Google denies plans to kill off Chrome OS

Google has sought to allay concerns that its Chrome OS desktop operating system will be folded into Android by reaffirming its commitment to support enterprise Chromebooks for the next five years.

Its pledge follows recent reports that Google would merge the two operating systems into one in 2017, with Chromebooks given a new name and a version of Android for the desktop arriving.

Google at the time declined to comment on the reports.

Chrome OS only makes up three percent of the PC market, according to IDC, while Android - the world's most popular mobile operating system - holds 85 percent of the mobile market, according to Strategy Analytics.

Google today said it had no plans to kill off Chrome OS, and reiterated its promise to provide a regular six-week software refresh cycle. The company also guaranteed automatic updates for enterprise Chromebooks for the next five years..

"Over the last few days, there's been some confusion about the future of Chrome OS and Chromebooks based on speculation that Chrome OS will be folded into Android," Hiroshi Lockheimer, Google senior vice president for Android, Chrome OS, and Chromecast, said in a blog post.

"While we've been working on ways to bring together the best of both operating systems, there's no plan to phase out Chrome OS."

Lockheimer did however note Google's recent efforts to integrate more of Android into Chrome OS.

He cited moves such as the launch of the app runtime tool for Chrome, which lets Android applications run on Chromebooks.

Lockheimer said "dozens" of new Chromebooks would be released in 2016.