Google is continuing its work to merge Android and ChromeOS to create a single platform for PCs, according to Google and Qualcomm executives at the opening keynote for the Snapdragon Summit,where Qualcomm is unveiling its Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chipset.
Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon said that he has seen a version of the software and described the platform as “incredible”, explaining he “can’t wait to have one.” Amon said he believes that the software delivers on the vision to bring together mobile and PC; this is something that many companies spent the 2010s trying to do, but they never really succeeded.
Google’s head of platforms and devices, Rick Osterloh, confirmed that the platform will bring Gemini and the full Android AI stack to the PC ecosystem. All of Google’s applications and the Android developer community are also expected to be integrated. Google is hoping that Android will be able to capture more PC marketshare and take on Microsoft and Apple more directly.
It’ll be interesting to see what things Google has to change in Android to make it work properly on desktops. One thing in particular that the company will need to address is the layout of apps, which are right now optimized for touch interfaces. It’s possible for developers to make interfaces reactive to the device they’re being run on, so maybe this will see the creation of desktop design principles for apps running on a computer.
Even if Google succeeds in launching this product, it will also have to convince the general public to use it. It has only had limited success with ChromeOS so far as many see it as a glorified web browser and not a full desktop operating system. Android apps also feature a lot of ads and PC users might get put off by this as they’re not that widespread in desktop apps.
Source: Snapdragon (YouTube) via The Verge