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Android Chief Squashes Rumors of Android Merging With Chrome OS (pcworld.com)

Posted by msmash on from the making-sense dept.

If you were holding out hope that Android and Chrome would one day merge into some kind of super OS that marries the desktop and mobile worlds once and for all, Google's senior vice president for Android, Chrome, and Chromecast Hiroshi Lockheimer has some bad news for you: It's not happening. From a PCWorld report: Speaking on the All About Android podcast, the mobile chief threw a giant bucket of cold water on the idea that the two platforms would eventually converge, despite recent rumors that suggest such a project is already in development at Google. "There's no point in merging them," Lockheimer said, pointing out sales of that Chromebooks overtook Macs in the first quarter of this year. "They're both successful." He added, Google's aim is "to make sure that both sides benefit from each other. ... You'll see a lot more of that happening, where we're cross-pollinating, but not a merge."

25 of 43 comments (clear)

  1. Hmm by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Do I want two seperate OSs designed specifically for desktop/mobile or do I want a mashup of the two. Tough choice...

    1. Re:Hmm by Tx · · Score: 3, Funny

      Do I want two seperate OSs designed specifically for desktop/mobile or do I want a mashup of the two. Tough choice...

      It was an easy choice for Microsoft; are you saying you don't appreciate the genius design of Windows 8.0?

      --
      Oh no... it's the future.
    2. Re:Hmm by fuzzyfuzzyfungus · · Score: 1

      There's also the whole "ChromeOS actually gets updates and has a fairly respectable security track record" thing.

      I'm not sure why you'd risk letting Android touch that; unless it was purely to provide Android app compatibility in ChromeOS as a prelude to killing Android with fire.

    3. Re:Hmm by bondsbw · · Score: 5, Interesting

      Windows 8 is yesterday's news and should never have been released for desktops. It was a tablet OS only, regardless of what MS marketing would have liked you to believe.

      Windows 10 has a much better hybrid UI. Not perfect obviously. It still has too much of a mix of old and new (reminds me of old OS X, some of the OS was brushed metal, some was smooth gradient, and some was skeuomorphic). But 10 has removed some of the strict (ugly) design guidelines of Metro that resulted in very uninspired UIs, and the adjustments between desktop vs. tablet modes make it much more useful on the desktop than Windows 8 ever was.

      It doesn't please everyone, but nobody else is even trying. (Well, Ubuntu was for a while, where did that ever go?)

      --
      All my liberal friends think I'm a conservative, all my conservative friends think I'm a liberal.
    4. Re:Hmm by Hydrian · · Score: 1

      Then come the bean counters...

      --
      No good deed goes unpunished.
    5. Re:Hmm by bondsbw · · Score: 3, Insightful

      People here hate Microsoft and Windows for a host of reasons. I know. Many of them are very valid reasons.

      But we're talking UI here, specifically its hybrid capabilities. Please save the comments on telemetry and updates and how Satya Nadella personally ate all your puppies for another thread.

      --
      All my liberal friends think I'm a conservative, all my conservative friends think I'm a liberal.
    6. Re:Hmm by kelemvor4 · · Score: 1

      Windows 8 is yesterday's news and should never have been released for desktops. It was a tablet OS only, regardless of what MS marketing would have liked you to believe.

      Windows 10 has a much better hybrid UI. Not perfect obviously. It still has too much of a mix of old and new (reminds me of old OS X, some of the OS was brushed metal, some was smooth gradient, and some was skeuomorphic). But 10 has removed some of the strict (ugly) design guidelines of Metro that resulted in very uninspired UIs, and the adjustments between desktop vs. tablet modes make it much more useful on the desktop than Windows 8 ever was.

      It doesn't please everyone, but nobody else is even trying. (Well, Ubuntu was for a while, where did that ever go?)

      Poppycock. With a free program like classic shell, or the $5 start8 (I used the latter) win8 and win10 are virtually indistinguishable. I still use start8 (err, start10 now) on win10.

      That's one of the main reasons windows is popular. You can do what you want to it.

      Personally, I'd love to have a phone with an x86 instruction set processor. The lack of x86 and therefore support for most good programs is the only thing seriously limiting windows phone. If we had that, we wouldn't have to live with more limited "mobile" operating systems like android and ios (meego, blackberry, etc, etc).

    7. Re:Hmm by MightyMartian · · Score: 2

      We had to abandon Classic Shell because it became unreliable and tended towards lock ups. Even uninstalling it on Win10 could be... interesting.

      --
      The world's burning. Moped Jesus spotted on I50. Details at 11.
    8. Re:Hmm by maestroX · · Score: 1

      Windows 8 was alright for anything but the desktop (mobile, home theater).
      Windows 10 is more polished and suitable for desktop, and price/quality wise a good choice without the telemetry.
      Anyhow, I don't see me going back to OSX in the future with Jobs gone, Linux for development because that's where the server's at,
      not because Linux was ahead, as it used to be.
      Despite the achievements Linux Desktop is still feels like kludges.

    9. Re:Hmm by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      These companies need to stop trying to do something new a focus on what works. Linux Mint and elementary OS are good example of flawless UI. They rely upon tried and true interfaces, but they are modern, clean and far more customisable than any other OS.

    10. Re:Hmm by Tough+Love · · Score: 1

      They are both just Linux skins.

      --
      When all you have is a hammer, every problem starts to look like a thumb.
    11. Re:Hmm by Waccoon · · Score: 1

      What I find amusing is that MS has been collecting telemetry for years, and Windows 8 was the result.

  2. The denials always come first by Tony+Isaac · · Score: 2

    Then comes the reality. I take this as a sure sign that the two OSes WILL merge!

    1. Re:The denials always come first by almostadnsguy · · Score: 1

      You took the words right out of my post. :-)

    2. Re:The denials always come first by thsths · · Score: 2

      Yes. Just like "Orkut is here to stay", or "Google Wave is the future", or "Google Talk will remain open", or "Google+ is our new way of integrating services". Sure. Until it isn't any more.

    3. Re:The denials always come first by sexconker · · Score: 1

      Yup. The more they deny the more they confirm.

  3. Re:How does it feel by Archangel+Michael · · Score: 1

    To be fair, Chromebooks while outselling Macs, aren't really full desktop computers. Being what they are, they are good for most casual users for doing things that require internet, but suck on anything less than a full size screen, and that require a real keyboard. Macs are more than a Chromebook, but most people don't need them anymore, or have learned out to do less while saving 1500 on computer purchases.

    --
    Agent K: A *person* is smart. People are dumb, stupid, panicky animals, and you know it.
  4. Why do they need to merge? by Streetlight · · Score: 1

    If a Chrome OS device can run Android apps, why should these two OSs need to merge?

    If Chrome OS could run well native versions of Micorsoft Office and Adobe apps and there were desktop machines running Chrome OS, Chrome OS might be on more computers than those running the kluge called Windows 10.

    --
    In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act. George Orwell
    1. Re:Why do they need to merge? by fateblossom · · Score: 1

      Windows biggest advantage is that it can rung Windows programs.
      If all programs was made cross platform. Then a lot of people would not stay on Windows.
      If all games could run on linux. Then most gamers would run Linux.
      And if all office programs (MS Office, Adobe, What ever special program the company uses). Then company's would start switching away from Windows.

      ChromeOS would be a good choice for some. But also many other Linux distros would be out there.

  5. Re:How does it feel by MightyYar · · Score: 1

    It must blow your mind when some of us buy both, and sometimes even use the Mac to run Windows (gasp!).

    --
    W..w..W - Willy Waterloo washes Warren Wiggins who is washing Waldo Woo.
  6. Re:How does it feel by Streetlight · · Score: 1

    But aren't desktop Macs just laptop hardware attached to the back of a monitor sold as desktop computers?

    --
    In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act. George Orwell
  7. This is great news! by JohnFen · · Score: 4, Insightful

    If you were holding out hope that Android and Chrome would one day merge into some kind of super OS that marries the desktop and mobile worlds once and for all

    I certainly wasn't hoping for that. I was fearing that it might come to pass.

  8. Andromium OS by Kryptonut · · Score: 1

    For those interested
    Andromium OS looks interesting.

  9. Re:Here's a better idea... by squiggleslash · · Score: 1

    ChromeOS does run over a "proper *nix system", no Busybox at all. It's just almost all access to it is locked down by default - unless you switch the device into developer mode, you can't access a shell, and the file manager doesn't let you run arbitrary executables. The only binaries you can "run" are NaCl tools via the browser. Which... oddly works.

    --
    You are not alone. This is not normal. None of this is normal.
  10. chromebooks selling more than macs? by crow5599 · · Score: 1

    sales of that Chromebooks overtook Macs in the first quarter of this year

    Um, holy shit?