(Credit: James Martin/Rene Ramos/Google/PCMag)
Since around 2019, when Chromebooks widely gained the ability to run Android apps, ChromeOS has been a tale of two app stores: the Chrome Web Store and the Google Play store. To this day, you still see icons for both app stores on the desktop by default. On top of that, some Android apps still don't translate well to ChromeOS. Discord, for example, doesn't have the correct formatting for a large screen, while others show buttons that extend all the way across their windows.
These problems should go away if what former PCMag editor-in-chief, Lance Ulanoff, teased out of Sameer Samat, president of the Android ecosystem at Google, comes to fruition any time soon. Samat came right out and said, “We’re going to be combining ChromeOS and Android into a single platform."
This is the best possible news for ChromeOS, since it will end the confusion about the app stores, improve Android app performance on ChromeOS, and usher in fresh integrations between Google phones and laptops. Speculation about Android and ChromeOS merging has cropped up over the years, but this is the first time we’ve gotten confirmation from a high-up Google executive.
Samat followed up his initial statement with a social post that, though short on details, clarified his comments:
I’ve been asking company reps at Chromebook events about whether the company would ditch the Chrome Web Store in favor of the Google Play store over the past few years. I usually get a noncommittal response along the lines of, “We still support web apps.” That might be true, but ChromeOS has increasingly deemphasized web apps as of late. And Samat’s comment strongly hints that it's because ChromeOS is transitioning into a specialized version of Android.
The Slow Demise of the Chrome Web Store
The Chrome Web Store, for those who don't remember, originally allowed you to run web apps not only on ChromeOS but also on macOS and Windows. It even launched apps in separate windows on all those OSes rather than within a browser frame. Nowadays, you no longer see an Apps section if you go to the Chrome Web Store; Extensions and Themes sections are what remain. If you install an Extension, it still shows up among your Launcher icons on ChromeOS. But if you are setting up a new Chromebook, a tip box points you directly toward the Google Play store, with no mention of the Chrome Web Store.
Since Chrome will undoubtedly remain the default browser on ChromeOS (even though you can install the Android versions of Edge and Firefox), it will continue to be possible to run Extensions from the Chrome Web Store, just like in Chrome on any platform. This could be key for ChromeOS’s largest audience—education—which relies on said extensions.
Android Apps Are Improving on ChromeOS, But Problems Remain
As the Chrome Web Store declined, Android apps started to take over. In the early days, they would often occupy just a vertical rectangle on the screen as if they were still mobile apps. (This is pretty much how Android apps running on Windows through Phone Link or iPhone apps running on Macs via iPhone Mirroring look.) But, along the way, ChromeOS developed a way to let apps take advantage of a Chromebook’s full screen. Support was somewhat hit-or-miss at first, with some apps not adapting well to bigger screens.
That implementation has gotten much better over the past couple of years, thanks to efforts from both app developers and Google. Of course, I still run into occasional Android apps that, when I install them on a Chromebook, pop up a message saying, “This app is designed for mobile. It may not resize well.” (Pooh, Discord!)
On ChromeOS, Android apps' window sizes are available in three options: portrait, landscape, and resizable. The last choice is the most desktop-like, but many apps don’t support it. The landscape option is more common, though it’s not as perfectly adaptable. The portrait option is simply the original vertical view.
Meanwhile, Android Itself Is Improving for Big Screens
Android 16, the latest version of Google’s mobile OS, added more features for app developers to support larger screens. The Android Developer website includes the statement:
With Android apps now running on a variety of devices and more windowing modes on large screens, developers should build Android apps that adapt to any screen and window size, regardless of device orientation. For apps targeting Android 16 (API level 36), Android 16 includes changes to how the system manages orientation, resizability, and aspect ratio restrictions.
That sounds a lot like an OS that’s destined for the desktop. It gives weight to the argument that Android might largely replace ChromeOS. But I don’t see the ChromeOS name going away entirely, and Samat’s social post more or less confirms that. Instead, I anticipate the relationship between Android and ChromeOS evolving to match that between iOS and iPadOS. Interface and feature differences exist between the two, and that should certainly be the case for Android and ChromeOS. But it’s a case of separate names for separate flavors of the same OS that target different device types. In Apple's case, of course, the larger device is a tablet rather than a laptop.
More Android Phone Integrations for ChromeOS Are Welcome
More (and deeper) integrations between Android and ChromeOS exist than ever before, which points to their slow merging. For example, the latter's current setup process allows you to use your phone password. ChromeOS also lets you authenticate via your Android phone and use it as an Instant Tethering Wi-Fi hotspot. This functionality comes via ChromeOS’s Phone Hub, which, like Windows Phone Link, lets you see recent photos you took on your phone and mobile notifications. iPhones and Macs work together similarly.
If ChromeOS is fully running on top of Android, I hope it will gain full phone screen and app mirroring capabilities. I would also like to see Apple-like hand-off features and app streaming à la Windows’ Phone Link. After all, Google’s developers should be able to build more (and better) features if they are focusing on a single core platform.
ChromeOS Remains Compelling and Is Moving Forward
Aside from these Android-centric improvements, Google has been working to make ChromeOS increasingly capable, particularly on Chromebook Plus models. These machines support features like Capture Text, which proposes actions based on your on-screen activity. And the NPU-toting Lenovo Chromebook Plus 14 can use AI to edit images in the Gallery app, logically organize tabs, and more. With an Android base underneath it, we'll likely see even more cool AI features coming to ChromeOS down the road.
But even ChromeOS users who don’t have the newer machines with NPUs benefit from the core aspects of the OS. ChromeOS updates itself without any fuss. All of your Google account data syncs automatically. Startup and shutdown times are lickety-split. And a big advantage that ChromeOS has over macOS is support for touch screens, which is extremely helpful for quickly tapping program buttons. Android obviously has many of these same advantages, but I wouldn't want ChromeOS to lose its personality or simplicity in a merger.
Lots of Details Remain Unknown
The terse remark by Samat was indeed welcome, but it provokes many questions, the biggest of which, of course, revolves around timing. Samat gave no clues on that matter, and some industry watchers think a merger of Android and ChromeOS is as many as five years off. I hope it happens a lot sooner than that.
The relationship between ChromeOS and Android is already strong, but transitioning the desktop OS to the mobile platform will only benefit users. Android apps will run better, and more sophisticated integrations will help you work more efficiently between your phone and desktop. I anticipate some delays and roadblocks with this major undertaking, but an Android-based version of ChromeOS on Chromebooks seems like the most logical path forward for Google.