Google Gives Up on the Pixelbook

Fans of the Google Pixelbook need to hold on to what they’ve got. The Verge reports that the company is halting Pixelbook production, canceling the upcoming model, and dissolving the entire Pixelbook team. The cuts come as a cost-saving measure, and Pixelbook team members were reassigned within the company.

News of the Pixelbook’s demise is somewhat surprising due to the fact that just a few months ago, the company hinted that the line might continue. Just before Google’s annual I/O developer conference, company hardware chief Rick Osterloh told The Verge, “we are going to do Pixelbooks in the future.”

The death of the Pixelbook means there will no longer be any high-end Chromebooks made by Google. In fact, there were only ever two: the original Pixelbook and the more affordable Pixelbook Go. The models were an attempt by Google to prove that ChromeOS was for more than cheap netbooks and laptops for public school districts to hand out to students. However, you can still get high-end Chromebooks from companies like ASUS, Samsung, and Acer.

It’s unclear what the future of ChromeOS is now that Google has decided to stop manufacturing its own hardware for it. However, plenty of manufacturers still make Chromebooks, including Acer, HP, Samsung, and Lenovo. And it’s likely that because ChromeOS is built on an open-source platform, it will retain a place somewhere in the tech landscape.

Source: The Verge