When Andy Rubin left Android last week and was replaced by VP of Chrome and Apps Sundar Pichai, there were a thousand theories as to why. Every single one of those theories lead to Android and Chrome OS just begging to be merged. Well, Eric Schmidt has a rebuttal for you.
In an interview with Reuters, Schmidt said that Android and Chrome will remain two distinct operating systems, though he did allow that they may have more overlap in the future. While he was at it, he also swatted down rumours that he might be leaving Google, calling them “completely false”.
It should come as no surprise that Schmidt has spoken up on this subject, as a merger between the two operating systems, especially considering Android’s massive marketshare, would be wild. And it should come as no surprise that Schmidt has shot it down; if true, this is a secret worth keeping. It’s not like he would throw his hands up in the air and shout “you got me!” if it was — is — the plan.
But it does put a damper on the rampant speculation for now, just as it was probably intended to do. We’ll have to wait and see if maybe, just maybe, the search giant will do an about-face in the future. [Reuters]