Google has terminated the Pixelbook line of lightweight but capable laptops. Moving forward, the company will focus on improving the general Chromebook experience. Google has taken the step to better steer its finances and consolidate operations to reduce overlap.
Google has completely shuttered any further development on the Pixelbook line of laptops, which were always considered to be premium ChromeOS offerings. The company isn’t merely halting development, but has disbanded the team that was working on the next generation of the device. All members of the Pixelbook team have been reassigned to other roles within Google, The Verge reported.
This is the second portable computer that Google has given up on. Back in 2019, the company shuttered development work on ChromeOS tablets. Back then, Google had indicated it wanted to focus on laptops. This time, the Pixelbook has been axed to cut costs and consolidate projects.
Back in July this year, an internal memo from Google CEO Sundar Pichai clearly stated the company intends to slow down hiring and cut some projects across the company.
In some cases, that means consolidating where investments overlap and streamlining processes. In other cases, that means pausing development and re-deploying resources to higher priority areas.
Devices that received the Pixel brand weren’t strictly premium, but they were certainly better in terms of hardware and software. Even the Pixelbook Go, which Google introduced back in 2019 as a more affordable laptop, was better than the prevalent Chromebook laptops.
Source: The Verge