Android, ChromeOS Merge is Happening

If we had a dollar for every time Google said they were combining Android and ChromeOS, we’d have at least $10 by now. This news is a decade in the making, with quite a few follow-up reports being published every so often. At this point, we will believe it when we see it, but when the news comes from Sameer Samat, president of Google’s Android ecosystem, it’s not something to ignore.

In a recent interview, Samat is quoted to say, “we’re going to be combining ChromeOS and Android into a single platform.” Sadly, the interview does not revolve around this topic and instead covers the entire Android ecosystem and all of its different fingers at this time, but Samat did also say that he was, “interested in how people are using their laptops these days.”

With the unveiling of Android 16’s desktop mode, the timing makes good sense. Android users who aren’t on a Samsung device with DeX have long been waiting on a native desktop solution. The new desktop mode offers plenty of great features, such as intuitive window tiling options, multiple desktops, great app compatibility, and more.

For anyone looking to test the new desktop mode, you can find instructions here.

The Android president didn’t offer any further details on the merge, such as timing, but this is encouraging news. It’s a move that has been wanted/needed for some time and should benefit both platforms considerably.