Google announces the Pixelbook Go, a premium, MacBook-style Chrome OS laptop, Ars Technica

           

  

NEW YORK — Google is finally making premium Chrome OS laptops again. The company’s flagship Pixelbooklaunched in 2017and didn’t really get a follow up last year. Instead the company launched thePixel Slate, a surface-style tablet keyboard combo that flopped so hard Google decided tostop making tablets.

So, meet the new laptop, thePixelbook Go. Google nailed a unique and interesting laptop design with the original Pixelbook, but this new update more or less looks like a MacBook. The inner deck features a normal keyboard layout, a large trackpad at the bottom, and a strip of speaker grills flanking either side of the keyboard. The details all look like a carefully-traced MacBook layout, with a similar hinge setup for the screen, and a groove cut out of the front edge to lift the lid.

One big design difference comes the large, ribbed pad on the bottom, which covers the bottom in a grippy surface in lieu of Feet.

Two hardware features of the Pixelbook Go cover cover some long-requested MacBook additions, and those are a touch screen and a working keyboard that doesn’t die at the first sign of dust. Google promised a keyboard that is both comfortable and even more quiet than the original Pixelbook keyboard.

The display is a 13 .3-inch panel and the entire Pixelbook Go weighs just about two pounds and measures 13 mm at its widest point. That makes it lighter than the original Pixelbook, but even so, Google stuck a 15 – percent larger battery inside the Pixelbook Go. The company promises up to 12 hours of battery life, and with the included charger, the Pixelbook Go can get two hours of battery life with just 20 minutes of charging.

The $ 649 starting price for the Pixelbook Go is notable because the original Pixelbook was designed as a “premium” Chromebook with a starting price of $ 999. Last year Pixel Slate was also billed as a premium, convertible Chromebook, and that combination didn’t prove successful for Google. While $ 649 is still more expensive than most Chromebooks available today, it’s in-line with plenty of high-powered Chromebooks made by manufacturers including Acer, HP, and Dell.

The Pixelbook Go will be available in “just black” and “not pink” color schemes. It’s available for preorder today from Google’s online store starting at $ 649.

This story is developing. We’ll add more details as they become available. For the most up-to-date information, follow our (liveblog.

        

Listing image by Google