(Credit: Joseph Maldonado/PCMag)
All year, Google has been teasing plans to make an Android for PC operating system, and a job listing suggests the software's codename is Aluminium OS.
The listing, which is no longer accepting applications, was posted over two months ago and was recently spotted by leaker Frost Core, Android Authority reports. It sought a Senior Product Manager in Taipei, Taiwan, to work on a new operating system.
"The team is working on a new Aluminium, Android-based, operating system and a new focus on Premium devices and experiences," the ad said. "Aluminium is a new operating system built with Artificial Intelligence (AI) at the core."
(Google used similar phrasing when discussing its Android XR OS release.)
The ad also confirms Google's intention to replace ChromeOS. The ad said, "Develop and maintain a product/portfolio roadmap that addresses deliverables and strategy that transit Google from ChromeOS to Aluminium with business continuity in the future."
However, Google isn't finished with ChromeOS just yet, as the ad noted that the role would continue to handle future products running the software for the time being.
Google also suggests that the brand may expand the software beyond laptops to other PC products, such as "detachables, tablets, and boxes." It also states there will be different price levels, referring to them as AL Entry, AL Mass Premium, and AL Premium.
This ad doesn't confirm Aluminium Operating System as the final name for its new platform. However, it's used multiple times in the ad, as is the shortened ALOS version, which may suggest it could be part of Google's final naming convention.
If this is the final name for the software, Google selected a curious spelling—Aluminium, which is more typical of British English, instead of Aluminum, which is more common in the US. As Android Authority notes, Google might want something similar to Chromium with an "ium" ending.
In a Nov. 20 blog post, Google announced it was opening a new Taipei office, “which will be Google’s largest AI infrastructure hardware engineering hub outside of the US. This multidisciplinary hub, home to hundreds of employees, is designed to accelerate AI innovation.
“The technology developed and tested in this Taipei hub will be deployed in Google's data centers and AI infrastructure around the world,” it added. “It forms the backbone of the services that billions of people rely on every day, from Search and YouTube to the latest innovations powered by Gemini.”