Google’s new Pixelbook Go is the ultimate Chromebook for anyone that doesn’t want to spend a grand on Google’s previous Pixelbook. The Pixelbook Go stands out with its long battery life. Google Pixelbook Go comes with a few features you won’t find in Apple’s best offerings. Read on the following Google Pixelbook Go review to learn more about this laptop.
Contents
Google Pixelbook Go Review
1. Price and availability
Admittedly, Google is still demanding quite a bit with its cheaper flagship Chromebook at the onset: $649 (£629, about AU$950) for 8GB of memory (RAM) and 64GB of storage with an 8th-generation Intel Core m3 processor (CPU) and Full HD (1080p) LCD touchscreen. Here’s how the rest of the pricing breaks down:
- Intel Core i5 (8GB, 128GB) – $849/£829/about AU$1,250
- Intel Core i5 (16GB, 128GB) – $999/£949/about AU$1,470
- Intel Core i7 (16GB, 256GB, 4K) – $1,399/£1,329/about AU$2,050
As you can see, while the Google Pixelbook Go is meant to be an alternative to the Google Pixelbook proper, which will still be available, the Go can get close to that higher-end laptop’s price very quickly if you’re not careful. This, eventually, kind of defeats the point of the product’s positioning altogether.
2. Design
There’s a lot to like about the Google Pixelbook Go’s look, but let’s address the elephant in the room: It’s nonconvertible in an age when it really feels like all Chromebooks should be 2-in-1s. The clamshell design may have allowed for a more affordable price, but it means that Android apps feel a little less natural, because you can’t fold the display backward to put the machine into tablet mode.
Yes, some Android apps have been adapted for a keyboard and touchpad — the popular racing game Asphalt 9 is one example — but they don’t really feel right in this setting. External controller support, which just came to macOS, would help.
The Pixelbook Go’s most iconic design touch is its rippled underside, which Google says is meant to make the laptop more “grippable” (their word). It’s that touch, plus the rounded edges and the indented lip for opening the Go with one hand, that help the laptop stand out in a field of increasingly similar-looking MacBooks and MacBook imitators.
Most importantly, the Google Pixelbook Go is really thin and light, at 0.5 inches thick and 2.3 pounds in weight. The HP Chromebook 15 (0.7 inches, 4 pounds) and Asus Chromebook Flip C434 (0.6 inches, 3.1 pounds) are both thicker and heavier. The original Pixelbook (0.4 inches and 2.5 pounds) is thinner but heavier — and at least $350 more expensive.
3. Display
Nothing about the Pixelbook Go’s display truly stands out. It’s a common size, shape, and resolution. Even so, it’s a good display, if not quite a great one.
To my eyes, colors looked accurate, the pixel density is just enough to prevent jagged edges and keep text legible, and the screen can put out a decent amount of light.
The glossy finish of the Concore Glass is crazy reflective. You will have an issue with lights reflecting on the panel. On the flip side, if you touch the display often you’ll cover it in fingerprints which will reduce the reflectivity. Pick your poison I suppose. The touchscreen is accurate and responsive to touch.
The bottom line, the display works just fine.
4. Performance
- Intel 8th-Gen Core i7, Core i5, Core m3
- 8GB or 16GB RAM
- 64GB, 128GB, or 256GB storage
- Titan-C security chip
Google sent us the middle-of-the-pack build of the Pixelbook Go — that means a Core i5 processor with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. The high-end Core i7 CPU is only available to the forthcoming 4K model, which costs three times as most other Chromebooks.
The Pixelbook Go ran well. I’ve experienced plenty of pokey Chromebooks before, and the Pixelbook Go felt quick and responsive in comparison. Apps opened in a blink, multi-tasking was fluid, and the Chromebook reacted to all input immediately.
The only time the Go felt slow was when interacting with physical media cards.
5. Battery life
It’s even better than the Google Pixelbook Go has extremely impressive battery life. It took a massive 11 hours and 14 minutes to run the Chromebook down via our local video playback test. The MacBook Air 2019 missed that mark by … an hour and 14 minutes.
This falls very closely in line with Google’s promised number – 12 hours on a charge – which is rare for almost every laptop on the market. The only other laptops to come that close to their advertised battery life figures are Apple’s, which is a testament to the benefits these companies enjoy from tuning their own hardware and software in tandem.
Plus, the Pixelbook Go can get up to two hours of battery charge from just 20 minutes connected to the outlet. This makes the laptop nearly unkillable in terms of battery juice, a huge boon for folks that work from multiple places daily or take their work with them on their commute.
In conclusion, you have read a Google Pixelbook Go review. Hoping that this article will help you decide whether it is suitable for your needs or not.