Ryan Haines / Android Authority
The Android side of the internet is abuzz with rumors around Google’s Aluminum OS, which is expected to replace ChromeOS on low-power laptops. That sounds like an incredible idea since Google hasn’t had its own real computer software in forever — no, ChromeOS doesn’t count for real work — and has relied on Windows (and now even Mac) for interoperability between Android phones/tablets and other platforms.
When Google is putting in so much effort to make Android apps interoperable — from letting you play Android games on Windows to making Pixel 10s work with Apple AirDrop (you know, the existing desktop ecosystem) — isn’t this the better direction to put your energy into instead of creating a new OS from scratch?
What should Google focus on?
5 votes
Aluminum OS
60%
Android-Windows integration
20%
Android-Mac integration
20%
App scaling on big screens
0%
It’s all about habit
Edgar Cervantes / Android Authority
A lot of us may be excited to see Aluminum OS turn into reality. We sure do want to go with the hype trend, but how many of us are actually going to buy one? Rabbit R1 and Humane’s AI pin were both real hype machines, but they didn’t find any takers. The thing is, they were so novel that they couldn’t break the habit. Habit is a terribly hard thing to break people out of, something they have known and lived with for years.
Windows and macOS are the two dominant players, with Linux also finding its niche audience. ChromeOS, on the other hand, mostly falls under the ‘others’ category with under 2% market share. ChromeOS may be great for simpler productivity apps, sure, but for any serious business, Windows is the fair game, with Mac focused on the more creative audience. A big enterprise isn’t going to wake up one day and get its IT department to switch hundreds or thousands of its devices from Windows to Aluminum OS just because Google launched a new OS. That ain’t happening, brother — that’s not how enterprises work.
To its credit, Google did a smart thing with habit-building by making Chromebooks a staple notebook for school-goers, setting the foundation and encoding the familiarity so deeply that they’d grow up to ask for Chromebooks, making its biggest dent in the US. Sadly, that big impact is still just 4% of the US market share. So, when people aren’t already using ChromeOS, would Aluminum OS be compelling enough to switch?
What Android apps?
Mishaal Rahman / Android Authority
Aluminum OS is said to support Android apps natively, unlike ChromeOS, which runs them inside a containerized environment. That would be a big win considering Android hosts millions of mainstream apps, and you’re more than likely to find your preferred services on the Play Store. The only issue is that Android apps fail to scale properly to non-conventional form factors like foldables or even tablets — and that’s true even today. What appears to be the biggest strength of the new OS may turn out to be its biggest letdown if Google’s big-screen implementation is anything to go by.
Despite Google’s efforts with Android 12L and other incentives to nudge developers to make adaptive apps, the reality is that fragmentation still tests tools trying to help apps appear properly instead of getting weirdly stretched, like those on the Galaxy Fold 7, to their limits. That doesn’t inspire confidence in Google’s ability to bring a solid desktop-like, windowed experience to its new desktop OS for Android apps.
The silver lining for Aluminum OS
Ryan Haines / Android Authority
With ChromeOS doing such low numbers, developers have had little incentive to make apps for Google’s operating system. And it’s not like they’re going to jump on Aluminum OS as soon as it launches. However, inheriting one of ChromeOS’s features (and doubling down on it) could save it on day one, if Google decides to continue working on it at all. Support for Linux apps could prove to be a game-changer, as it has a vibrant ecosystem of “real” work apps, and Aluminum OS could use it as its foundation. But that still leaves a lot of work for Google.
While Google needs to give serious thought to app scaling on large displays and getting more developers on board, I’d like for Google to be the first to make an AI-first OS — one that doesn’t use AI as a layer on top of an existing OS, like Windows and macOS, but actually makes offline AI the base of everything. There’s a reason why everyone is building AI browsers, from OpenAI to Perplexity, and Google, with Gemini, could one-up them with a full-fat OS that runs on AI. Honestly, that’s the only way Aluminum OS is going to be acceptable to me as a standout tool.
But my question remains: is it even worth the time and investment?
Is it a solution looking for a problem?
Joe Maring / Android Authority
Maybe Google has a grand plan for its future where Aluminum OS fits the puzzle so perfectly that everyone goes crazy for it — you know, like people lining up outside Apple Stores days before the iPhone launch back in the day. But from my vantage point, just let it go, Google.
We have time and again seen signs of Android getting its very own Samsung DeX alternative, allowing you to hook your phone to a display, keyboard, and mouse, and voilà, you have a desktop setup ready anywhere. It’s the bridge between your actual computer and your phone for when you don’t have your laptop around but still need a big-screen experience, say, for a serious desktop-class task. Let Mac or Windows be your primary operating system for work, and just get Android to play nice with them.
Native interoperability isn’t possible without Google controlling every piece of the puzzle, but do we even want that kind of deep integration?
I know native interoperability isn’t possible without Google controlling every piece of the puzzle, but do we even want that kind of deep integration? I am over the moon just because I can Quick Share a photo from my Pixel 10 to my Mac without fiddling with complex workarounds. As Google cleverly works on bridging the gap between Windows/Mac and Android, I see that as the direction Google should take and focus all its attention on, rather than trying to convince people to change habits that are hard to break.
More effort in that direction would lead to better general adoption, too, as people will make do with their existing hardware instead of buying new machines just because they have a flashy-new Aluminum OS. It’s low barrier and low friction, which could actually prove to be a win-win that Google actually needs right now to put up with the Apple ecosystem.
While Google grapples with that, I will use my time to ponder another, equally critical question: Would Google stick with Aluminum OS or call it “Aluminium” OS outside North America? 🤷♂️
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