Hiroshi Lockheimer, SVP Android, Chrome OS and Chromecast said the company does not have any plan to phase out the operating system powering its Chromebooks and it is committed to the development of the six-year-old Chrome OS.

He said dozens of new Chromebooks will be released in 2016. It also has plans to add more features to the Chrome OS. These include a new media player and a visual refresh inspired by material design, besides performance and security improvements.

Lockheimer said that every day, 30,000 new Chromebooks are entering classrooms in the US, Google claims. Besides, more than two million teachers and students in more than 150 countries have the new Chrome extension – Share to Classroom, launched in September.

"In an effort to make computing even more accessible, earlier this year we introduced the first $149 Chromebook — a fast, affordable laptop. And in the next couple weeks the Asus Chromebit will be available — an $85 device that turns any display into a computer so you can replace your old desktop with an affordable computer the size of a candy bar, or let businesses transform a billboard into a smart digital sign," added Lockheimer.

Yes that is all very well, but a Chromebook, which he is talking about, does not need the Chrome operating system. The source of the rumours was the Wall Street Journal which is not fond of making stuff up. Reading Lockheimer’s statement it is possible to imagine all sorts of scenarios where the rumour could be completely true and unaffected by what he said.