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Google says 'there's no plan to phase out Chrome OS'

Google says 'there's no plan to phase out Chrome OS'

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Google is making an emphatic statement after a report last week suggested that Android and Chrome OS are on a path to being merged; the company says Chrome OS "is here to stay." The company admits that it's "been working on ways to bring together the best of both operating systems" — lending some credence to Friday's report from The Wall Street Journal. But strictly speaking about Chrome OS, Google says "there’s more to do."

"We have plans to release even more features for Chrome OS, such as a new media player, a visual refresh based on Material Design, improved performance, and of course, a continued focus on security," Android and Chrome SVP Hiroshi Lockheimer wrote in a blog post today. "With our regular six-week software cycle and guaranteed auto-updates for five years, Chromebooks keep getting better over time."

The company says "dozens" of Chromebooks are slated to debut in 2016. But notably, the Journal's initial report claimed that this combined version of Android and Chrome OS wouldn't arrive until 2017, with a possible preview sometime next year. If that timeline is accurate, Google isn't entirely wrong either; Chrome OS and Chromebooks will be around for some time to come.