Having recently announced the new Pixelbook, a 10mm-thick 2-in-1 tablet-laptop hybrid with a 12.3″ 360° foldable touch screen and on-board Google Assistant, Google has also placed orders for a detachable model, according to Digitimes.
Citing “sources from the upstream supply chain”, Digitimes revealed that both devices will be manufactured by Quanta Computer, though Quanta have reportedly refused to comment on the rumours.
Google’s Chromebook Pixel was launched to the education sector in 2013, with a second generation version released in 2015. Google devices now have a 58% market share of mobile devices in the K12 education sector—students using Windows notebooks are around 22%, while Apple take 14% with iOS devices and 5% using Mac OS.
The Google Pixelbook launches at the end of October.
However, Google are reported to be keen to push the Pixelbook further into the consumer market, with a view to educational users studying with Chrome OS continuing to use the system after graduation.
Other rumours that Google is preparing to release entry and mid-level Pixelbook models could not be confirmed by the supply chain. Brand vendors have reportedly “reacted mildly” to the news, considering that the use of Chrome OS in the education sector may be high, but in the overall notebook market it is not.
The Google Pixelbook is out on October 31st, retailing from $999. The Pixelbook Pen stylus is $99, sold separately.
