Google has announced it is not planning on phasing out Chrome OS, the week after a report from The Wall Street Journal suggested otherwise.

In a post on its official Chrome blog, Google's senior VP of Android Hiroshi Lockheimer vigorously denied any plans to get rid of the company's hybrid desktop-browser operating system, which is running on a series of laptops and set-top TV computers, respectively called Chromebooks and Chromeboxes.

"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 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."

The last part of that statement actually bolsters the Wall Street Journal's report, in which unnamed sources told the newspaper that Google engineers had been working for about two years on a project to combine the two operating systems, with plans to unveil an early version of the hybrid Android/Chrome OS sometime next year.

Speculation over that report was bolstered by Google's recent unveiling of the Pixel C, a hybrid laptop-tablet that took many design cues from the company's 2013 device called the Chromebook Pixel but dropped the Chrome OS in favor of Android 6.0 Marshmallow, as well as the Chromebook name.

Lockheimer's statement touted the sales and market strategy of Google's Chromebooks as well as "dozens" of upcoming devices for 2016 that will be running Chrome OS.

But he also went on to give some details that dovetail neatly into the Wall Street Journal's report of that two-year project, while disputing the conclusion it drew. Affirming "there's more to do" on the Chrome OS, Lockheimer wrote, "We have plans to release even more features for Chrome OS, such as a new media player, a visual refresh based on Material Design, improved performance, and of course, a continued focus on security."

The visual refresh seems to at least confirm that Android will be a bigger influence on Chrome OS in the coming year. And while Lockheimer added, "stay on the lookout for dozens of new Chromebooks in 2016," he mentioned nothing about 2017, the year Google will reportedly finalize its Chrome/Android project.

But that's a long way away, and it appears that it's still possible Chrome OS fans will have just one more year before they have a big decision to make.