Google may bring the Google Play Store to Chrome OS. The possibility of opening up the company's desktop operating system to Android apps could be the next step towards deeper integration of Google's two software platforms.

Tantalizing Clue Discovered

Google hasn't made any official announcements about the integration, but it looks like Android apps could be coming to Chromebooks sometime soon: One Reddit users spotted an interesting new option in the Chrome OS settings that says "Enable Android Apps to run on your Chromebook."

The Redditor, "TheWiseYoda," was using a developer build of Chrome OS, and noted that he couldn't actually click and enable the option. Ars Technica was able to confirm the option on their Chromebook Pixel running the developer build of Chrome OS, but also couldn't enable it.

Nevertheless, this tantalizing clue has reinvigorated the rumor that Google's long-term operating system strategy is to merge Android and Chrome OS in some way, shape or form.

Android Swallowing Chrome OS?

As Latin Post previously reported in October of last year, the rumor of Google blending the two operating systems got a big boost by a Wall Street Journal report. It said that unnamed sources close to the project indicated that Google engineers had been working for about two years to combine the two operating systems, and that the process was slated to be complete sometime in 2017.

However, Google quickly put a damper on speculation, releasing a statement on the Chrome OS blog denying that the rumors were true.

"Over the last few days, there's been some confusion about the future of Chrome OS and Chromebooks based on speculation that Chrome OS will be folded into Android," wrote Google senior VP of Android Hiroshi Lockheimer. "While we've been working on ways to bring together the best of both operating systems, there's no plan to phase out Chrome OS."

More Chrome OS/Android Integration Likely

Lockheimer's statement basically says that rumors of Chrome OS's impending death have been greatly overstated. But it doesn't exactly preclude the possibility of Chrome OS running Google Play apps, does it?

Enabling Google Play apps to run on Chrome OS would be a step towards the direction of integration, even if Chrome OS isn't being planned for a phase-out by 2017. It would also be a big step for Google's App Runtime for Chrome project, which added support for Google Play Services a year ago.

Waiting for Confirmation

And for Chromebook users, it would be a godsend. Chrome OS relatively has a small selection of apps on the Chrome Web Store, especially compared to the millions of Android apps that make Google Play the biggest app store in the world.

While Google hasn't made an announcement about Google Play for Chrome OS, it's not denying the initial reports either. It's likely that Google's silence so far is due to the fact that the company is probably planning to make an official announcement during Google I/O 2016, which is less than a month away.

It's also possible that more details could be teased out over the course of the next few weeks, so stick with Latin Post for more information on the tantalizing prospect of Android Apps coming to Chrome OS.

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