Slashdot Mirror
Chrome OS Is Almost Ready To Replace Android On Tablets (theverge.com)
Several news features rolling out to Chromebooks paint a picture of the future of Chrome OS as the rightful replacement for Android tablet software. Those include a new split-screen feature for multitasking while in tablet mode, and a screenshot feature borrowed from Android. The Verge reports: As it stands now, Chrome OS is very close to taking up the mantle there, and features like this push it ever closer to becoming the hybrid OS for all types of Google-powered screens. This has been in the works for quite a while as Google's Chrome and Android teams have coordinated closely to ensure the influx of low-cost, hybrid computing devices like 2-in-1 Chromebooks get the best of both worlds. There is, of course, Android app compatibility on Chrome OS, an initiative that first arrived somewhat half-baked last year and has taken months to fully jell as Google worked out the kinks. For instance, just last month Google added the ability for Android apps on Chromebooks run in the background. In July of last year, Google also began embarking on a touch-focused redesign of Chrome OS to make the software more functional in tablet mode. We're likely not getting the full-blown merging of the two divisions and their respective platforms anytime soon, or perhaps ever, as Google has played with the idea for years without ever seeming to decide that one platform should supersede the other. In essence, however, Android remains Google's dominant mobile OS, while Chrome OS has been taking on more responsibility as Chromebooks have steadily become more capable and tablet-like.
the year of Chrome OS on the desktop is cumming in the near future.
>Chrome OS Is Almost Ready To Replace Android On Tablets
Linux is Almost Ready to Replace Linux On Tablets.
There, fixed that for you.
I should use this sig to advertise my book ISBN-13 : 978-1501515132.
Why is Google wasting time on Chrome OS when Fuchsia sounds like it will be so much better than Chrome OS could ever hope to be?
Frankly, I think that Chrome OS should be thrown out. I think that it's much like Firefox OS, in that it embodies nearly the wrong way to do everything on a mobile device. It uses the Linux kernel, instead of a lightweight microkernel. It puts so much focus on the web browser, which is among the least-battery-friendly and least-efficient software around. It locks down the device to the point of it being pretty much useless unless you replace Chrome OS with a real OS of some sort.
The resources being wasted on Chrome OS could be put toward Fuchsia instead. Fuchsia is something I'm really excited for. But Chrome OS? The only thing that excites me about Chrome OS is knowing that hopefully someday soon Fuchsia will crush it!
I hope they proceed to using this on phones so I can install Crouton on my phone and have a regular Linux desktop user experience there if I want.
there is nothing to split.
I do not believe in karma. "Funny"=-6. Do good and forbid evil. Yours, Oft-Offtopic Flamebaiting Troll.
The headline claims "Chrome OS Is Almost Ready To Replace Android On Tablets," while TFS (which is itself apparently a quote of The Verge's story) says, "In essence, however, Android remains Google's dominant mobile OS, while Chrome OS has been taking on more responsibility as Chromebooks have steadily become more capable and tablet-like."
So the story contradicts the headline, which means the headline is pure ...
... clickbait.
Check out my novel.
So they are using the Linux Kernel, but yet their license looks nothing like the GNU license?
If I wanted to be locked-in with an OS and other services, I'd buy Apple products. They do a much better job it seems and are not a search company trying to get all my data so they can mine personal information about me then sell it.
Take the cheese to sickbay, the doctor should see it as soon as possible - B'Elanna Torres, "Learning Curve"
and a screenshot feature borrowed from Android
OMFG the screenshot feature is ready? Ship it!
> Linux kernel, instead of a lightweight microkernel.
I think you mean "a single lightweight Linux kernel instead of a daemons and a microkernel". Running the same functionality in many separate processes isn't lightweight.
If, instead of either compiling or loading the modules a device needs, Android ran the "do everything" kernel that Redhat ships, that would include more functionality than needed, and be heavier than needed. The lightweight way to go is to load only the functionality the device requires - and a thousand messages and process switches per second aren't required. That's extra weight. You can argue that security or some other goal is worth the extra weight, but microkernels do a lot of extra work. Nothing lightweight about it.
iOS is the best tablet OS.
.. Not thanks.. It's an internet meme how fast Google creates new products then abandons them, or creates several competing products in the same space and then abandons all but one of them. The last 2 years this has accelerated and it's hard to trust them for anything medium term and commit to them.
Video decoding acceleration is in the hardware. Almost all hardware on Earth has H.264 video and audio decoding builtin, from Intel to AMD to most mobile.
Your phone could of course use software decoding for WebM, the cpu use would be incredible and your battery would get taxed heavily.
So that is likely why they don't support your favorite codec on the iPhone, because it is not a computer plugged into a wall with as much power as it likes running a 3Ghz Intel desktop chip, having speed to spare.
You have a low Slashdot ID, what is your excuse to not know these kinds of things?
Having got a Pixelbook to replace my Pixel C, I think this will probably happen. Android has never been ideal on a tablet mostly because the apps haven't taken full advantage of the space. Also the larger screen leads to more web-use, and Android Chrome is quite limiting compared to the desktop version.
Android apps on ChromeOS fill in the most obvious deficiencies of ChromeOS, ie the lack of decent touch support (try using web Google Sheets with a touch screen, without scroll-flinging it is very odd), and offline support (apps are much more often built to handle intermittent network). It's a strange device, I'll say that, but much more capable than a pure Android tablet.
Android never bothered to properly support tablets and it showed in lousy sales. But tablets overall in decline and frankly Chrome OS isn't that great for touch screens. Nor is Chrome OS even close to having the amount of devices in use as Android. Just not sure what Google is thinking? You start installing Chrome OS on tablets and you basically hurt your Chromebook business model. But at this point I wouldn't buy a Android or Chrome OS tablet. Neither is going to be very good.
And take screenshots. It will have to do a lot more to distinguish itself.
Yeah, there's a lot of "gonna" in the tech business.
Remember when OS/2 was gonna replace Windows (or was it DOS)?
Remember when that experimental HP WebOS was gonna replace iOS, Symbian, BlackBerry and all the rest?
Remember when Metro/Modern/Live Tiles was gonna take over every platform?
Remember when Itanium was gonna be the CPU architecture that took over the entire Intel lineup?
Remember when Pen Windows was gonna be revolutionary?
Remember when the Apple Newton was gonna be the bees knees?
Remember when...
Well you get the idea. It's fine to have plans and ambitions. Just remember that there are about 10 tech grand announcements for every 3 successful implementations.