Google Pixelbook

The main articles are:

• Laptops (Global Market)
• Laptops (Russian market)

Google Pixelbook is a convertible laptop.

2022: Abandoning development of the next generation Pixelbook laptop

On September 13, 2022, it became known that Google had curtailed the development of the next generation Pixelbook laptop. This is the flagship product in the global line of Chromebooks, with which Google promoted its Chrome OS operating system in the laptop world. The main competitors in this segment are Apple MacBook on macOS and Microsoft Surface series laptops on Windows. In addition, the first generation Pixelbook form factor with a rotary screen allowed it to compete with tablets, especially the Apple iPad

According to The Verge, the closure of the project is due to the decision of Google management to reduce the costs of the company as a whole. However, this may not be the only and far from the main reason, since at the time of stopping work on the creation of the latest Pixelbook, the laptop was almost ready for announcement with subsequent release.

Google did not reduce the staff. Everyone related to Pixelbook has been transferred to other departments to work on new and existing projects of the corporation. The decision, apparently, was made with lightning speed, since in the spring of 2022, on the eve of the annual Google I/O 2022 conference, company representatives said that the release of the next Pixelbook was part of the company's plans for the very near future.

Now, it seems, Google is dropping out of the game in the laptop segment. This will not affect Russia in any way - the company does not officially sell its equipment on the territory of Russia, and any of its imports on Russian imports have been "gray" for years, only in May 2022 turning into "parallel."

The history of the Pixelbook Chromebook family began in October 2017 with the release of the first generation of the model. At the same time, the Pixelbook Pen stylus was released, due to which the Pixelbook could withstand not only the MacBook Air, but also the iPad.

Additional advantages of this Chromebook included the ability to quickly sync with smartphones Google Pixel, as well as the function of launching applications for Android, integrated into Chrome OS in 2016. The Pixelbook also had a built-in voice assistant Google Assistant, which was extremely rare in laptops of the 2017 sample.

But by "shooting" with the first Pixelbook, Google was unable to maintain such a high bar. In October 2019, the Pixelbook Go Chromebook saw the light of day, which was a reduced and simplified copy of the original Pixelbook. Even at the start of sales, it could not compete with Chromebooks from other manufacturers - comparable models cost at least $100 cheaper.

Pixelbook Go is currently the latest Google laptop in the series. The new Pixelbook, expected in the near future, was supposed to replace it. In the Google branded store, the Pixelbook Go model, which is already three years old, is still on sale and costs $650 (39 thousand rubles at the Central Bank exchange rate as of September 13, 2022).

The Pixelbook problem is compounded not only by the high price tag for the three-year-old Go model. For September 2022, Chromebooks are produced by many major players in the mobile PC market - at least Asus, Acer, Dell, HP, Lenovo and Samsung have them available.

The rejection of Pixelbook is perhaps also due to the near zero popularity of Chrome OS in the world. The system debuted back in 2009, it is already 13 years old, but during this time it barely gained 1.86% of the global OS market share (data StatCounter in August 2022^[1]

2017: Pixelbook announcement

On October 4, 2017, the company Google introduced the next generation laptop of its own design - Pixelbook.

Aluminum body of devices with a thickness of 10.3 mm. The screen diagonal is 12.3. " Weight 1.1 kg. The screen is non-removable, fixed on loops that allow you to flip it to the opposite side to work in tablet mode, install it with a "book" or "tent^[2].

The device is equipped with a gyroscope and a magnetometer. The configuration can include an Intel Core i5 or i7 processor, up to 16 GB of RAM and an SSD up to 512 GB. The touchscreen is protected by Gorilla Glass. The screen resolution is 2400 × 1600 with a dot density of 235 ppi and a brightness of 400 nits. The keys are backlit. The touch panel is maximally expanded.

Claimed battery life is 10 hours. Charge recovery is eight times faster. You can use the 45W adapter and USB-C cable from the Pixel 2 smartphone. Built-in 720p webcam.

Managing Pixelbook on the ChromeOS platform. Full access to the Google Play app store and Google Assistant has been organized. Four microphones are used to increase command perception.

Google Pixelbook Presentation, (2017)

Notes