Google wants to squash the rumors once and for all: No, it has no plans to phase out its Chrome operating system.
The response comes after the Wall Street Journal reported on Oct. 29 that Google plans to fold Chrome OS, which is used by its Chromebook laptops, into Android, a mobile operating system installed on 83% of smartphones globally. For years, industry analysts have wondered when and how Google would reconcile its two operating systems, but the company’s recent remarks show it remains dedicated to both Chrome OS and 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, Google’s senior vice president of Android, Chrome OS, and Chromecast, said in a Nov. 2 blog post.
Lockheimer also notes that Google has committed to “guaranteed auto-updates for five years” for Chrome devices starting from their launch dates, and that the company has lined up ”dozens of new Chromebooks” for 2016. So long as Google keeps introducing new Chrome products, the operating system will stick around.