Google’s reportedly prepping up to launch the next-gen Pixel phone at an event this fall, sticking to the same 2-phone philosophy. A new report now claims that the brand is preparing to launch a new Chromebook Pixel laptop and mini Google Home as well.
To recall, a report from March this year had declared the Chromebook Pixel lineup dead, with a Google official indicating that the company wasn’t planning on updating the series. However, Android Police claims that the new laptop will be a Pixel-branded Chromebook.
The timeline matches up to a certain extent since there was a 2-year gap between the 2013 and 2015 Chromebook Pixel. The publication thinks the new notebook might have something to do with the mysterious Project Bison that Google was involved in last year.
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Project Bison reportedly represents Google’s efforts to make a laptop which runs on an all-new Andromeda OS. The company might have kept the hardware the same but ditched the software for Chrome OS.
In that case, the upcoming Google laptop could be a strong MacBook or Surface Pro rival featuring a 12.3-inch 360-degree rotatable screen, an optional Wacom stylus, 32GB or 128GB of space, and 8GB or 16GB of RAM. Bison was also said to be under 10mm thick and boast of a tablet mode.
It’s possible that the new Chromebook could have something to do with a device with the codename Eve which has been popping up in Chromium’s code quite frequently. As for the second product which could show up at the fall Pixel event, rumor has it that Google is looking to launch a mini version of its Home speaker.
If true, the mini Google Home would go directly up against the Amazon Echo Dot. A smaller version of the former which is more portable than the original could prove successful if it’s priced competitively.