Past the Alphabet is a weekly column that focuses on the tech world each inside and outside of the confines of Mountain View.
Final week, a rumor popped up suggesting that Google was engaged on a keyboard case to pair with a brand new Pixel Pill. Now, there are studies that Google has determined to fully cancel growth on the Pixel Pill 2 whereas supposedly engaged on a Pixel Laptop computer. For now, these rumors are unconfirmed, so take them with a grain of salt, however I discovered the thrill across the Pixel Laptop computer significantly fascinating, significantly due to the best way Google has positioned ChromeOS and the way an Android-powered laptop computer might change that.
What is the level of making an attempt to make a pill function as a laptop computer in case you can simply choose to make a laptop computer as a substitute? That is the mindset that I feel Google is taking with this method if the Pixel Laptop computer rumors are true.
We’re already seeing a bunch of labor put into making Android’s native Desktop Mode extra usable. Final month, it was reported that Google was engaged on a method to implement a Terminal app on Android. Then the Android 15 QPR2 beta launched a Terminal app, which might enable builders to run Linux apps via a digital machine on Android units.
Supplied that it truly makes it into the general public launch, this most likely is not one thing that very many individuals would use. This is similar factor that you would say in regards to the capability to make use of Linux on a Chromebook. But, you are able to do precisely that, offered that you’ve a appropriate Chromebook.
You possibly can see the similarities right here.
In a vacuum, that really sounds fairly unbelievable. It might truly offer you a single machine for your whole day by day computing wants, with (probably) only a few limitations. Seeing as we aren’t in a vacuum, I am not totally satisfied that Google will ditch Chromebooks in favor of this souped-up model of Android.
To me, it feels like Google is making an attempt to show Android into ChromeOS, however I do not know if I see a situation the place ChromeOS and the Chromebook branding are simply tossed into the Google Graveyard. The corporate has spent years and numerous {dollars} making a lineup of units which can be each simple and handy to make use of.
It was solely final month that the Samsung Galaxy Chromebook Plus was introduced, which Google labored intently with Samsung to create. Whereas having a brand new premium Chromebook choice is nice, I would argue that Google getting Samsung again into the sport does extra for bettering the model than the rest.
That is to not say that there is something improper with the opposite Chromebook makers, however folks normally tend to concentrate when Samsung is concerned. It is no totally different than telephones and tablets, as persons are all the time serious about no matter Samsung is doing, for higher or worse. Not solely will folks take note of Samsung, however they’re additionally extra prone to spend cash on the “new and glossy” launch.
My level is, why would Google spend the cash and sources to work with Samsung solely to pivot away from ChromeOS and Chromebooks? It could actually’t.
Google will not ditch Chromebooks, however it’s not due to something apart from cash.
Effectively, after all, it might. I imply, it’s Google that we’re speaking about right here. However I imply that Google has much more invested in Chromebooks than simply what you may see at your native Greatest Purchase.
The training phase alone might be what has helped hold issues afloat, particularly within the days earlier than the Chromebook Plus branding was launched. In keeping with an August 2024 report by Canalys, “international Chromebook shipments grew 4% yearly to over 6 million items in Q2 2024.” Nevertheless, the rationale is not solely due to the discharge of latest Chromebooks or the inclusion of Gemini.
The report says “Chromebook shipments had been bolstered this quarter by regionally particular training funding packages, such because the Emergency Connectivity Fund (ECF) in the US, which required spending to conclude in Q2 2024.” It’d sound superficial, and it’s, to a sure extent. However no matter the way it sounds, the fact is that Chromebooks had been truly bought.
A giant purpose why Chromebooks are so standard for colleges comes all the way down to the fee. Faculty districts aren’t strolling into Greatest Purchase, shopping for 30 Chromebooks, and distributing them within the classroom. There’s a completely totally different phase that colleges undergo when shopping for new Chromebooks, full with offers and reductions for purchasing in bulk.
Whereas doing analysis for this text, I got here throughout a “potential financial savings calculator” on the Google for Training touchdown web page. At present, plainly the software is now not purposeful, however because of the Wayback Machine, I used to be in a position to see a graphic titled “The Financial Worth of Chromebooks within the Classroom.”
The necessary factor right here is that over the course of three years, the graphic claims that Chromebooks supply a “59% decrease value of operations.” An included graph reveals the three-year machine value of a Chromebook is simply north of $1 million. That most likely looks like some huge cash, till you see that “Different Gadgets” value greater than $2.5 million over the identical time interval. This is not an insignificant distinction and goes to point out why Chromebooks have taken over the classroom.
With this in thoughts, do you actually imagine that Chromebooks and even ChromeOS will simply get replaced by Android? It simply would not make sense from a enterprise perspective. Plus, Google must get its companions on board, and it simply provides one other layer of problem and complexity to every thing.
As for the rumored Android-powered Pixel Laptop computer, the preliminary report claimed that it was being “in contrast internally with a lot of different high-end laptops.” Seeing as high-end Chromebooks simply have not been profitable, I am not precisely assured that the Pixel Laptop computer would be capable of break the mould.
Let’s not neglect about units just like the HP Dragonfly Professional Chromebook or Framework Laptop computer Chromebook Version. Each of those $1,000+ Chromebooks have been discontinued, because the itemizing on Framework’s web site was additionally not too long ago eliminated.
It is also a part of the rationale why the Galaxy Chromebook Plus and Acer’s Chromebook Plus Spin 714 are priced at $699. That is most likely what Google feels is essentially the most an individual can pay for a Chromebook.
So, whereas the Pixel Laptop computer may be actively in growth, it is not going to see the sunshine of day if its value is anyplace close to that of a MacBook, Floor Laptop computer, or Dell XPS.
To me, it simply feels like Google is engaged on totally different tasks, and particulars had been shared once they most likely should not have been. Then once more, perhaps Google will resolve to do away with ChromeOS totally, whether or not it’s via strain from the Justice Division or not.
Not going anyplace
Though plainly the Pixel Pill 2 has been canceled, that does not imply you need to ignore the present iteration. It is nonetheless fairly a helpful pill, particularly with the Charging Speaker Dock. Plus, you will discover it on sale as a part of the early Black Friday offers.
