As far as niches go, the Chromebook Pixel has always occupied a pretty narrow one.
Like other Chromebooks, the Pixel demands that you run nothing but Google’s Chrome browser, abstaining from traditional programs like Office and Photoshop, and instead using web-based equivalents.
But unlike other Chromebooks, most of whose prices hover around $250, the Pixel is priced like a MacBook, with a fit and finish to match. It’s for people so obsessed with the web that they’ll shell out big bucks to access the best possible version of it–at the expense of everything else. You can safely assume that Google hasn’t sold vast quantities of Pixels since the laptop first debuted in 2013.
Nonetheless, Google is now back with a second-generation Chromebook Pixel, and it’s aimed at making the browser even more efficient. Like Apple’s new MacBook, it has a new kind of reversible USB port, called Type-C, that can recharge the battery, drive an external display, and connect with USB peripherals such as hard drives and mouses. It also has a much longer battery life of 12 hours (compared to five on the original Pixel) and a wider color gamut on its crisp 2560-by-1700-resolution display. It’s loaded with satisfying touches as well, such as the light bar on the rear panel that shows battery level when you double-tap on it, and the keyboard that lights up as your palms hover over the trackpad.
The new Chromebook Pixel is one of the finest laptops you can buy, though the unfamiliar Chrome operating system ensures that many people won’t, even at a lower starting price of $999, down from $1,299. (That’s for a Core i5 model with 8 GB of RAM and 32 GB of storage; Google will also sell a Core i7 “LS” version with double the RAM and storage.) Still, Google seems perfectly fine with the fact that the Pixel won’t be a blockbuster, noting that the new model is for developers and enthusiasts who just wanted a hardware refresh. Long live the niche.
Two Ports To Rule Them All
It’s hard to overstate how important USB Type-C is for the future of laptops (and, for that matter, many other devices). Instead of having separate connections for a charger, display output, and peripherals, USB Type-C combines them all into a single, universal port. The cable itself can also be flipped in either orientation, eliminating the variant of Murphy’s Law that states you’ll never insert the USB plug the right way on your first try.
Type-C already enjoyed some time in the sun earlier this week, when Apple announced its ultra-thin MacBook with a single USB-C connector on one side. It’s a polarizing move, saddling first-gen users with the need for adapters and hubs, but at the same time pushing peripheral makers to speed adoption of the new standard.
