In a nutshell: Google is seemingly concerned with blurring the road between its two primary computing platforms. The mobile-focused Android system may quickly purchase the power to run particular ChromeOS builds, though the function has solely been demoed behind closed doorways for now.
Google not too long ago demonstrated to its enterprise companions how the corporate’s newest Android telephones can run the cloud-focused ChromeOS system in a devoted atmosphere. The personal demo showcased a particular construct of ChromeOS’s open-source counterpart, often called “ferrochrome,” and highlighted the power of Pixel 8 units to undertaking the system onto an exterior show.
ChromeOS can run on an Android gadget because of the Android Virtualization Framework (AVF), a VM expertise initially launched with Android 13. AVF creates a safe and personal execution atmosphere for particular use instances, offering stronger code isolation than Android’s normal app sandbox when prospects require very excessive, and even “formally licensed,” computing environments on the go.
The AVF function is presently supported on ARM64 units solely. It has up to now been used to run customized, stripped-down Android builds often called “microdroids.” Nevertheless, as demonstrated by a developer who ran Home windows 11 on a Pixel 6 telephone in 2022, AVF’s virtualization expertise seems able to managing even a “international” working system like ChromeOS.
In recent times, ChromeOS-based Chromebook units have gained the power to help native execution of Android apps downloaded via Google’s App Retailer, though this function is simply accessible on particular Chromebook fashions. Android nonetheless doesn’t formally help ChromeOS apps, however Google is making efforts to reinforce the expertise on bigger screens with particular enhancements to Android’s desktop mode.
The flexibility to run ChromiumOS on Android via an AVF digital machine would supply a super mix between the 2 platforms, providing finish prospects extra flexibility in how they entry their apps and web-based productiveness providers. Google’s personal demo didn’t include any assurance of an upcoming public launch of the function, and the corporate has already made it clear that it doesn’t intend to merge Android and ChromeOS right into a single working system with a typical technological core.
Google had beforehand tried to create a hybrid Android/ChromeOS working system often called Andromeda, however the undertaking was in the end discontinued. Based on Google VP Hiroshi Lockheimer in 2016, each programs had turn out to be profitable in their very own proper and have been influencing one another, however there have been no plans for an precise merger.