First Chromebooks shipped 15 years ago today
Google’s Chromebook platform turns 15 today, at least when counted from retail availability. The first Chromebook models from Acer and Samsung were announced at Google I/O on May 11, 2011, but Google said they would become available online on June 15.
Chromebook was built as a browser-first laptop with fast boot times, automatic updates and most work handled through web apps and cloud services. It arrived near the end of the netbook era, with Google promoting ChromeOS as a faster and easier alternative to low-cost Windows laptops. I always found Chromebooks to be a option for people who are not tech-savvy.
Chromebooks popular in education
Chromebooks became common in schools due to lower hardware costs, central management tools and long-term support. Google later extended Chromebook software update support to 10 years for newer devices, which further improved the platform’s value for education and managed deployments.
You may have also heard about the CloudReady project, it was a 3rd party tool that allowed people to install ChromeOS on any laptop, even the slowest bunch. I found it a very interesting way to preserve old hardware. Google later took over the project and introduced something called ChromeOS Flex .
Source: Google
Chromebooks never reached the same level of interest among PC enthusiasts. Google added Android app support, Linux apps and later Steam for Chromebook Beta, but those features arrived years after the first models. Steam support also never left beta and was scheduled to end in January.
What’s next: Googlebook – New Google laptop coming later this year
Google has not marked today with a dedicated 15th anniversary post, at least not yet. The company did, however, refer to the 15-year Chromebook milestone last month when it announced Googlebook, an upcoming laptop category designed around Gemini Intelligence.
Google says the platform combines Android, Google Play apps and ChromeOS browser technology, with features such as Magic Pointer, prompt-generated desktop widgets, Android phone app access and direct file access from a paired phone.
Source: Google
The first systems are planned from Acer, ASUS, Dell, HP and Lenovo this fall, but Google has not confirmed final specs, pricing or launch regions. Googlebook is not intended to replace Chromebooks and may also cover Arm-based systems.
Source: Google, Tom’s Hardware
