We may have Android PCs and laptops by 2017, which could compete more directly with Windows and Mac computers. This has been rumored before, but this time it comes from the Wall Street Journal, a pretty reliable source.
Android PCs Make Sense
It makes complete sense to me that Google will eventually make "Android for PC". Android is an extremely popular mobile OS, so a lot of those apps could also run on a desktop OS. Google has been making an Android OS for pretty much every other platform over the last couple of years, except for the desktop. This includes their decision to make Android Auto, Android Wear, and Android TV. And thirdly, even though Google has focused on the cloud for desktop, there are still limitations to a desktop operating system like Chrome OS which doesn't support native applications.
Native Apps And Games Have Advantages
It's great to run software in the cloud so it is cross-platform. But there are still cases where native apps work better, and we can have the best of both worlds. Games is one of those categories. Google could make a large amount of money just from Android for PC games. Also any applications which could benefit from locally saved data will also work better with a native desktop OS. This includes productivity apps and even apps for photos and music.
I know browsers continue to get better with saving data locally, but just being able to have your own files on your computer is still better in many cases. Or to be able to install Dropbox for your Android PC if you use Dropbox instead of Google Drive. While most software is also moving online as well, there are still many people who will buy a Windows 10 computer instead of one with Chrome OS, just because they like having their files offline on their computer as well.
It's All About The Taskbar
I'm completely oversimplifying here, but as a very simple implementation, Google could almost just add a taskbar at the bottom for Android for PCs. I'm not saying that is all they will do or should do. They want to do something similar to Microsoft where an app can be created for all platforms, but the UI looks different on the desktop than it does on mobile. But I'm just saying that to me the biggest difference is just that taskbar at the bottom. That is why I thought Windows 8 didn't work without a taskbar, and why I believe Microsoft made the correct decision with Windows 10 to bring Windows Store apps into windows on the desktop.
Google's Single Android OS Advantage
One advantage that I believe Google has over Microsoft and Apple, is that they don't have to support legacy applications. While mobile Android apps are not designed for a large screen, at least they would run on a version of Android for PCs. It's not like the difference Microsoft has between the Windows 8 and later Store apps, and original Windows desktop "programs". Google does need to support Chrome OS apps, but that is kind of given. They are supporting them on every desktop OS, through Chrome. It's not like trying to merge iOS and Mac OS X for instance.