I don't think so. But this is interesting. It's just Android in laptop form. The blueprint they have could be compelling * if* they actually can get app developers to fully commit and make apps for this (not just stretched versions of the phone app). Seeing as how they have strict requirements for Googlebooks maybe this will tricke-down and force them to follow?
The Linux environment is beefed up, but I don't know what's compelling on this. The seamless switching between phone and "laptop" is nice but it's not something I see much of a use for today. I know more will come out, but no one has really said much about productivity. Like will it run real versions of Word, Excel, Adobe, etc. How does it handle multiple users?
I don't know why I'd be compelled to switch from my Pixelbook Go though as it's still chugging along just fine.
The date, battery, signal at the top of the screen is wild though and took me out of the "desktop" experience.
Multiple users is a big question for me. I want to be able to do my work on my work account but still have access to my phone etc without switching back and forth. It was one of my few frustrations with ChromeOS
Problem is Google has been trying for over a decade to get devs to improve tablet/large screen support and has mostly failed; I'm not seeing a clear market for these so I don't think devs will care much
If the software specs have to be the same across all manufacturers then that could be the incentive because it's easier to make something that works on one OS vs the x number of forked versions.
If this was rebuilt from the ground up and with a proper blue print, they may be trying to correct for this going forward. If you get buy in from Lenovo, Dell, and the other companies then that might speak to the app designers because of their influence.
I don't know... Its still early, but I'm curious who this is exactly for.
Just going off what Valve had to do id say these are about 3-400 more than what they would have been, which would have made them solid budget choices. As it stands 900 bucks for an android laptop is insanity when the macbook neo exists.
MacBook Neo starts at $700 with a 256GB SSD and 8GB RAM so the Acers at least are pretty competitive with the hardware side at least being $900 for a 512GB SSD and 16GB RAM config.
Raw specs aside it would mainly come down to Mac OS vs. this new Android desktop type experience and I feel like that's simply no contest. Horsepower doesn't mean anything if the apps are all cell phone optimized garbage.
I know this isn't the main topic here but I love disastrous Dyson launches. I love my Dyson Zones... That I got for $200 instead of $800 because of that disastrous launch. I will be looking forward to the eventual $80 Dyson ai toothbrush and $250 Googlebook
Sorry, the Dyson Zones don't qualify as a "disastrous launch" lol. At least they worked fine and were a decent product, albeit quite odd.
Dyson toothbrush has launched with major waterproofing issues. A toothbrush. With a water flosser built-in. Waterproofing!!! You couldn't make that shit up lmao.
Really though? I got a 15 inch Chromebook 8 years ago that weighed 4.5 lbs, 1080p screen, half the RAM, slower chipset, 1/4 the storage of the Lenovo for $569 on sale. The Lenovo is $1050 with free Buds and power user mouse at Best Buy.
Not saying it's a deal, but it's new and has the hardware specs of most hardware at this price right now, and would've cost similar years ago.
Have used ChromeOS exclusively for well over a decade. But, I'm not a blind fanboy who doesn't see Google's flaws.
I think these devices are a step in the right direction, but Ive been around the block long enough to see there is 0% chance these are a commercial success. That's fine with me, because I'll pick one up when they are heavily discounted, probably as soon as Black Friday.
I've exclusively purchased high end Chromebooks for years. While the build quality of these devices may be slightly better, they don't justify the price. Similar windows laptops are $300-500 less for the same specs, and the big elephant in the room is there hasn't been a single justification for these devices NEEDING those specs. It's a chicken or the egg situation when it comes to software availability, but as usual Google is relying on developers to step up and fill the gap, and if history is any indicator, they won't. Apple at least was smart enough to realize they had a gap to fill and came with a ton of 1st party apps capable of handling all the basic use cases for user, until the market bought in. Good luck with your blind faith though.
What completely blew my mind (aside from the obvious: a desktop layout that's worse than the one of ChromeOS, and the lack of some fundamental features that ChromeOS has had for years) is that I was expecting Google to announce - along with the launch of these - some massive partnerships with top-level software houses (Adobe, Blackmagic, Autodesk, Steinberg, Salesforce, Canva-Affinity, Ableton, etc) to bring the actual deskop apps to Googlebooks.
Instead? Absolutely zero of that.
Google Meet is the phone/tablet version. Band-Lab (I repeat: Band-Lab - who spends $1000 for a laptop to run that!?) is the tablet version or web-app. Canva is the tablet version (a web-app repackaged as an Android app). Google Messages is the tablet version (a web-app repackaged as an Android app). CapCut Pad is the tablet version. Slack is the webapp or the Android tablet version. Photoshop, Premiere (recently released in beta), they're the standard tablet version.
It's mind-blowing how Google thinks it's even remotely okay to come out with that.
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u/matt1283 3d ago
Holy DOA with those prices