Google killing Chrome OS? Reports point to all-Android future

It looks like the end is near for Chromebooks. I'm Bridget Carey this is your CNET update. Google Google's Chrome operating system for PCs may not be around for much longer. Google is working on releasing laptops that run on Android, and that's according to a report by the Wall Street Journal, which was also backed up by other news outlets. But Google says it is still committed to Chrome. Reports indicate that Google is working on merging the two. Or maybe it's more like having Android absorb Chrome. This new merged operating system could be out by 2017 and we may get a sneak peek next year. Chromebooks are an interesting breed. These are PCs that run on Google's Chrome operating system, which means Only Chrome apps work on these systems. Research firm IDC estimates that Chromebooks only make up 3% of PCs today. But Chromebooks are very popular in schools. There are hundreds of thousands of these machines in classrooms today, with students using Google Docs for education. Maybe the concept of the Chrome operating system hasn't caught on yet to the mainstream consumer, whereas, everyone knows what Android is. There have been signs that Google sees Android as something that could be a desktop experience. In late September, Google unveiled the Pixel C tablet. It runs Android Marshmallow 6.0 and it has a keyboard It was pushed as a productivity powerhouse. Having Android be the one system on all devices can be a good thing for Google. If you have Android on your phone and your laptop, you're more likely to invest in Google's world of movies, music, apps, and other services. At which point there's less incentive for you to jump away to Apple. And developers should be happy that an Android app will just work automatically on a laptop but don't let the snooze confuse you about the Chrome internet browser. That's a separate thing that's not changing. In fact Microsoft just created a new Chrome browser extension so you can quickly create a new Office document from the Chrome toolbar. Yeah, Microsoft, who wants to push its Edge browser, is playing nice with Chrome. Microsoft also updated Office Online by integrating Skype voice and video [UNKNOWN] make a call right from inside a document in Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote. And in wireless news, T-Mobile may have some huge news to share soon when it comes to streaming Netflix on your phone or tablet. T-Mobile is expected to let customers use unlimited data when streaming Some video services like Netflix or HBO. The carrier has a news event scheduled for November 10th with a teaser tagline: We'd never hit pause. But reputable mobile news leaker, Evan Blass, tweeted the spoiler Thursday. If this is true it's very similar to T-Mobile 's music freedom program where customers can stream as much as they want. From dozens of services, and it doesn't count against their monthly data limits. That's it for this tech news update, and there's more at cnet.com. From our studios in New York, I'm Bridgette Carry. [MUSIC]