The best Chromebook that money can buy is slowly disappearing. As VentureBeat notes, the second-generation Chromebook Pixel is now unavailable in the US, with a mere “out of stock” message displayed in the Google Store. Google has said it’s “committed” to the Pixel line, but admits: “We don’t have plans to restock the Pixel 2.” The situation might be different outside the US — here in the UK, the laptop is still in stock — so act fast if you still want to buy one. Otherwise, it’s time to say goodbye.
The Pixel 2 is one of the best pieces of hardware Google has ever produced. The aluminium chassis is beautiful, hiding a spacious keyboard and a high-resolution, touch-friendly display. The impeccable build quality, combined with some decent performance and battery life, make it a sublime canvas for Chrome OS. The problem is the price — at $999 it’s an expensive piece of gear, and hard to justify against a similarly-priced MacBook or Windows laptop. But then, it was never supposed to be a mass market seller. The Pixel, like Google’s Nexus phones, is a showcase for the operating system.
Earlier this year, Google put out a job opening for a Chromebook Pixel Quality Engineer. While it doesn’t guarantee a new model, the position would indicate that Google is still interested in building its own high-end laptops. In the meantime, there’s always the Pixel C, a Surface-style hybrid that’s now considerably more useful thanks to Android 7.0 (Nougat).
Source: VentureBeat