Google is working on Android-based "Aluminium OS" to replace ChromeOS on laptops

[DragonSlayer101]

The big picture: Google is reportedly developing a new Android-based operating system for traditional PCs. Codenamed "Aluminium," the OS is expected to replace ChromeOS, Google's cloud-focused laptop platform, which continues to lag far behind Windows and macOS in the client PC market.

Google mentioned the new OS in a job listing (since deleted) for a senior product manager for Android laptops and tablets. The listing states that the candidate will work on an Android-based operating system called Aluminium, "built with artificial intelligence at its core," suggesting deep integration with Gemini.

The listing also noted that the role will involve managing the transition from ChromeOS to Aluminium.

Until Aluminium-powered devices are ready to hit the market, the role will also involve curating a portfolio of ChromeOS devices across multiple form factors, including standard Chromebooks, 2-in-1s, tablets, and desktops. Additional responsibilities include collaborating with product managers and marketing teams to ensure smooth product launches and high customer satisfaction.

The listing, posted by Google's Taiwan office two months ago, was still visible on LinkedIn until very recently. The company is no longer accepting applications, suggesting the position has likely been filled.

While the listing provides few technical details about the new OS, it confirms the code name Aluminium (using the British spelling) and that it is intended to eventually replace ChromeOS.

Google has long been developing a unified Android-based operating system for desktops and smartphones. A report from November 2024 revealed that the company's plans to merge its laptop and mobile platforms go beyond simply using Android components in ChromeOS; the strategy involves fully migrating the Chromium-based platform to Android.

The job listing raises several questions, including whether existing Chromebooks will be eligible for the new OS. According to Android Authority, Aluminium OS is currently being tested on reference devices powered by MediaTek Kompanio 520 and Intel Alder Lake processors, suggesting that Chromebooks with these chips could potentially receive the update.

At the Snapdragon Summit in September, Sameer Samat, Google's head of Android ecosystem, revealed for the first time that the company is combining ChromeOS and Android to create a new PC platform with "all the advances in AI and productivity." Samat also confirmed that the operating system is scheduled for release in 2026.

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Google is working on Android-based "Aluminium OS" to replace ChromeOS on laptops

 

[NumberNine]

Pssst... It's actually more Linux.

 

[ScottSoapbox]

Kudos to the person that realized that the symbol for aluminum is AI that looks like AI because the L is lowercase, but otherwise this is terrible.

 

[OortCloud]

Another **** OS from a company that wants to steal all your data. No thanks.
People leaving Window 11 are doing so because its a data-scraping and advertising nightmare. Deceptively scraping as much data and selling it to whoever you want with no real checks and balances is Googles entire business model. Never trust a private company that give you an OS or a search engine etc etc for 'free' it has to be scam. Google have been scamming the public for decades. A move from Windows to any Google OS would truly be jumping from a frying pan into a raging inferno.

 

[candle86]

How about no

 

[p51d007]

How about an OS that STARTS out as an ad/data blocker?

 

[daffy duck]

Chrome OS powered by AI most likely.

Chrome OS is a sad sick joke, I doubt this will be much of an improvement and worse in many other insidious ways.

 

[BobHome]

So, I guess we'll all need a monitor that can swivel vertically, huh?

I mean , most Android apps are for phones. They better put more pressure on the developers to make them landscape mode.

 

[guillejp]

One thing is selling to your investors that you're going to have a new operating system that will use AI and use user data to train your AI models for free and sell it for ads too, but another one entirely is selling this BS to consumers, which it won't, so they'll have to again make agreements with educational institutions so that it has its moment under the sun for 15 minutes, and then dies again.
Trash.

 

[bviktor]

It's refreshing to see they can actually spell Aluminium correctly, like the rest of the world.

 

[Northy]

Another way to jam AI down peoples throats, great stuff.