Google has big plans to merge its long-running laptop-based ChromeOS with Android arguably one of the biggest changes for decades of experimental computing. The new OS, which has since been called “Aluminum,” may arrive sooner rather than later, according to newly revealed court documents posted by The Verge. On top of that, we can’t help but wonder what our older Chromebooks will actually change if ChromeOS as we know it is completely kaput.

We have a vague idea of ​​what Aluminum looks like thanks to a leak that was spotted earlier 9to5Google last week. Videos and screenshots published on the site show that the next software built for Chromebooks will take pages directly from the large Android screen, although having a longer taskbar will prove important for larger screens. Unfortunately, there’s not much we can gather about how this affects app compatibility.

The main promise of integrating Android and ChromeOS is the thought of running all your regular Android apps directly from your computer. Currently, ChromeOS is available on the Chrome browser, and that means relying on streaming and browser-based apps for almost every day-to-day function. Judging by these leaks and court documents, that likely won’t change in the future.

Google’s head of Chrome, Sameer Samat, said as recently as last September that a new version of ChromeOS will be here in 2026. Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon told an audience that he saw the OS and called it “unbelievable.” These newly revealed court filings submitted by Google in the fall of the Epic antitrust case suggest that the timing of the release will be more chaotic. Samat told the court that “we hope to” release in 2026. Meanwhile, Google’s lawyers suggested that the search giant could release Aluminum for testing in late 2026. It could be only an internal test, or maybe a wider beta release for selected testers.

Google’s ‘Aluminum’ OS will still force you to use Chrome

Full release could be closer to 2028, lawyers suggested in the documents. Remember, lawyers are trying to argue for Google to keep control of Chrome. Google is still facing the fallout from the landmark decision in 2024 which it is painted as a monopoly. The federal government has suggested that Google should be forced to sell Chrome. Google’s lawyers have every reason to make the divestiture of Chrome detrimental to the end user.

Google promises that all Chromebooks will receive a full 10 years of software updates. However, that does not mean that the old version of ChromeOS is long for this world. These documents reveal that ChromeOS has a fully planned obsolescence for 2034. It remains unclear how many current devices will receive full support for Aluminum when it finally arrives on the scene.

There is a missing “why” in all of this. This could go back to how Google feeds try to stop Chrome or Play Store from taking precedence on its devices. So why did Google suddenly decide that ChromeOS deserved an Android makeover? US District Judge Amit Mehta effectively freed ChromeOS from previous rulings. “Unlike the distribution of Android or Apple devices or a third-party browser, Chrome is an essential component of a ChromeOS device,” Mehta put in a Controls filed on December 5 last year. In fact, Aluminum may be one of the last signs of an ecosystem implemented by Google in which its own browser and app store will get priority.