INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Few, if any, saw coming the Chromebook utter dominance of the K-8 category
In hindsight, it easy to see why the systems have been such a success story, of course: low prices, coupled with ease of wide-scale
deployment and lockdown make them a perfect fit for the classroom
Fifteen million Chromebooks were sold in 2018 alone, with schools serving as the major catalyst
But manufacturers are looking beyond the classroom for the future of the category
Google facing increased competition from super-cheap PCs supported by Microsoft, and those schools that have purchased systems aren&t due
It no surprise, then, that average Chromebook prices are expected to rise across the board as more companies target mainstream use
Selling Chromebooks outside of the classroom, on the other hand, has been a bit of a tougher life
After all, finding a powerful, reasonably priced PC isn&t hard in 2019
That part of what made the original Pixelbook such an oddity
The $999 price point qualified the device as a premium laptop
And while ChromeOS has certainly made some major leaps in the last several years, it has never been entirely clear who the product is
for.
The same goes for the Pixel Slate
Both were nice enough pieces of hardware designed to communicate that there is a place for ChromeOS in the premium category
I don&t know that Google ever anticipated selling a lot of the things, so much as drawing a line in the sand — a kind of reference design
mentality that gave birth to the Pixel line
Google recent hardware event was, perhaps, something of a referendum on the play
The original Pixelbook, while not discontinued, has yet to get a refresh two years after launch
Heck, even the troubled Pixel Buds got a reprieve as the company previewed their successor
The Pixelbook, on the other hand, got the Go
The new device isn&t a Pixelbook replacement — at the very least, Google looking to sell through its back stock, with some deep discounts
Rather, the device seems to be more a tacit admission that the company was shooting a bit too high the first two times around
With a $649 starting price, the Go is certainly more in line with what people are expecting from the category
Of course, I&ll admit that I got some pushback when I used the word &budget& to refer to the contrast between the Go and its predecessor
Certainly the standards for what qualifies as budget differ a great deal between the Chromebook category and the rest of the industry
As much as Google wants to push back against the notion, price has always been a key factor in adoption.
With devices routinely priced
less than $200, the Pixelbook Go is actually toward the high end of the spectrum
Click through the listing and you&ll discover that prices go up quite a bit from there
In fact, you can currently spec the device up to $1,399 on Google site, which crosses over well into the premium category for most users
It honestly a pretty far cry from the company mobile strategy, where pricing continues to be a key distinguisher from competing flagship
manufacturers like Samsung and Apple
All told, the Pixelbook Go is a more compelling proposition than the original Pixelbook, based on price alone
But there nothing about the device that signals a company that is confident of what it wants to do in the category
At most, the Go is Google way of demonstrating confidence that there exists a future for such mid-tier devices, as companies like Acer
attempt to look toward a life beyond the classroom.
The places where Google cut corners are almost immediately apparent
The device lacks the premium feel of the original product
Say what you will about the original Pixelbook, but it was a nice-looking device
At first glance, at least, the Go doesn&t distinguish itself much from other Chromebooks
The lovely glass and aluminum is gone, and in its place is a matte magnesium alloy that lends it a more plasticky finish
The laptop comes in two Googley-named colors: Just Black and Not Pink
Google sent me the former, which is, well, just black
Honestly, it could have benefited from a touch of color beyond the small, white &G& on the tip of the lid
The salmony Not Pink pops a bit more
Honestly, Google should have gone full old-school iBook and offered up a bunch of different colors
The device is portable, certainly
It a bit lighter than the original at 2.3 pounds to its 2.4 pounds
It a hair or two thicker, however, at 13.4mm to its 10.3
Carrying it around in my backpack for a few days certainly didn&t make my back miss my 15-inch MacBook Pro
The ridged bottom is a nice touch, too
It really easy to carry it with one hand.
Beyond aesthetics, the lower price means cutting some other corners
The biggest difference is the lack of a 360 hinge
Turns out those are pretty expensive — and one of the primary things that drove up the price in the original Pixelbook
For my own uses, it honestly not a huge loss
Testing the original Pixelbook, I didn&t find too many instances that required something other than a standard laptop setup
Those looking to purchase the device for creative applications may miss it, however, along with the loss of pen input
A smaller loss is the lack of the edge to edge track pad — turns out those are relatively expensive to manufacturer, as well
The keyboard has grown on me
It certainly quiet, as advertised
The keys are on the soft side, especially coming from over on the MacBook side of things, but they offer a nice bit of travel for a laptop
The screen is actually larger than on the original Pixelbook, jumping a full inch up to 13.3
That said, total resolution is down by default, at 1920×1080 (166 ppi) versus 2400×1600 (235 ppi)
You can still upgrade to a 4K screen, for a price — $1,399, specifically
Again, one wonders precisely who that specific price point is for
The Go retains the two USB-C port setup
That was one of the bigger critiques with the original system, but Google not standing down on this one
Perhaps I&m not the target demographic here, but four ports seems like a pretty good compromise, especially for those who like to dock their
systems at work for external monitors and the like.
The processor has been upgraded from a 7th-gen to 8th-gen Intel (as you&d hope after
two years), though the base level system starts at an m3, rather than i5
There are, however i5 and i7 options
As in everything, an upgrade
RAM is the same, at either 8 or 16GB, while storage has been shrunk down at the base level, starting at a paltry 64GB instead of 128
Given how much you rely on cloud storage, that may be moot
ChromeOS is still limited
I&m looking forward to a day when I don&t have to stipulate that with every review, but this ain&t it, chief
It makes sense in an educational setting, but the transition from Windows or MacOS will continue to be rocky for many
The addition of Google Play opens up the app considerably, but a fraction of apps are built with a non-mobile form factor in mind
Some apps, meanwhile, just aren&t here
I&ve been considering bringing the device with me on an upcoming trip to China
The security and stated 12-hour battery life are big wins for that trip, but I&m not sure how to replace Audacity for the podcast editing I
I am, however, open to any suggestions you might have.
Like the original Pixelbook, the Go seems to be a device in search of meaning
The $300 price drop is a step in the right direction, but Google competing with far cheaper offerings from third parties
I&m still struggling with reasons to recommend a Chromebook outside of the classroom, when there are so many affordable Windows options out
Perhaps as a secondary, travel device
But even so, how many people need that specific use case?
The Go is clearly Google attempt to lead the way for manufacturers looking to
explore Chromebook life outside the classroom
It has some nice hardware perks, but it not the revolution or revelation ChromeOS needs
