Reports that Google’s Chromebook Pixel was a “prototype” and likely wouldn’t see a refresh with Intel Haswell chips may have been premature. It’s still possible that the touchscreen Chromebook could get revamped in the future with new chips that boost both performance and battery life.
The idea that the Pixel was a one-and-done device came from a PC World report on Thursday alongside the announcement of new Chromebooks:
“While the new Chromebooks are expected to be flagship products for their respective brands, don’t expect a repeat of the Chromebook Pixel; that product, which paired an Intel “Ivy Bridge” Core processor with an incredible 2560-by-1700 pixel touch display, was a “prototype” to show off the power of the Chromebook platform and will not be repeated, Caesar Sengupta, director of product management at Google, told a small roundtable of reporters on Wednesday.”
As the owner of a Pixel, that didn’t sound right to me. After all, Google sells the Pixel to customers directly and through Best Buy.com. It didn’t sit well with many others in the Chromebook community either as the one element that could really be improved in the Pixel — battery life — would be helped by the Haswell chip.
So I reached out directly to Google on Thursday and just received the following clarification from a Google representative:
“We did not say that Pixel will not be repeated; we don’t comment on the future or unannounced products. At launch we said Pixel was designed to bring together the best in hardware, software and design to inspire the next generation of Chromebooks, and to work with the ecosystem to continue to push the experience forward for touch and high-DPI web. We see that playing out.”
Does that mean the Pixel will definitely see a refresh in the future? No, not at all. But it doesn’t sound like it’s an impossibility, either.
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