[HN Gopher] Google's new 'Aluminium OS' project brings Android t...
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Google's new 'Aluminium OS' project brings Android to PC
Author : jmsflknr
Score : 32 points
Date : 2025-11-24 18:49 UTC (4 hours ago)
(HTM) web link (www.androidauthority.com)
(TXT) w3m dump (www.androidauthority.com)
| coffeebeqn wrote:
| Linux is better in every conceivable way
| bryanlarsen wrote:
| Both Chrome and Aluminium are Linux, so which are you trying to
| say is better?
|
| Or are you saying more conventional Linux is superior?
| Gnu/Linux is a good term for that.
| dontlaugh wrote:
| It's not a great term, there is a small and shrinking
| proportion of GNU in most distros. Things like systemd or
| Wayland are far more important.
| bryanlarsen wrote:
| Systemd is Gnu licensed.
| fsflover wrote:
| "GNU" in "GNU/Linux" isn't about the license but about
| the GNU OS, https://www.gnu.org/gnu/gnu-linux-
| faq.html#why
| yjftsjthsd-h wrote:
| That is not how anyone uses that term. For starters,
| Linux is _also_ GPL licensed, so if it was like that then
| we wouldn 't bother calling it GNU/Linux, we could just
| call it GNU. More to the point though, being GPL-licensed
| doesn't make something part of the GNU project.
| SirFatty wrote:
| This is the year of Linux on the desktop!
| pjmlp wrote:
| Except being able to buy GNU/Linux laptops from known brands,
| the same that sell Android and Chromebooks with 100% supported
| hardware, at FNAC, Worten, Saturn, MediaMarkt, Publico, Dixon,
| CoolBlue,....
|
| It would be great, however it died alongside netbooks.
| wkat4242 wrote:
| Only the first netbook came with Linux. The Asus EEEPC 701.
| This was mainly because it was so underpowered it couldn't
| run windows (and some nonresizable dialogue boxes didn't even
| fit on screen). But they dropped it with later models.
| pjmlp wrote:
| As owner of an Asus 1215B, that lasted from 2009 until last
| year, having gotten disk and memory upgrades during its
| lifetime, going through all Ubuntu LTS upgrades, bought
| with it pre-installed, that is certainly not true.
| Klonoar wrote:
| Arguably not in security model.
| lawlessone wrote:
| A Pc that requires every dev register their blood type with
| Google? where do i sign up /s
|
| edit: for all the iOS/MacOS whataboutists, i don't own any Apple
| devices for the same reasons, so not sure what point you are
| trying to make.
| bitpush wrote:
| Isnt that how it work on iOS as well?
| lawlessone wrote:
| i don't know ,haven't seen an iOS pc and i don't own any of
| their other iOS devices or a MacOS device
|
| edit: or an iPadOS Pro, for those who feel the need to
| highlight they spent the most.
| pjmlp wrote:
| It is called iPadOS Pro.
| fsflover wrote:
| Whataboutism?
| tensor wrote:
| But you don't run iOS on desktop computers. If MacOS went
| locked down like iOS people would throw fits.
| thfuran wrote:
| Hasn't it been heading in that direction for a while?
| pjmlp wrote:
| That is what iPadOS Pro is for.
|
| The sales prove there is enough happy people, even with the
| complaints regarding some of its limitations.
| bsimpson wrote:
| That article was almost impossible to read with how often the
| content shifted around, presumably due to crappy ad scripting.
| charcircuit wrote:
| I'm excited for this as it will allow desktops to get closer to
| the security of phones.
| ptsneves wrote:
| So secure it locks the owners out.
| charcircuit wrote:
| Yes, if someone sets a passcode and then forgets it, they
| will be locked out forever and lose all of their files. There
| is no way to prove physical ownership of the device, pretty
| mich the passcode proves who the owner is.
| wkat4242 wrote:
| I don't think a mega corp having full access to my phone while
| me not having that is very "secure". Sure it's pretty ok
| against third parties but in my threat model Google and Apple
| are also adversaries. Microsoft too by the way.
|
| In my model my Linux pc is a lot more secure as there's no
| adversary having direct access and more control than me.
| gf000 wrote:
| Privacy != Security
|
| We shouldn't be happy with the state of security on Linux,
| while simultaneously enjoying its privacy benefits.
| charcircuit wrote:
| By this definition no operating system Google releases will
| be secure to you. I think it would be a more productive
| discussion if you could argue about security ignoring that
| you have to trust the person who wrote your operating system
| or designed your cpu.
| wslh wrote:
| Weird that ChromeOS Flex is not mentioned, I wonder if we are
| just changing names with some added features. I don't think this
| is a OS, not based on Linux, like Fuchsia.
| zacharyvoase wrote:
| AluminIum you say?
| p1mrx wrote:
| The name makes sense because Aluminium has an -ium suffix like
| Chromium. There's also no reason for the project name to agree
| with the US pronunciation of the element.
| nostrademons wrote:
| Team started in Australia, they use British spellings.
| ChocolateGod wrote:
| Cant wait till like Android on phones, OEMs are put in charge of
| delivering updates to laptops, and if your laptop is older than 3
| years good luck.
|
| Seems like a big downgrade compared to current ChromeOS where
| Google is in charge of all updates, or even Windows where
| Microsoft delivers the same updates to everyone.
| estimator7292 wrote:
| That's basically Microsoft's present strategy with W11. It
| seems to be going about as well as we'd hope
| xmprt wrote:
| The entire basis of this article/rumor is a single job posting on
| Google's careers website... Unifying Android across all devices
| is Google's holy grail and they've been hiring for that for most
| than a decade. I don't think we have to read into this much.
| pjmlp wrote:
| It will win where Longhorn and Midori failed, due to politics.
| 0manrho wrote:
| If you, like me, were wondering why Google thinks it needs
| _another_ operating system (ChromeOS, Android, Fuchsia - which is
| presumably dead (edit /turns out it's not/edit)) or where it fits
| in with the "stack":
|
| > ChromeOS and Aluminium Operating System (ALOS) Commercial
| devices across all form factors (e.g. laptops, detachables,
| tablets, and boxes) and tiers (e.g., Chromebook, Chromebook Plus,
| AL Entry, AL Mass Premium, and AL Premium) that meets the needs
| of users and the business.
|
| Sounds like ChromeOS is Android for entry/thin and similar PC's
| and Aluminum is more upmarket/premium.
|
| Also, to be honest, this doesn't seem like "a new OS" to me, but
| rather a shift in Android's roadmap and an associated rebrand to
| try to push ChromeOS/Android upmarket to try and expand their
| "Devices with Gemini/Google AI as a first-class service/product"
| footprint beyond cell phones.
|
| Given the push for arm in the consumer PC space, I can kinda see
| why google is renewing efforts here even if you set the AI stuff
| aside.
| 0manrho wrote:
| Oh, Fuchsia isn't dead [0]. Apparently it's what the Nest Hub
| launched with and the latest update is pretty recent: from Oct
| 2025. Interesting.
|
| (Replying to my own comment instead of editing it as this is
| tangential to the topic at hand)
|
| 0: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fuchsia_(operating_system)
| mdhb wrote:
| Not only is it not dead it's under HEAVY active development
| and has been for quite some time now.
|
| They seem particularly focused on the Linux compatibility
| layer (starnix) as far as I can tell.
|
| I'd say they are most likely going to end up becoming the
| thing that Android sits on top of. There is already public
| indications of some variant of it called "microfuchsia"
| coming to Android. I wouldn't be surprised to hear that this
| is all part of the same launch that they are working towards
| here.
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(page generated 2025-11-24 23:02 UTC)