Over the past year and a half or so, we’ve learned that Google will replace the underlying tech stack in ChromeOS with Android. And in September, Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon brought Google senior vice president Rick Osterloh on-stage at the Snapdragon Summit, where the two revealed that this work was even more ambitious than we’d imagined: Google is, in fact, going after the PC market with Android, and it will bring Gemini, the Android app ecosystem, and its developer community along for the ride.
The lack of details raises a lot of questions, but we know that this Android/ChromeOS merger on PC desktop and laptop form factors will happen “next year.” And now, thanks to a job listing, we know a bit more: The project that will merge Android with ChromeOS is called Aluminium OS internally. Though it’s not clear yet if that is a codename or the actual product name.
Android Authority points out that the name Aluminium is reminiscent of Chromium, the web browser platform that’s the foundation for Chrome and ChromeOS. The job listing in question is for a “senior product manager [of] Android Laptop and Tablets.” And that Aluminium OS is “Android-based” and is “built with artificial intelligence (AI) at the core.”
The job listing obtained by Android Authority says that the person who assumes that role will be “driving the roadmap and curating a portfolio of ChromeOS and Aluminium Operating System (ALOS) Commercial devices across all form factors (e.g. laptops, detachables, tablets, and boxes) and tiers (e.g., Chromebook, Chromebook Plus, AL Entry, AL Mass Premium, and AL Premium) that meets the needs of users and the business.”
It also appears that Aluminium OS and ChromeOS will coexist for at least a while, most likely because of existing support lifecycles. Of course, it’s possible that Google may simply use the name ChromeOS for the new system as well, though a push into more premium markets might require a rebranding.
Separately, it appears that the second-generation Snapdragon X2 Elite chips that Qualcomm is making for PCs will also be used for these new Aluminium OS-based PCs. That would explain why Qualcomm’s CEO mentioned it at the company’s biggest trade show. But you may recall I had previously speculated that Snapdragon X might benefit ChromeOS more as a platform than it does Windows.