Google's head of hardware teases Android-based PC
Google's head of hardware Rick Osterloh confirmed at the Qualcomm Snapdragon Summit that Android and Gemini will be brought to PCs.
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At Qualcomm's Snapdragon Summit, Google's Head of Hardware and Services Rick Osterloh explained that the Android operating system will soon no longer only be used in smartphones and tablets. In a conversation with Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon, Osterloh said that they are working on a joint project that will have a direct impact on the personal computing sector. The whole thing sounds a lot like Android notebooks with Qualcomm chips.
Android as a PC platform
When asked by Amon what he could say about the joint work on the new personal computing project, Osterloh explained that they wanted to bring “really rich computing experiences to every category.” “In the past, we've always had very different systems between what we develop on PCs and what we develop on smartphones,” he continued. By this, he means that ChromeOS is used for PCs and notebooks, while Android is used on smartphones and tablets.
Google has launched a project to combine both worlds. Together with Qualcomm, it is developing a technical basis for PCs and desktop computer systems. Google's primary goal is to bring its AI ecosystem around the Gemini models, the Assistant, and the entire application and developer community to the PC sector.
Osterloh continued: “We're very excited about this, and I think this is another way that Android can serve all users in all areas of computing.”
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Google has been working on merging Android and ChromeOS for years
Google has basically been working on merging ChromeOS and Android for years: Google brought Android apps to the system back in 2016, and in 2021 the company dovetailed the two systems even more closely. Last year, the manufacturer announced that ChromeOS would be based on the Android code stack in the future.
In an interview in July of this year, Android boss Sameer Samat said that ChromeOS and Android would be merged into “a single platform” and that ChromeOS would be based entirely on Android in the future.
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Google is also preparing a desktop mode for Android that will give smartphones a windowed mode for external screens. Google announced this at Google I/O 2025. This means that the screen content of an Android smartphone is not simply mirrored on an external display, but instead a real desktop mode appears with a taskbar and app windows that can be customized in size and freely arranged.
This function can currently be activated on Pixel devices via the developer settings. It is therefore not completely finalized. However, Amon said in an interview with Osterloh that he has already been able to try out the new desktop platform. Its development could therefore already be quite advanced.
(afl)
