for tablet use as Android is, at least when it comes to media consumption. On the flip side, it’s also a fair assessment that Android isn’t as suited for tablet use as Chrome OS is, at least when it comes to productivity. Google has tried to add features to both operating systems to bridge that gap, but even after a bit of convergence, neither platform managed to really eat Apple’s lunch.




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