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Well, this is a pretty surprising bit of news. According to About Chromebooks, Google might actually decouple ChromeOS and the Chrome browser, which is pretty shocking. We’re not sure when this is going to happen, but the report states that it could happen sometime in the near future.
If there was any program that Google was going to yank out of ChromeOS, we’re pretty dumbfounded that Google decided on Chrome. However, at the same time, it might not be that surprising.
Google could decouple Chrome from ChromeOS
Let’s start off with the news. About Chromebooks (via Engadget) states that Google was actually working on doing this for a couple of years. Why is the company doing this? It all has to do with the Chrome-specific updates that happen on ChromeOS- there are none.
Updating the Chrome browser on ChromeOS requires an entire system update. This means that updates aren’t seamless. This is a pretty clunky way of doing this. It’s inconvenient having to do it, and it also means that older devices are less secure.
Older Chromebooks have lost future software updates from Google. When that happens, they also lose updates to the Chrome browser. They’re missing out on new features and further security updates.
However, Google could decouple Chrome and ChromeOS very soon. This means that those older devices could get software updates to just the Chrome browser even when the software is out of date. We don’t think that devices that are currently out of date will be affected by this, but future devices that will lose support will benefit from this.
There’s a new browser coming
Google isn’t only breaking up this marriage, it’s introducing another browser, making this seem like a tech soap opera. The company could introduce a new browser called Lacros. We don’t really know anything about this program, but it could be a Linux-based browser. We’re not sure if Google is going to get rid of Chrome or if it’s just going to introduce Lacros as an optional alternative.
However, we may soon find out. The rumor has it that Google will introduce this new browser as soon as ChromeOS version 116. That’s the very next version of the software to come out. We expect it to land as soon as late August or early September.
This shouldn’t come as a surprise
It makes sense that ChromeOS was based on the Chrome browser when it was first introduced. ChromeOS was not much more than a bloated Chrome browser in those early days. Chromebooks were mostly meant to be for browsing and using Google’s online services.
However, over the years, the platform has become much more than that. It’s become a platform where you can do some serious work. You have the utility of Android apps along with added power and features. It established an identity among the Macbooks and Windows computers of the world. So, it should come as no shock that ChromeOS will cease being based on the Chrome browser.