Google’s ended its Pixel Chromebook experiment
Google has confirmed that it has ZERO plans for another Pixel-brand Chromebook.
Word comes from multiple sources inside MWC that suggest Google’s Pixel Chromebook project, after only two iterations, is now effectively dead.
To date, the Pixel brand has encompassed laptops, tablets and, more recently, phones. And while Google says it is not giving up on the laptop space, its own effects in the segment – i.e. Pixel-brand machines – are no longer a priority.
I’ve used a Chromebook Pixel for a couple of years now and I love it. Yes, it is stupidly expensive but as a poster boy for ChromeOS, the Chromebook Pixel’s sole job was to show just how good Chromebooks can actually be when made with budgetary constraints.
And it worked: the Chromebook Pixel turned me onto ChromeOS and now, two years later, I’d never use anything else for my mobile computing needs when away from my office.
The big idea here isn’t the Pixel, though; rather, it is ChromeOS as a whole, as an ecosystem to rival macOS and Windows.
Google’s ChromeOS now powers millions of machines the globe over, so the fact that Google isn’t commissioning anymore Pixel machines isn’t exactly a bad thing – it’s just a bit upsetting, as it was so good.
Samsung and a raft of other hardware partners are pushing the platform forwards with excellent, feature-rich machines that are now nipping at the heels of Windows and macOS in classrooms and businesses all around the world.
There are areas where things could be improved, stuff like better support for Android apps on older machines, for instance, but I suspect this is where Google will be focusing its attention in the coming months and years – drilling down on features, usability and wider support for new things.
The Chromebook Pixel was also VERY expensive, prohibitively expensive for 99.9% of people. Google never intended to sell a lot of them. But the machine did generate a fairly dedicated following.
The Chromebook Pixel was also VERY expensive, prohibitively expensive for 99.9% of people. Google never intended to sell a lot of them. But the machine did generate a fairly dedicated following.
For most, though, you’re much better off opting for one of ChromeOS’ infinitely cheaper options. Of which there are a great many, as you can see in our round-up of the best Chromebooks for 2017.
Still going to miss the Pixel though. Even if it was a pricy piece of kit!
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