‘I’ve seen it, it’s incredible’: Qualcomm CEO hypes new desktop Android OS that sounds like a genuine game-changer

4 hours ago 1
An Android phone being held in the hand
(Image credit: Shutterstock / mindea)

  • We heard more details about ChromeOS' Android upgrades at Snapdragon Summit 2025
  • Snapdragon chips will power Chromebooks with the new OS
  • Qualcomm’s CEO Cristiano Amon called the OS "incredible"

Qualcomm just hosted Snapdragon Summit 2025, and Google’s senior vice president of platforms & devices Rick Osterloh took to the stage to talk more about Android being integrated into ChromeOS – with Qualcomm’s CEO calling the computer-based Android “incredible.”

There have long been rumors that Google will more closely combine ChromeOS with Android – here’s an article we wrote almost a decade ago on the topic – but in an interview with us earlier this year, Google’s president of Android ecosystem, Sameer Samat, officially revealed that Google is “going to be combining ChromeOS and Android into a single platform.”

Given that Google makes both operating systems, they were already very closely linked, but Google plans to go beyond linking the platforms and actually build ChromeOS on top of Android.

As Google’s Rick Osterloh said at Snapdragon Summit 2025 (via 9To5Google), “We are building together a common technical foundation for our products on PCs and desktop computing systems.”This, Google says, will allow it to better leverage its AI developments across its ecosystems by simplifying the efforts of its software engineers. Rather than building Gemini integration for Android and Gemini integration for Chrome, it just needs to do the work once.

Lenovo Chromebook Plus 14-inch open on desk with pink background

ChromeOS is getting a change, but when (Image credit: Future)

Closer integration should also mean Android apps can be natively run on ChromeOS rather than relying on an Android virtual machine emulator, as has been the case until now.

We still have yet to see what the new and improved ChromeOS will have in store for us, but Qualcomm’s CEO clearly has, saying, “It’s incredible. I think it delivers on the vision of conversions in mobile and PC. And I can’t wait to have one.” Based on comments at the Summit, what we will see will rely on Qualcomm’s PC chipsets, and might be coming sooner rather than later.

High praise, though comments like this should obviously be taken with a pinch of salt – Qualcomm is partnering closely with Google on ChromeOS and other projects like Android XR. It has skin in the game and is therefore unlikely to levy any criticism at its partner’s efforts.

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Though, as I’ve mentioned, hopefully these comments mean the new ChromeOS is nearly ready to see the light of day, and that we can judge the OS for ourselves. We've got our fingers crossed and are ready to give you our thoughts as soon as we can try the new OS out.

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Hamish is a Senior Staff Writer for TechRadar and you’ll see his name appearing on articles across nearly every topic on the site from smart home deals to speaker reviews to graphics card news and everything in between. He uses his broad range of knowledge to help explain the latest gadgets and if they’re a must-buy or a fad fueled by hype. Though his specialty is writing about everything going on in the world of virtual reality and augmented reality.

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