All You Need To Know About Android-Chrome OS Hybrid Andromeda

Google is buckling up it's shoes and it wants to give a premium look to Android. Given the fact that Android is open source, it can be utilized by any manufacturer in any device they want to. The biggest and largest example of this is Samsung's vast array of smartphones. Spread across all the budget ranges, you will definitely find a Samsung device which matches your budget. Since Android can be made to adapt to any device across all budgets, Android doesn't have a premium image, like iOS has. Even though OEMs like Samsung do market flagship devices with top of the line specifications that cost a dent in your pocket, Android still does not have an image which localises it to a specific budget range. In fact, there was a time when the market was flooded with Android powered Samsung devices. Startups such as OnePlus & Xiaomi were unknown back then. Such was Samsung's impact on Android, that Samsung became the face of Android over the years. To tackle all this, Google has decided to come up with something new, Andromeda.

Andromeda is not just about rebranding Android, it will also have the best features from Google's Chrome OS, which powers Chromebooks, Chromebox & Chromebit. As the name suggests, Chrome OS revolves around the web browser Chrome. Chrome OS can be treated as Chrome, the web browser, plus some web applications. Chrome OS hosts all it's contents on cloud, which allows it to be run on multiple devices including televisions using the Chromebit.

To bring up Andromeda, Google needs to come up with a new brand as well, that's why Google is bringing up a new Pixel range of devices. We explored multiple reasons for the coming up of this brand in one of our previous posts here. Sources have informed Android Police about the development of a Pixel 3 laptop which will be powered by the Android-Chrome OS hybrid Andromeda. The project dealing with Pixel 3's bringing up is internally known as Bison.

The Pixel 3 will be an ultra thin laptop (under 10mm) with a 12.3" screen. At the moment it seems likely that the Pixel 3 would be launched in two models in October 2017. Both the models of the Pixel 3 will be featuring a fingerprint scanner, a 3.5mm headphone jack (fuck you Apple!), two USB-C ports, stereo speakers and quad microphones. Stylus will also be supported and a Walcom stylus would be sold separately. As of now, it is rumoured that Google will be having a "tablet" mode built inside the Pixel 3. Along the tablet, you will also get a backlit keyboard, which will also feature a trackpad made of glass. The glass trackpad will have sensors which can sense the pressure of your touch. This will just lead to more features packed inside Bison. The two models will differ in terms of RAM, internal storage and the processor that comes on board both these devices. One of them will be having an 8GB RAM, Intel m3 processor and 32GB internal memory. The other model will feature 16GB RAM, Intel i5 processor and 128GB of storage.The former model's slated price is $799. This will be a "Pixel, but targeting MacBook Pro" users.

Google's Huawei-built 7-inch tablet, with 4GB RAM, on track for release before the end of the year.

— Evan Blass (@evleaks) September 5, 2016

As shown above, serial leaker Evan Blass had tweeted about Huawei making a tablet which will feature a 7 inch screen and 4GB RAM. 9To5Google reports that this tablet would be having a Nexus branding. A while ago in an exclusive leak, we had told you that Google has no plans of dropping the Nexus branding as well. The facts reported by 9To5Google match our claims.

It has also been reported that Google is indeed testing out Andromeda on the Nexus 9 "because of hardware constraints and availability".

In the end, it is suffice to say that Andromeda is a part of Google's plans to be a part of the premium segment of the market and Google plans to take on Apple in their own field, with their self branded device and Google's own operating system.

Krittin Kalra

Krittin Kalra is a 20 year old Android freak. Striving for passions, chasing down his dreams and living a life without regrets is his sole mantra. A bit moody, he also does custom ROM reviews for AndroGuider. Currently pursuing his B.Tech, he aspires to follow his heart.