Reports: Google to merge Chrome OS with Android

Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) plans to merge its Chrome OS with its Android mobile operating system and have Android become its primary platform for computing, according to multiple reports. The reports, from the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Re/code and The Verge, cited unnamed sources familiar with the matter and indicated that Chrome as a platform is not going to go away overnight. However, according to the Journal, Google engineers have been working for around two years to combine the operating systems and have made progress recently. Google plans to unveil its new, single operating system in 2017, but expects to show off an early version next year, the report added. According to Re/code, starting next year, the company will work with partners to build PCs that run on Android. There have been indications Google might be moving in this direction. Before he became CEO of Google last year, Sundar Pichai named Hiroshi Lockheimer, vice president of engineering for Android, to oversee the Chrome operating system as well. Lockheimer indicated that Google is still behind the Chrome OS. "There's a ton of momentum for Chromebooks and we are very committed to Chrome OS," he said on Twitter. "I just bought two for my kids for schoolwork!" Article