Google left the idea of making its own laptops
Google plans to not continue produce laptops, according to Google's SVP of hardware Rick Osterloh. If you go to Google Store right now, the Chromebook Pixel is not available and apparently it will not be available any more. This leaves the future of Google Andromeda project even more cloudy than it was before.
At the Mobile World Congress, Osterloh pointed out that Google maintains the Pixel brand focused on smartphones right now. Importantly, he says that Google has no plans to make its own laptops (the Pixel C tablet continues to exist for now). This makes sense in the context of Google's new hardware focus. The company focuses more on material projects that can make money.
This does not mean that Google is not interested in laptops, however. Chromebooks are a huge market, especially in education. A new set of Chromebooks have been announced recently and will be launched with support for Android applications and touch screens.
The latest iteration of the Chromebook Pixel was launched in 2015 and wore many of these new USB Type C ports. Like the first pixel, it has a much higher price than other Chromebooks at $ 1,000. It was a lot for a Chromebook, but still a few hundred less than the first Pixel. Looking back, the Chromebook Pixel seems to be an exciting project for Google. Chrome OS makes more sense on the modest hardware that can be on the cheap. $ 1,000 can buy you a very nice Windows laptop or a fairly moderate Apple.
At the Mobile World Congress, Osterloh pointed out that Google maintains the Pixel brand focused on smartphones right now. Importantly, he says that Google has no plans to make its own laptops (the Pixel C tablet continues to exist for now). This makes sense in the context of Google's new hardware focus. The company focuses more on material projects that can make money.
This does not mean that Google is not interested in laptops, however. Chromebooks are a huge market, especially in education. A new set of Chromebooks have been announced recently and will be launched with support for Android applications and touch screens.
The latest iteration of the Chromebook Pixel was launched in 2015 and wore many of these new USB Type C ports. Like the first pixel, it has a much higher price than other Chromebooks at $ 1,000. It was a lot for a Chromebook, but still a few hundred less than the first Pixel. Looking back, the Chromebook Pixel seems to be an exciting project for Google. Chrome OS makes more sense on the modest hardware that can be on the cheap. $ 1,000 can buy you a very nice Windows laptop or a fairly moderate Apple.
A number of rumors last year pointed to an upcoming 2-in-1 laptop from Google codenamed “Bison.” This device would not be a Chromebook, but it wouldn’t be a standard Android slate either. This was said to run a new OS known only as Andromeda that brought Chrome OS features into Android to make the experience better on a large screen device. The Andromeda rumors made a lot of sense at the time — Android tablets (and tablets in general) have been in decline. They aren’t sufficiently appealing when they just work like bigger phones.
The statement from Osterloh is sufficiently vague that Andromeda could still exist. He only said Google was not planning to produce branded laptops. It could work with an OEM partner to make hardware for the new software, similar to what it did with LG and the new Android Wear devices. All we can say for certain right now is that the Chromebook Pixel is dead.
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