Reports are circulating that Google is in the process of developing a new PC operating system as direct competition to Microsoft’s Windows 11, with a launch date expected to be sometime within the next 12 months.
Microsoft has clearly upset a lot of traditional Windows users with its “like it or lump it” decision-making, and it’s common knowledge that the time is ripe for an alternative PC operating system to challenge Windows’ dominance.
Google has apparently also recognized that Windows’ dominance is currently at its most vulnerable and has acted accordingly. Historically, whenever the two giants have competed in the past, it’s Google that has generally won out. Just look at what Google’s Chrome browser did to Microsoft’s once-dominant Internet Explorer.
According to reports, Google has confirmed that it is working on a combination of the best of its massively popular Android OS and ChromeOS to produce “a common technical foundation for both PCs and smartphones“. This means that PC users will soon have a viable Windows alternative that will not only encompass the entire Android app ecosystem but also provide a unified experience between an Android phone and the PC.
Whether or not Google’s new PC operating system will gain traction with users has obviously yet to be determined. However, I believe it’s fair to anticipate a lot of interest from disgruntled Windows users as well as from dedicated Android users.
BOTTOM LINE:
Personally, I’ve tended to steer clear of the Google ecosystem, mainly based on privacy concerns. That said, when it comes to privacy concerns, I think it’s fair to say that most users these days don’t perceive a whole lot of difference between Microsoft and Google in that department, so perhaps it won’t be a major deterrent. After all, the least private browser (Chrome) is also the most popular browser on the planet.
It’s certainly an interesting development, and Google’s timing could not have been better.
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Well I think someone needs to do something , reports are that Windows 11 26H1 will only be available to Copilot+ pc’s and will not be available to those who have upgraded on their home pc’s, so understanding that , everyone that has upgraded to a home pc, bought new pc’s or have shelled out good money to update their hardware are going to be left hanging out in the wind once again.
My understanding is that it is designed only for those machines running the Qualcomm Snapdragon chips. The next version 26H2 will be available to both Intel and AMD chips. The reason is that the Snapdragon chips run an emulated version of Windows for some non-reworked software for compatibility. MS wants to push the Snapdragon chips for several reasons: Lower battery drain, cooler running, and faster. Some software has not been made compatible with the Snapdragon chips so MS is pushing the development. MS products have been reworked to run on Snapdragon. I suspect that Snapdragon may be the new replacement for Intel chips which are not as good for AI as the Snapdragon and AMDs are.
Yep, you 100% correct Vince. In fact, Qualcomm is partnering with Google in this project. The word is that devices running Google’s new OS will be limited to laptops, tablets, and mini PCs.
And Google’s new OS is expected to be largely AI-driven, so zero relief from AI there.
Thanks Vince for your comment.
I would be a customer but only if Google’s OS supported Microsoft’s FrontPage 2003, which Win 10 (and presumably Win 11) does. The program’s ancient but so am I. It’s the first web-writing app I learned, and one I still use to update my personal website. Which no one reads, so maybe I should face facts (and an annual hosting fee) and move on, huh.
Hey Steve,
I can understand your reluctance to let go of your site. It’s difficult to let go, especially if you’ve been working on it for some time.
I’m with thinking Jim concerning the trust factor of anything Google. I’ve gotten very comfortable with Zorin 18 and I control everything about it. I had enough of MSlop after dealing with 10 and a brief fling with 11.
I say bring it on. I don’t care who comes up with an OS that will run my current software packages. Microsoft has pushed the OS way past what an OS should be.
If they want to add all this mostly useless software to the OS they should do it through Microsoft Store. That way the OS can remain mean and slim with lots of security.
Thanks Jim
I really hope that an alternative to Windows can be viable soon. It will interesting to see if Steam OS (I understand Linux based) will ever be extended to the desktop and not just to gaming. Google certainly has a foot in the door with Chrome OS but that seems to have never really gained acceptance in a big way to date. Then of course we have good old Linux itself – it’s own worst enemy as far as adoption goes – “So many ‘distros’ so little time.” Yet finally Linux appears to be, potentially at least, in the right place at the right time to pose a more credible challenge to Microsoft’s dominance for the desktop.
I was watching a YouTube video on a Linux add-on called “Winboat” that allows you to run a virtual Win 11 inside Linux for Windows software you absolutely cannot leave behind. That got me to thinking – what exactly do I use in Windows that I absolutely cannot leave behind because there is no Linux alternative ? And if I can run Windows 11 Pro inside Linux on a virtual machine (I would have to pay for a licence of course) then what if any downsides are there at all from moving ?
In Windows 11 we have the constantly tinkering and changing of the desktop environment by Microsoft instead of just letting people use their computers for the reason(s) they bought it. We did not buy a PC so we could become a full-time IT specialist in order to just to keep the damn thing operating. Again just this month Microsoft have released another suite of updates that have broken or slowed some people’s computers and now those customers are in need of rushed emergency patches to correct things. We are sick of it. We are sick of being told to throw perfectly good computers in landfill because Microsoft arbitrarily decided to foist minimum software and hardware requirements onto us. We are sick of Ai infiltrating into everything just because it can and that is only because Microsoft is worried someone else will take their advertising revenue away. We are sick of cosmetic and procedural O/S changes being made that don’t benefit us and we then have to find ways to simply put stuff back the way it was – sometimes at a financial cost of the software to do so.
There’s an open opportunity just waiting for someone to end the Microsoft madness and I’m ready. Let’s hope they seize it.
Cheers
Reg
Well said Reg, and I agree 100%.
Excellent rant Reg. “We did not buy a PC so we could become a full-time IT specialist in order to just to keep the damn thing operating. ”
Totally agree 100%, only wish I said it first, Mindblower!