Rumors of the Pixelbook and Pixel Slate's demise may have been exaggerated. Following a Business Insider report from last month in which Google was said to be cutting back on its laptop and tablet hardware division, the California tech giant has now told The Verge that it does in fact have new Chromebook devices in the pipeline.
And we just might have a tease of what that next Google computer is. According to 9to5Google, the company talked about the future of Pixel devices at Cloud Next 2019 this week, specifically with a focus on business users.
"We think there’s some unique things we can do differently than the Pixelbook and Pixel Slate that are going to really help give [business users] what they’re looking for when they’re working in this new modern cloud-first era," said lead product manager Steve Jacobs at the company's Google Hardware for Business session.
Google's most recent PC hardware release was last fall's Pixel Slate, which we awarded 3.5 out of 5 stars thanks to its slick design, vibrant screen, long battery life and accurate handwriting recognition. However, the device was riddled with bugs upon release, including difficulty staying connected to Bluetooth devices.
Google's other flagship Chrome OS device, the $999 Pixelbook, hasn't seen a refresh since 2017. A business-focused version of the Pixelbook or Slate could be up next for the company, and while we don't have any details, we'd bet on new Google PCs showing up at the company's annual hardware event this October.
