Forget Aluminium, is Android ready to lead Google’s PC push as is?

Google has long surpassed Microsoft and continues to challenge Apple in the mobile operating system sphere, but it still lags behind both in the PC world. Sure, Chrome OS is popular in the education and business computing market, but Microsoft Windows and Apple macOS dominate almost everywhere else. I’m writing this piece from a Windows-based desktop, not a Chrome OS-based laptop, after all. Perhaps it makes sense that Google is exploring new avenues for its personal computing endeavors.

According to our recent reporting, the company is developing a new Android-based OS for PCs called Aluminium. We don’t know much about the project yet, but it appears that Google plans to incorporate plenty of Android’s DNA into the final product, giving the remixed OS a fresh yet familiar foundation. That’s all pretty exciting, especially for those who don’t believe that Chrome OS is a competent product and disillusioned Windows users.

But given Google’s track record of developing promising projects and then abandoning them before they can realize their full potential, wouldn’t it make sense to use Android as is, rather than creating a spin-off OS based on it?

In other words, do you think Android is ready to lead Google’s PC push right now? If not, I’m interested to hear what you think Google needs to do to turn its mobile OS into a PC-level OS.

I’m not suggesting that Android is perfect for PCs, but Google has gradually equipped it with more PC-adjacent features. This includes a Desktop Mode and a terminal app, and it continues to push Gemini throughout its veins. Surely, with a few nips and tucks, Android can get there with relative ease. Hardware support would be a roadblock, but if we disregard this limitation for the sake of a thought experiment, would you rather have the same laptop running Windows or Android?

There’s plenty to talk about here, so let’s start a conversation in the comments section below. I’m interested to hear your views!

Here are some more questions:

• Would you consider using an Android-based OS on a laptop over Windows, Linux, or macOS?
• Does it make sense for Google to develop on top of Android instead of crafting an OS specifically made for PCs? Should Google build its own specialized Linux distro for its PC efforts?
• What’s your opinion of Chrome OS? Has Google’s current PC OS failed or succeeded in your eyes?
• Android’s app compatibility is a clear strength, but what are some of its bigger weaknesses when viewed as a personal computing OS?
• Do you have any faith that Google will give Aluminium the development time it would need, and not cull it as it has with so many other projects?
• Where do you think the news of Aluminium leaves Android on smartphones? Will a spin-off PC OS improve Android on handsets?

👇 And if you have a specific comment related to your poll choice, or want to answer any of the questions posed above, be sure to have your say in the comments below.