According to The Verge, Google has canceled the next-generation Pixelbook laptop. The company is also disbanding the Pixelbook team responsible for its development. The device was long in development and was expected to debut next year. However, the project was canceled as part of Google’s latest cost-cutting measures. An internal report reveals that team members are receiving internal transfers.
Just a few months ago, Google was planning to continue developing the Pixelbook. “We’re going to be doing Pixelbooks in the future,” Google hardware director Rick Osterloh told The Verge ahead of the annual I/O developer conference. But he also acknowledged that the Chromebook market has changed since the first-generation Pixelbook launched in 2017.
Redirects the Pixelbook team internally
Google CEO Sundar Pichai has been saying this for months he intends to slow hiring and cancel some of the company’s programs. “In some cases, this means consolidating where investments overlap and streamlining processes,” he wrote in a July memo. “In other cases, it means halting development and reallocating resources to higher priority areas.” The Pixelbook and the Pixelbook team appear to be casualties of this consolidation and realignment.
Google communications manager Laura Brin told The Verge: “Google does not share future product plans or personnel information; however, we are committed to building and supporting a number of innovative Google products that are useful to our users. In terms of our people, as we shift priorities, there will be efforts to transition team members across devices and services.”
Google spent nearly a decade trying to prove to the world that there was a market for high-end Chromebooks. When the first Chromebook Pixel was released in 2013, it was priced at $ 1300. While Google isn’t breaking Chromebook sales, it’s clearly too expensive to make a real splash in the wider laptop market.
in 2017 Google introduced the new Pixelbook, a flip-up device that can be used as a tablet. Google even introduced a stylus for it called the Pixelbook Pen. The Pixelbook also has Google Assistant built in, can connect to a Pixel phone, and can even run Android apps.
