Google: We're Not Killing Chrome OS

Google today shot down reports that it will fold Chrome OS into Android.

"While we've been working on ways to bring together the best of both operating systems, there's no plan to phase out Chrome OS," Hiroshi Lockheimer, SVP Android, Chrome OS, and Chromecast, wrote in a blog post.

The denial comes after The Wall Street Journal last week reported that Google would tease a combined OS next year before a 2017 launch.

Google has separate desktop and mobile operating systems: Chrome OS for Chromebooks comes with its own branded Web browser and PC-based software, while Android powers smartphones, tablets, smartwatches, TVs, and in-car infotainment. The paper said Google initially nurtured Chrome OS and Android because it wasn't sure which OS would succeed. Android, however, prevailed, and a combined OS would allow PC users to access the Google Play store and lessen app developers' workload.

Lockheimer initially addressed the report via Twitter, where he said Google is "very committed to Chrome OS." In today's blog post, he laid out the operating system's successes and teased a few things that are in the works.

That includes the Asus Chromebit, which puts Chrome OS on a dongle that you plug into a display. Google first announced it in March, and it will arrive "in the next couple weeks" for $85.

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Google will also "release even more features for Chrome OS, such as a new media player, a visual refresh based on Material Design, improved performance, and of course, a continued focus on security," Lockheimer wrote. "With our regular six-week software cycle and guaranteed auto-updates for five years, Chromebooks keep getting better over time."

For 2016, Google also has "dozens of new Chromebooks" in the works, he concluded.