Intel is preparing Android support in NPU drivers.

Company Intel updated the drivers for its neural processing units (NPU) on Linux to version 1.24, and attentive users noticed an interesting change: settings appeared in the code that clearly indicate support for the Android platformThis may indicate possible preparations for launching Android PC OS — a version of Android adapted for full functionality on personal computers.

In the published fragment of the CMake file, lines with variables have been added ANDROID_ABI, ANDROID_PLATFORM, ANDROID_STL, as well as the flag -frtti, used when compiling for Android. These changes concern the compilation configuration specifically for NPU — specialized neural network processing units that Intel is actively implementing in modern chips.

Android PC OS — a concept long discussed in the industry. Previously, its implementation was limited to enthusiasts and custom shell makers, but the emergence of Android support at the driver level from Intel may indicate more serious plans. One user suggests that this is due to the unification of Android and ChromeOS, which is already happening within the Google ecosystem.

It is worth noting that x86 architecture Traditionally, it's not a target platform for Android, but Intel's drivers work specifically on this platform. This means the company may be preparing to release devices or systems that can fully utilize Android's capabilities. Intel neural processors, including for local execution of AI tasks.

So far we are only talking about including the relevant variables in the assembly, but given market trends, this could be an important step towards convergence of mobile and desktop systemsHowever, there have been no official comments from Intel regarding Android support yet.