Yesterday was the 10th anniversary of the beloved Google laptop – the Chromebook! As you are well aware of what a Chromebook is, since this is what we are talking about here in Chrome Unboxed, let’s take a few moments to discuss what Google has revealed about the future of these devices on its blog. Yes, Chromebooks have come a long way in the past decade, but they’re just getting started – the future holds some very interesting goals.
First of all, if you haven’t seen it yet, Google is celebrating this anniversary with a host of new features – many of which we’ve been tracking and covering for some time. Holding Space is now called a ‘Tote’, the Phone Hub is being officially launched, global media controls are now on the shelf and more, everyone reaches the masses with Chrome OS 89! However, this is only the beginning.
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Google aims to make Chromebooks even smarter and more useful for everyone over the next 10 years. To begin with, he decided that his AI technology should prevail in all basic operating system experiences and not just in a separate tool (read: Google Assistant). We are already starting to see this come true with the Quick Responses feature, which allows you to right-click on the text in the operating system and have the Wizard tell you more about it. The company is committed to finding new ways to proactively help users with these tools.
Next, Google discussed a future in which Chromebooks will integrate more sensor technologies for a personalized experience. Although we still don’t know what it will look like, I imagine it will include at least some of the sensors available on smartphones. The idea of having a proximity sensor on a laptop that can detect how far you are from it or perform a task when you approach, as Nest Hub recently started doing, is very cool, I think.
Other common phone sensors include an accelerometer that detects tilt, vibration and acceleration movements (for Chrome OS? Tablets), GPS, a gyroscope, which detects the physical orientation of a device, and more. I’ll let your imagination run wild with this, but one thing is for sure – we’ll see more Chromebooks with integrated fingerprint sensors. I imagine that we will also have some kind of facial unlocking functionality at some point, but there is still no way to know for sure. Anyway, that would be my main feature request and it certainly makes sense when you think about the natural evolution of Chromebooks, right?
Google also mentioned that it decided to expand its portfolio of devices with cellular connectivity, like the mysterious ‘Coachz’, to start! The last time I remember that there was an LTE-enabled Chromebook was with a version of Samsung Plus, but for some reason, the company killed the idea. Fortunately, it is coming back in full force.
I woke up this morning with my head spinning with possibilities. The future of Chromebooks is bright and I can’t wait to see what Google brings to the table. While many of their products continue to be archived or launched at sunset, Chromebooks have continued to improve over time. The company’s investment in these devices can certainly be traced back to the fact that its visionary – Sundar Pichai – is now the CEO of Google and Alphabet. He clearly wants to make Chromebooks a household name and sees a future where they are central to the lives of millions – I’m on board, are you?
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