Google could take the ‘Chrome’ out of ‘Chrome OS’ very soon

Google could take the ‘Chrome’ out of ‘Chrome OS’ very soon

Acer Chromebook Spin 714 right profile

Credit: Eric Zeman / Android Authority
  • Google could be very close to separating the Chrome browser from Chrome OS.
  • Code references suggest that this change could come to users soon.
  • This would allow the Chrome browser to be updated independently of Chrome OS.

We’ve known for the past few years now that Google was working to decouple the Chrome web browser from Chrome OS itself. This project, dubbed Lacros, would see Google ditch the integrated Chrome browser in favor of a standalone Linux-based Chrome browser.

Now, About Chromebooks (h/t: Chrome Unboxed) reports that this process could get underway for users soon. The outlet spotted several code changes suggesting that you won’t have to manually enable the standalone Lacros browser in Chrome OS 116. The outlet also noted that they could no longer manually enable the standalone browser on a device running the Chrome OS 116 beta.