A job posting reveals the first details about Google's merger of Android and ChromeOS , called Aluminum OS . We know a little more about Google's long-term plans to combine the best elements of Android and ChromeOS into a single operating system, thanks to a job posting for a product manager who will work on ' Aluminum OS '. The posting describes the new operating system as ' a new operating system with Artificial Intelligence (AI) at its core '.
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Android Authority was the first to report the job posting, which is two months old but had not been spotted until recently. It provides a name — or more likely a codename — for Google's new operating system for the first time, along with the initials 'ALOS'. It specifically describes Aluminum as 'based on Android' and says the company is considering entry-level, mass-market, and premium hardware for the operating system.
It doesn't look like ChromeOS will disappear completely, at least not initially. According to the announcement, the team will be responsible for creating 'a portfolio of ChromeOS and Aluminum Operating System devices' in various form factors ('laptops, detachables, tablets and boxes') and at various price points.
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However, the ad also mentions the need to create a strategy for 'Google's transition from ChromeOS to Aluminum', implying that the ultimate plan is to phase out ChromeOS and replace it with the new Android alternative.
The name is notable too, if only for its use of the British spelling, ending in '-ium'. This may simply be a reference to Chromium, the open source that powers ChromeOS.
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Google has been considering bringing some form of Android to PCs for over a decade, but has only started talking more seriously about the prospect in recent years. Android Authority reported that new plans were in the works last year, and Android chief Sameer Samathas since confirmed that the company is 'combining Chrome OS and Android into a single platform', with plans to release it next year.
