Alphabet, Google's parent company, is planning to merge two operating systems, the Chrome OS and Android. Reports claim that Chrome OS will be completely integrated into the Android platform in 2017.
According to The Wall Street Journal, tech giant Google has been working to merge the two platform for almost two years already.
Google Chrome OS runs on laptops and desktop computers and is widely used within the education sector. The operating system is also widely regarded in the security community as one of the most secure computer platform.
On the other hand, Android is currently powering more than 1.4 billion devices ranging from smartphones, tablet and smartwatches. While the Chrome OS is regarded as a secure platform, the opposite can be said to the Android platform which has been on fire from security experts due to its wide gaping security loopholes.
The merger of Chrome OS and Android will bring major changes not only in Google but in the entire tech community as well. Reports claim that once the merger is complete, the Chrome OS will cease to exist and the Chromebook brand will be rebranded in order to reflect the new platform.
Many tech analysts claim that the merger of Chrome OS and Android is part of Google's plant to reduce the number of independent platform that the company needs to maintain. Following the announcement of the merger, speculations began surfacing claiming that a preview of the new platform will be demonstrated at the 2016 Google I/O conference.
According to Fortune, merging two operating systems designed to be used on different platforms in not entirely a new idea. Microsoft has already done this with its Windows 10 operating system which is a universal operating system that covers almost all platforms available today including smartphones, desktops and tablet computers.