Thanks to its clear style and highly effective internals, the Google Pixelbook continues to be just one of the ideal Chromebooks on the market now, and a capable Windows or Mac substitute. It’s been additional than two a long time given that the Pixelbook went on sale, having said that, and we a short while ago saw the announcement and release of the Pixelbook Go instead.
Since then, rumors and speculation have been spreading regards to the genuine successor to Google’s first Pixelbook — what we think to termed the Google Pixelbook 2. Here’s every thing we know so significantly.
Release date and value
Google’s very last hardware celebration was on October 15, 2019. Even though the Pixel 4 and the Pixelbook Go and a lot of other products and solutions have been unveiled, we didn’t see the Pixelbook 2. The Pixelbook Go finished up remaining a clamshell laptop computer, and not a tablet or 2-in-1 like the Pixelbook.
With that stated, we however may end up looking at the Pixelbook 2 introduced subsequent calendar year in October of 2020 as a substitute. We also expect the pricing to be in the $1,000 variety, just as the original Pixelbook. Immediately after all, Google has previously billed the Pixelbook Go to be the affordable flagship Chromebook choice.
A lot more importantly, however, according to Chromeunboxed, a new wave of Chromebooks will be coming afterwards in 2020. These devices have diverse codenames and judging from code in repositories are regarded as “Hatch,” “Kukui,” and”Cheza.” Of all these codenames, Hatch is the most exciting, as it sets the standard for what you would expect in a flagship Chromebook like the Pixelbook 2. As we detail later, this mentions stylus help, WiFi 6, and a lot more.
10th-gen Intel processors?
We nevertheless do not know what processor technology Google will use in the Pixelbook 2. Presented the recent launch of Intel’s 10th-gen Ice Lake processors, and Comet Lake processors, that would seem like the best decision for the Pixelbook 2 appear 2020, but it is also feasible that we’ll see a future-era Intel chip that launches in 2020, instead.
When it introduced in late 2017, the initial Pixelbook shared the exact same 7th-technology Intel mobile processors as Apple’s 12-inch MacBook, producing it a able machine for a Chromebook. Google inevitably did make the change to Intel’s 8th-technology processors in October when it introduced the Pixel Slate. That machine debuted with Intel’s Amber Lake Y-Series processor, coming in a twin-core, 4-thread architecture that’s designed for thin and mild gadgets.
Sticking with Intel chips could assistance the Pixelbook 2 boost on the general performance of the first, but it could also support Google convey dual-boot assist to Chrome OS. The characteristic could have authorized Chrome OS components to also boot into Microsoft’s Windows 10 operating method, earning the Pixelbook 2 a far more competitive gadget for enterprise customers. Sad to say, Google did not debut the dual-booting characteristic when it unveiled the Pixel Slate, and it is unclear if twin-boot support is in the is effective any more.
Could Qualcomm also be an choice?
Qualcomm has produced its way into Always Connected Home windows 10 PCs with thanks to the Snapdragon 8cx. Even so, it was as soon as rumored that Qualcomm could also convey its Snapdragon SoC about to Chromebooks as very well.
Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 845 SoC was stated to be that selection for Chromebooks for late 2019. At the time of producing, this has not appear to everyday living in an precise solution, but Chromeunboxed reviews that based on coding in the repositories in Chromium, get the job done does continue on on Qualcomm help code-named with a baseboard as “Cheza”. It is a wild bet, but this could necessarily mean that long term Chromebooks, and the Pixelbook 2, could be run by Qualcomm chips.
WiFi 6, Stylus Support, LTE, Thunderbolt 3, and more
We really don’t know a lot about what the Pixelbook 2 will appear like, or what specs it will have, but which is no purpose to prevent the speculation. As we earlier outlined, coding in Chromium mentions some features in foreseeable future flagship Chromebooks, and what can be assumed to be the Pixelbook 2 as properly. This hints that Google is actively doing the job on tweaking the Chrome OS program for these attributes.
According to Chromeunboxed, potential Chromebooks falling beneath the “Hatch” code-identify could characteristic NVMe storage, RGB IR sensors, stylus assist, WiFi 6, as very well as Bluetooth 5 and Thunderbolt 3 assistance. We already know Google was preparing help for Thunderbolt 3, so this wouldn’t be also surprising. Either way, these characteristics will all be appreciated, and absolutely sure do sound like a thing you want in a top quality Chromebook like Pixelbook 2.
A tale of two Pixelbooks
Early leaks in 2018 proposed that Google was producing two devices internally referred to as Nocturne and Atlas. Both equally products built appearances in the Chromium repository and seem to be very likely to be two different renditions of a next-generation Pixelbook.
When Atlas 1st confirmed up in the repository, it was claimed to be “closely related to eve,” with Eve currently being the codename of the original Pixelbook. Atlas also has the same range of ports as the unique Pixelbook. Nevertheless, as we previously pointed out, we received the Pixelbook Go as a substitute.
Nocturne, as we now know from Google’s event in late 2018, introduced as the Pixel Slate. At the function, Google executives claimed that the Slate signifies the company’s new vision for Chrome OS to deliver efficiency and enjoyment on the go. The Slate is Google’s first Chrome OS tablet, but also 1 that can transform into a laptop thanks to an optional $199 keyboard folio accent.
Atlas was then believed to be the codename for the Pixelbook 2, a Chrome OS convertible notebook that would share a equivalent variety element to the first Pixelbook. Considering that then, the Pixel Slate — alongside with all long run Google Pixel tablets — have been canned.
