Earlier this year, Google said that it was working to allow the support of an alternative OS alongside Chrome OS. This caused some confusion as some had already run Linux distributions and Chrome OS could run Android apps. Now, Toms Hardware (among others) has reported that Google’s Pixelbook would be certified by Microsoft to run Windows 10.
At the moment, it looks as though Google is developing code to allow alternate boots into Chrome or Windows (a feature that the blog calls Campfire). The site reports that currently to support Linux you have to switch to a Developer mode, but this is seen as being unlikely as a requirement for Windows.
The development doesn’t mean that all Chromebooks will support Windows, but just that makers can develop systems that will.
Analyst Comment
The ability to run Windows apps when needed would remove one of the barriers to Chromebook adoption. I spent some time trying to convert one of my old PCs to a Chromebook, but with no real success when I got distracted from it. Perhaps on one of those long winter evenings…. (BR)
HP’s Chromebook x2 is the first convertible Chromebook
