What could Google do to finally create a winning laptop?

This week, the rumor mill is once again spinning around a Google-made first-party laptop, one that will presumably run ChromeOS. Sources say the company is committed to a new design, possibly encouraged by a new direction that aligns more closely with Chrome and Android.

It’s an interesting possibility from several angles, but what I want to chew on is this: What could Google do differently this time to make a laptop that people will actually want to buy?

Before I go any further, I would like to point out that all of this is based entirely on speculation. Here’s a story about Google pushing hard for a new laptop design, and here’s a story about a new version of ChromeOS that’s heavily based on Android. That second factor would likely boost ChromeOS’ ability to use Android apps more effectively, allowing it to better compete with devices like the iPad Pro and Surface.

So let’s assume (and it is an assumption) that Google sees a rejuvenated ChromeOS as a good reason to re-enter the laptop market. The company has an inglorious history there, which is worth looking at before we move on to thinking about the future.

A history of laptop disappointments

The original ChromeOS development device was the Cr-48, an interesting footnote. It was intended as a blueprint of sorts for the first generation of Chromebooks, but unlike the Nexus and Pixel phone lines, it wasn’t sold at retail. When ChromeOS debuted in 2011, Google left that to its OEM partners.

But not for long. While companies like Acer, Lenovo, and HP used ChromeOS as a way to sell tons of cheap laptops to those who needed a browser and not much else, Google wanted to show that Chromebooks could compete with higher-end machines like Apple’s MacBook and Dell’s XPS. And so the Chromebook Pixel debuted in 2013, notable for Google’s first use of “Pixel” as a brand name.

The Chromebook Pixel is designed as a flagship, with the cheapest model costing $1,300. And considering the specifications, that was a fair price: a third generation Intel Core i5, a high-resolution 3:2 touchscreen and an attractive aluminum casing. It was beautiful, and I especially loved the four-color status panel that subtly referenced Google branding. The laptop had a few ideas that we’re still thinking about, like breaking the trend of 16:9 aspect ratios and opting for 3:2. (Microsoft’s Surface Laptop series certainly noticed this.)

Googling

But ChromeOS was a very different beast over a decade ago, and most laptop users didn’t have the always-online mentality that’s ubiquitous today. While reviewers loved the hardware, they felt the price was far too high for an operating system that required a constant connection to be usable and couldn’t run standalone apps or games. Even as someone who was obsessed with Android at the time, I couldn’t justify a four-figure laptop that couldn’t run Photoshop.

The Chromebook Pixel was a curiosity that never seemed to catch the attention of the MacBook or XPS buyers Google was targeting. While cheap Chromebooks exploded in popularity as web-focused alternatives to the iPad and as thin client laptops for schools, Google failed to shift its premium laptop design even after a 2015 refresh with more powerful processors, more RAM and USB-C. The following year, the Chromebook Pixel was quietly retired, and Google executives tried to reframe the laptop as a proof of concept rather than a failure.

But Google wasn’t ready to give up on the dream of a premium flagship Chromebook. They went back to the drawing board and released the Pixelbook in early 2018. With a convertible two-in-one form factor and a lower starting price of $1,000 (not to mention some big improvements in ChromeOS), it seemed like a much more palatable take on a premium laptop design.

Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry

Reviewers praised the design and compromises, but still noted that it was a very special customer who was attracted to a high-end laptop without Windows or macOS. While the Pixelbook was a notable improvement over the Chromebook Pixel, shoppers looking for a Chromebook still opted for cheaper options, and shoppers with a budget over $1,000 for a laptop simply stuck with Windows. For the second time in a row, a Google brand laptop was a flop.

The Slate falls flat

But the Pixelbook wasn’t a complete failure. For that, we have to look at the Pixel Slate, a full ChromeOS-powered tablet with powerful Intel hardware. It was the more capable, mature version of Google’s Nexus tablets that had been around for almost a decade. It really turned heads at the time for its convergent form factor that could handle both the Microsoft Surface and the iPad Pro.

Foundry

But with a starting price of $600, not including the crucial keyboard upgrade, not to mention poor battery life with its slim build and powerful guts, the Pixel Slate was crushed in early reviews and failed to find an audience. Again, people looking for a high-end tablet just bought an iPad, people looking for a Surface bought a Surface, and people looking for a deal avoided it completely. The Pixel Slate went on sale soon after, and Google wouldn’t try a new tablet for five years — and it would specifically run Android, not ChromeOS.

There is one last member of this family to mention, but unfortunately it is a very familiar story. Google tried one last time in 2019 with the Pixelbook Go, a Chromebook that looked much more like, well, a Chromebook. This cheaper and more conventional laptop ditched the high-quality materials and 2-in-1 form factor in an effort to appeal to students and budget buyers. But with a starting price of $650, Google was once again undercut by its own Chromebook partners, who sold tons of cheaper models that could do more or less the same thing for a lot less.

IDG

Google hasn’t tried to make a laptop or a 2-in-1 this decade, and the original hardware team has been disbanded. And after four consecutive high-profile disappointments (five if you count the Pixel C and its beautiful tablet keyboard add-on) who can blame them?

A budget blueprint from Lenovo

Instead of Google, I’d focus on making ChromeOS more attractive to mainstream buyers and businesses that won’t settle for anything less than Windows. There’s plenty of bad will going Microsoft’s way that they can take advantage of. But that goes further than the principle we are working with here. Let’s just take these rumors at face value and assume that Google wants to bring Chrome and Android closer together, presumably to better compete with devices like the iPad and iPad Pro (and avoid the Pixel Slate disaster).

I think Google already has a blueprint for such a device: the Lenovo Chromebook Duet. Google representatives told me that this cheap convertible tablet (which always comes with a keyboard in the box!) has been the world’s best-selling Chromebook for generations. They went on to say that it is doing especially well in the education market, which makes sense as more and more children are growing up with a touchscreen as their main form of digital interaction.

Michael Crider/Foundry

The Lenovo Chromebook Duet isn’t perfect. It’s underpowered with Arm-based hardware, and the detachable keyboard and stand aren’t all that elegant to juggle. It’s also a much better Chromebook than a tablet. Even though it feels pretty close to an iPad in hand, ChromeOS just can’t run both of its own tabs/apps And Android apps at the same time with everything approaching grace.

But those drawbacks don’t really matter — or at least are minor enough to be overlooked for a $300 device that comes with a lot of accessories. The Duet is small and portable, lasts a long time on a charge, and includes everything you need in the box. The latest model features significant improvements in both screen and keyboard, and even includes a second USB-C port for easy charging while using accessories. You can read my full review of it here.

If Google wants a branded Chromebook that will actually appeal to people, it’s there. – and that’s doubly true if future versions of ChromeOS really do get a lot more fun with Android, enough to allow phone and tablet apps to run alongside powerful browser tabs without any problems. Give this theoretical neo-Chromebook some of the same understated charm as the Pixel phone line, and make sure it has access to the expanded capabilities of a Chromebook Plus (something the Duet can’t handle with its low-power hardware).

Michael Crider/Foundry

Above all, don’t repeat the Pixel Slate’s mistakes. Keep it small, about the size of an 11-inch iPad Air. Keep the price low (preferably under $500) and include a stand and keyboard in the box. This may be the hardest thing for Google to accomplish, as the company hasn’t yet made a laptop that can truly compete on price. Perhaps close relationships with Arm-based chipmakers like MediaTek can help bridge that gap.

If you really want to wow me, revive that gorgeous keyboard-and-case wireless charging design of the Pixel C. I’ve never seen such an elegant tablet keyboard.

Will Google do it? Can Google does it? I have no idea. Probably not, to be honest. Rumors say that this new device is once again targeting the $1,000+ laptop market, something Google has failed at twice before. I’d love to be proven wrong… but in consumer technology, as in life, cynics are rarely disappointed.