Chromebooks debuted 16 years ago with the limited release of Google’s Cr-48, an unassuming compact laptop that was provided free to select users. From there, Chromebooks became one of the most popular budget computing options and a common fixture in schools and businesses. According to some newly uncovered court documents, Google’s shift to Android PCs means Chromebooks have an expiration date in 2034.
The documents were filed as part of Google’s long-running search antitrust case, which began in 2020 and reached a verdict in 2024. While Google is still seeking to have the guilty verdict overturned, it has escaped most of the remedies that government prosecutors requested. According to The Verge, the company’s plans for Chromebooks and the upcoming Android-based Aluminium came up in filings from the remedy phase of the trial.
As Google moves toward releasing Aluminium, it sought to keep the upcoming machines above the fray and retain the Chrome browser (which it did). In Judge Amit Mehta’s final order, devices running ChromeOS or a ChromeOS successor are excluded. To get there, Google had to provide a little more detail on its plans.
Google’s Android chief, Sameer Samat, previously testified that Google was aiming to launch its first Aluminium machines in 2026. However, the new filings expand on that, saying that Google hopes to get Aluminium in the hands of trusted testers by late 2026. A full retail release may not happen until 2028. Google expects Aluminium to supplant ChromeOS in enterprise and education, which puts Chromebooks on the chopping block. Outside of a pandemic-era bump as workers sought cheap at-home machines, Chromebooks have never expanded much beyond those markets.
The documents suggest that Google will wash its hands of ChromeOS once the current support window closes. Google promises 10 years of Chromebook support, but that’s not counted from the date of purchase—Chromebooks are based on a handful of hardware platforms dictated by Google, with the most recent launching in 2023. That means Google has to support the newest devices through 2033. The “timeline to phase out ChromeOS is 2034,” says the filing.
Android goes big
From the start, the ChromeOS experience was focused on the web. Google initially didn’t even support running local apps, but little by little, its aspirations grew. Over the years, it has added Linux apps and Android apps. And it even tried to get Steam games running on Chromebooks—it gave up on that last one just recently. It also tried to shoehorn AI features into ChromeOS with the Chromebook Plus platform, to little effect.
Android was barely getting off the ground when ChromeOS began its journey, but as we approach the 2030s, Google clearly wants a more powerful desktop platform. Android has struggled on larger screens, but Aluminium is a long-running project to fix that. Whatever we see in 2028 may not even look like the Android we know from phones. It will have many of the same components under the hood, though.
Google could get everything it wants with the upcoming Aluminium release. When running on powerful laptop hardware, Android’s performance and capabilities should far outstrip ChromeOS. Aluminium is also expected to run Google apps like Chrome and the Play Store with special system privileges, leaving third-party apps with fewer features. That gives Google more latitude in how it manages the platform and retains users, all without running afoul of recent antitrust rulings.
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