Android smartphones are known for offering choices and options in each aspect, be it software or hardware. When it comes to former, the amount of choices on offer could go on a new level as a report has emerged online which suggests that smartphones running Android could soon also run ChromeOS alongside. Here’s what it means.
As per a report from Android Authority, Google may be planning to support ChromeOS on Android devices. For those unaware, ChromeOS is a software made for Chromebooks and is essentially a competitor to macOS and Windows. However, it can also run Android apps for better compatibility with Android smartphones and soon, vice versa could also happen.
Google was already working on a hybrid solution called Andromeda that combined both Android and ChromeOS but that project was ultimately scrapped as Google felt that the need for that to happen was little at the moment. Now, ChromeOS running on Android is made possible by the Android Virtualization Framework (AVF), a feature introduced in Android 13 that provides a secure and private execution environment for highly sensitive code.
Read More: Rabbit R1-An Android App Even A Budget Android Phone Could Run
According to the publication, the company has reportedly begun providing official support for running Chromium OS, the open-source variant of Chrome OS, on Android phones via AVF. Furthermore, they have demonstrated this capability to other companies in private settings. Google has never offered support for running anything else in the AVF in the past, apart from its custom build of Android called “microdroid”.
Google has reportedly demonstrated a special build of Chromium OS — code-named “ferrochrome” — running in a virtual machine on a Pixel 8 at a privately held event. While ChromeOS wasn’t seen running on the screen of the phone itself, it was being mirrored to an external display through the phone’s proprietary feature. The publication even got it to work on one of their own Pixel 7 Pro units.
There’s no word on when or if the feature to dual-boot Android and ChromeOS would ever make it into public’s hands but if it does, it could be a game-changer for Android smartphones in general.