The Google Pixelbook Go sat in our finest Chromebooks web page for fairly some time since its 2019 debut. Why? It blew us away with a battery runtime of 11 hours and half-hour (the typical Chromebook lasts about 9 hours and half-hour). We had been additionally entranced by its ultra-slim design, colourful, vibrant show, and stable efficiency.
Nevertheless, as 2020 and 2021 flew by, we questioned, “What is going on on? Why hasn’t Google bothered to replace its Pixelbook line?” Effectively, in accordance with The Verge (who cited “an individual accustomed to the matter”), Google initially deliberate on unleashing a brand new Pixelbook in 2023, however in the end determined to axe the mission because of a brutal cost-cutting technique.
Google Pixelbook 2 mission reportedly canceled
Curiously, forward of Google’s I/O builders’ convention, Google SVP of Gadgets and Companies Rick Osterloh informed The Verge that the corporate deliberate to “do Pixelbooks sooner or later.” And this might have been true — on the time.
In line with The Verge’s nameless supply, the next-gen Pixelbook was deep into improvement when Google pulled the plug. The search engine large dissolved the staff behind the nixed Pixelbook and transferred the people to different departments inside the corporate.
Communications supervisor Laura Been informed The Verge that it would not touch upon future product plans, however added that Google is dedicated to constructing a portfolio of merchandise that’s revolutionary and useful to shoppers. Because of this, the corporate typically “shifts priorities.” It appears like Been is insinuating that Google is redirecting its focus to merchandise which have a biggest potential to trigger a splash available in the market (à la the Pixel 6 Professional) — and the Pixelbook, in Google’s eyes, just isn’t certainly one of them.
Because the authentic Google Pixelbook launched in 2017, lots has modified within the Chromebook business, particularly after the onset of the pandemic. As lockdowns pushed academic establishments to launch remote-learning applications, college students scrambled to buy budget-friendly laptops, and Chromebooks match the invoice. Work-from-home staff picked up Chrome OS units, too. By Q3 of 2020, Chromebook gross sales skyrocketed by 122%, in accordance with Canalys.
Consequently, it is shocking that Google would not imagine that its next-gen Pixelbook is not well worth the funding. Nevertheless, I’ve seen that Google has a predilection for launching higher-end Chromebooks. The Pixelbook, which had combined critiques, had a beginning value of $999 (with an non-compulsory $99 stylus). Although the 2019 Pixelbook Go was priced at $649, some reviewers nonetheless bashed the Chromebook for not providing customers sufficient bang for his or her buck. Android Police, for instance, stated “Google’s low cost laptop computer is just too costly.”
As such, if Google was, as soon as once more, planning on unleashing releasing one other high-end Pixelbook that caters to a (slim) area of interest of luxurious Chrome OS lovers, it is sensible that Google canceled the mission. In spite of everything, folks drawn to buying Chromebooks are usually budget-conscious shoppers.
Is Google completed with laptops for good? For now, apparently. Who is aware of what the search engine large will provide you with within the far future!
