Google Unveils Chrome Android Statue, Let The Speculation Begin!
Probably the most interesting news in the mobile world yesterday (no, I wasn’t impressed at all by BB10) was the fact that Google unveiled a chrome-plated Android statue peering out of one of their buildings – building #45 at the Mountain View campus to be precise. The building sits across from the lawn famously known for where Google typically sets up their colourful dessert-themed Android statues.
Previously, the statues on the lawn have always represented a new version of Android. So what the heck is this? Is Google done with its dessert-themed Android names? And if so, what’s the deal with this newest chrome statue?
The photo was released by Android community manager, Paul Wilcox. Wilcox however, was quick to dispel any rumours as to an underlying meaning to the statue:
“To be clear, this post is a little tongue-in-cheek and is not meant to be a sneaky announcement of a new version of Android,” he wrote. “It is, however, an announcement of a new statue.”
So then, why did Google choose chrome as the material of choice to build this statue, Paul? Is it some sort of coincidence Google chose to place this statue near where they always announce new versions of Android? With the recent release of the Chrome Beta channel on the Play store, asking users for feedback to bring the Chrome Android app on par with the desktop experience, something is definitely going on here. We all know Google’s vision is to bring true synergy to the mobile and desktop browsing experience. As such, I simply don’t buy that nothing can be read into this statue.
One can only speculate that Google has big things planned for its newest version of Android, bringing with it some kind of OS-integration with either the Chrome web browser or perhaps even, Chrome OS. Dare I say Google is planning to merge the two operating systems in some sort of way?
If so, it would seem that the time is right for this to happen. As we reported this week, Android accounted for 70% of smartphone sales in 2024. Chromebooks are getting pretty darn popular out there, with Acer this past week hinting that Chrome OS may be a better way forward for the company than by focusing on machines running Windows 8. If you haven’t noticed, it seems like every major OEM out there has released or will be releasing soon their very own Chromebook flavour.
As such, I’m going to stick to my guns here and believe there’s more to this statue than what we’re being told by Google.
[Engadget]