Tag: Chromebook

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Report finds Chromebook e-waste to be a serious problem

Chromebooks have become ubiquitous in the education sector. Ease of use, accessible pricing, and simple deployment make them a compelling option for school.

However, a new report from the U.S. Public Interest Research Group (PIRG) titled Chromebook Churn is raising concerns over the unnecessary electronic waste they are producing.

The main issue at hand is what the PIRG refers to as a “built-in death rate.” Google offers software and security support for Chromebooks at a standard rate of eight years from the release date of each laptop.

The PIRG points out that schools often buy Chromebooks that have already been on the market for months or even years. This means that realistically, many of these laptops are out of support sooner than that eight year window would imply.

“When technology like Chromebooks reach their expiration date, only one-third of this electronic waste is properly recycled. If it isn’t designed to last, our environment pays the price,” says Lucas Gutterman of the PIRG.

The PIRG makes several suggestions in the report, calling on Google to take action. These suggestions include extending software support to ten years, as well as allowing for the installation of non-Google operating systems like Linux.

The report is also critical on the hardware front, suggesting Google strive for better standardization of Chromebook replacement parts, and to make these components more readily available.

Whether Google will see eye-to-eye with the PIRG and reduce “Chromebook Churn” is something we will have to keep an eye on.

Source: U.S. Public Interest Research Group Via Engadget 

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Google announces new Chromebook powered by cloud after killing Stadia

Google is announcing a brand new line of Chromebooks. The three new devices, developed in partnership with a number of manufacturers, are said to utilize the power of the cloud for gaming. News of the products come not long after the same company pulled the curtain on Stadia.

Google’s new Chromebook selection includes Acer’s Chromebook 516 GE, the Asus Chromebook Vibe CX55 Flip and the Ideapad Gaming Chromebook from Lenovo. Each laptop touts high framerates and RGB keyboards. Most prominently, each new Chromebook is built for cloud gaming.

We’ve compiled a quick overview of each device. The Acer Chromebook 516 GE offers a 120Hz WQXGA display, RGB anti-ghosting keyboard, and WiFi 6E connectivity. It is also built on an Intel Core i5 processor with 8GB+ RAM.

Meanwhile, the ASUS Chromebook Vibe CX55 Flip supports a 144Hz FHD display and is a 2-in-1 convertible laptop. Once again, this device includes an RGB anti-ghosting keyboard and an Intel Core i5 processor with 8GB+ RAM. It is paired with Harmon Kardon-certified dual speakers with WiFi 6 connectivity enabled.

Finally, the Lenovo Ideapad Gaming Chromebook supports a 120Hz WQXGA display, an RGB anti-ghosting keyboard and WiFi 6E connectivity. Additionally, it includes a 4-speaker system with Wave audio tuning plus an Intel Core i3+ processor with 8GB+ RAM.

While each device offers modest specs, it’s Google’s emphasis on cloud gaming that stands out the most. Even in the blog post, Google highlights the respectable number of games available on the cloud via the above video. Google is teaming up with Nvidia to bring its GeForce Now cloud-based gaming feature to each Chromebook. Each device is built to support Nvidia’s highest performance RTX 3080 tier. Members of the RTX 3080 tier are able to play AAA titles like Cyberpunk 2077, Fortnite and Crysis 3 Remastered at up to 1600p @120fps.

Additionally, Google is partnering with Xbox to bring Xbox Cloud Gaming to Chromebook via an installable web app to give subscribers of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate even more flexibility. Xbox Cloud Gaming supports a wide array of first-party titles and third-party games available on Xbox Game Pass.

The timing of this announcement is quite unfortunate. The performance of each Chromebook does set itself up to be a cloud-gaming workhorse. However, Google recently shuttered Stadia, its own cloud-gaming service. Had it not, the narrative of these new Chromebooks being Stadia-powered writes itself. Though, as of January 18th, 2023, Stadia and its servers will be taken offline. For those in the Google ecosystem, refunds on hardware and software will be given through the Google Play Store.

As for the new Chromebooks, each device will be available this month.

Image credit: Google

Source: Google

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Framework, Google partner on modular Chromebook

Google and Framework, the company behind the modular laptop of the same name, partnered to introduce a ‘Framework Laptop Chromebook Edition.’ That means customers looking to get an upgradable laptop running ChromeOS now have a solid option to consider.

The Chromebook Edition comes in grey and sports a “precision formed and milled aluminum housing” with a gear logo on the lid. It weighs in at 1.3kg (about 2.87lbs) and features a 13.5-inch, 3:2 aspect ratio display with a 2256 x 1504 pixel resolution.

The laptop runs a 12th Gen Intel Core i5-1240P CPU with 4+8 cores and 30W sustained performance. It also includes the Titan C security chip that other ChromeOS devices have, which enables Verified Boot. Moreover, the Framework Chromebook will get up to eight years of ChromeOS updates. Plus, it supports running Android apps from the Play Store, access to Linux through Crostini, and Steam (with ChromeOS Alpha).

More importantly, the Framework Chromebook supports expansion cards to customize which ports you have, and upgradable and customizable parts (including memory, storage, and more). Every part of the laptop has a scannable QR code that people can use to find access to documentation and guides for repairs.

For the privacy conscious, the Framework Chromebook also includes built-in privacy switches that cut power to the camera and microphone when you want.

You can pre-order the Framework Chromebook on the Framework website for $1,299 in Canada, although pre-orders require a $100 deposit. The laptop is set to be available starting in December. You can learn more about the Framework Laptop Chromebook Edition here.

Images credit: Framework

Source: Framework Via: 9to5Google

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Google reportedly scraps new Pixelbook, shutters team behind it

Google is out of the laptop game — the company has reportedly killed its next big Pixelbook and dissolved the team working on it.

The details come from The Verge, which cites a “person familiar with the matter.” The news is somewhat contradictory to what Google itself has said over the last few months — notably, at its I/O developer conference in May, Google’s hardware chief Rick Osterloh told The Verge that the company was “going to do Pixelbooks in the future,” while acknowledging that the market has changed significantly.

However, Google’s CEO, Sundar Pichai, has been vocal for months about plans to slow down hiring at Google and cut some of the company’s projects. It very much seems like the Pixelbook and the team behind it were one such project.

A Google spokesperson told The Verge that it doesn’t share plans on future products and that in “regards to our people, in times where we do shift priorities we work to transition team members across devices and services.”

The Verge included a look through the history of Google’s Chromebook and Pixelbook ambitions, which is worth the read if you’re interested in that kind of thing. The main takeaway, however, is that the main customers for ChromeOS and Chromebooks aren’t going to pay for pricey Pixelbook hardware. For example, ChromeOS is huge with schools, but schools won’t be kitting out teachers and students with $1,000 Pixelbooks.

Source: The Verge

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Lenovo unveils next-gen ThinkPad X1 Fold and weird ‘wearable display’

As part of its ‘holiday product launch,’ Lenovo unveiled 13 new devices across several tech groups, including foldable PCs, tablets, wearable displays, and more.

Easily the most intriguing announcement was the next-gen ThinkPad X1 Fold. It looks like a marked improvement over the 2020 X1 Fold, although we’ll have to wait until reviewers go hands-on with the 2022 version to see. Notable improvements include a 22 percent larger, 16-inch folding OLED panel, 25 percent thinner chassis, and reduced bezels.

The new X1 Fold also boasts a power boost with up to a 12th Gen Intel Core i7 CPU, Intel Iris Xe graphics, up to 32GB RAM, and more.

While the X1 Fold announcement may be the most exciting, it’s far from the weirdest. That honour goes to Lenovo’s “wearable display.” Dubbed the ‘Lenovo Glasses T1,’ the company billed the glasses as a wearable, private display for “on-the-go content consumption.”

The idea seems to be that users plug the glasses into a compatible smartphone, tablet, or computer via USB-C and then have access to a “virtual monitor” that only they can see since they’re wearing the glasses. On the one hand, neat. On the other, I can’t really see anyone seriously using this. Just trying to imagine some business dude getting on the train and jacking into the matrix so he can check emails on his virtual monitor makes me laugh.

Rounding out the company’s announcements were the Lenovo Tab P11 (2nd Gen) and P11 Pro (2nd Gen) tablets and the IdeaPad 5i Chromebook.

Tap P11 Pro (2nd Gen) in the ‘Oatmeal’ colour. Yes, oatmeal.

The tablets both sport Android 12, with the Tab P11 Pro also offering an 11.2-inch OLED display with Dolby Vision HDR, 600nit brightness, 120Hz refresh rate and 360Hz touch response. All this runs on the MediaTek Kompanio 1300T octa-core CPU with up to 8GB of RAM. As for the Tab P11, it has an 11.5-inch LCD panel with a 120Hz refresh rate and runs on a MediaTek G99 octa-core CPU with up to 6GB of RAM.

Lenovo’s new IdeaPad 5i is the company’s first 16-inch Chromebook. It’s got a 2.5K display with 120Hz refresh rate and runs on a 12th Gen Intel Core i3 CPU.

Finally, Lenovo announced several monitors and a ThinkBook aimed at businesses.

Unfortunately, Lenovo only detailed U.S. pricing and availability for the products. You can find that below:

  • ThinkPad X1 Fold – starts at $2,499 USD (~$3280.47 CAD), available in November 2022
  • Lenovo Glasses T1 – Pricing to be announced upon availability, coming in early 2023
  • Lenovo IdeaPad 5i – Pricing to be announced later, available starting September 2022
  • Tab P11 Pro (2nd Gen) – starts at $399 USD (~$523.77 CAD), available starting September 2022
  • Tab P11 (2nd Gen) – starts at $249.99 USD (~$328.17 CAD), available starting January 2022
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Chromebooks could save you some battery life when charging

Chromes OS will bring a new upgrade to Chromebook users to save battery life when browsing the web, courtesy of Chrome OS 105.

With Chrome OS 105, there will be a battery-saving optimization to prevent websites from draining your battery in the background. This typically happens when websites use your CPU while unopened, which puts your battery to work.

About Chromebooks discovered something within the Chrome OS 105 developer beta through a flag, showing that JavaScript activities from inactive websites will be deprioritized while limiting the time they can run the script.

As a result, Google has noted to expect up to 10 percent in battery life improvements, but these aren’t guaranteed, depending on the website running in the background.

Chrome OS 86 originally included background throttling for JavaScript but did not conserve as much battery life as Chrome OS 105.

Chrome OS 105 continues to work with a shorter window, which benefits battery optimization, but only time will tell whether changes will need to be made.

Source: Google Via: Android Police

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A Chromebook with dedicated gaming hardware might be in the making

Last year, Google was reportedly working on a ‘Game Mode‘ that would offer performance improvements while playing games on a Chrome OS device. Now, it seems that manufacturers are interested in developing Chromebooks with dedicated gaming hardware, instead of just software optimizations.

9o5Google suggests that gaming Chromebooks with gamer-esque RGB keyboards are in the making, under brands like HP and Lenovo. According to the report, said gaming Chromebook would come pre-loaded with a “Cloud Gaming Partner Platform app.” “We have managed to confirm that this app is a shortcut to Nvidia GeForce Now, which gained official ChromeOS support in 2020. GeForce Now will even be one of the starter apps that is pinned to your ChromeOS bottom bar,” said the publication.

Additionally, Google’s own Stadia will also come pre-installed and as a pinned app in said Chromebooks. According to 9to5, these gaming Chromebooks would show a different screen when you’re initially setting it up. You’ll be shown a screen that says “get ready to start gaming,” alongside a graphic of a game controller.

ChromeOS’s Explore app, which provides you with tips and tricks to use the Chromebook when you’re first setting it up, will also seemingly have a new description: “Open the Explore app after setup to start gaming. Access hundreds of the latest games, see gaming offers, and get an immersive gaming experience.”

A separate ChromeUnboxed report suggests that HP is currently developing a Chromebook that will run on Intel’s Alder Lake CPU and an unnamed Nvidia GPU. According to the publication, evidence of Intel and Nvidia teaming up isn’t just hearsay, and instead, is available to see in the Chromium Repositories.

All of the evidence points towards a gaming Chromebook being in the making, giving customers a way to play high-end PC games not only on the cloud but also natively on their machine.

Like with all other leaks, we recommend that you take the Gaming Chromebook leak with a grain of salt until Google or HP officially announces something.

Source: 9to5Google, ChromeUnboxed

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Steam finally arrives on Chrome OS in alpha, only for select Chromebooks

After a long wait and a premature announcement, Chromebook owners can finally install Steam on their devices.

Well, some Chromebook users. Those with a specific and short list of devices. Moreover, the version of Steam on Chrome OS is in alpha, and it requires running a beta version of Chrome OS (specifically, the ‘Dev’ channel of Google’s operating system).

In other words, if you’ve eagerly awaited the arrival of Steam on Chrome OS, you likely will have to wait a little longer unless you have a supported device and are willing to deal with bugs, glitches, and tons of other potential problems running beta software.

According to a Google blog post, the supported Chromebooks include:

  • Acer Chromebook 514 and 515
  • Acer Chromebook Spin 713
  • Asus Chromebook Flip CX5
  • Asus Chromebook CX9
  • HP Pro c640 G2
  • Lenovo 5i Chromebook

Moreover, you’ll need to have one of the above Chromebooks with Intel Xe graphics, an 11th Gen Intel i5 or i7 processor, and at least 8GB of RAM. Plus, the company notes that games that require a lot of RAM — for example, 6GB — may not work well on Chromebooks with 8GB of RAM. Finally, Google warned of performance and scaling issues on devices with screens with resolutions higher than 1080p (the company is working on a fix).

Google also has a list of recommended games that people can try with Steam on Chrome OS, some of which come with caveats. Further, the company says that Chrome OS will “typically” play the Linux version of a game, but there is Proton support for running Windows games too. Proton, for those unfamiliar, is a compatibility layer developed by Valve to help run Windows games on Linux.

As for the install process is that users need first to switch their Chromebook to the Chrome OS Dev channel, then change a flag in ‘chrome://flags.’ After that, rebooting and punching in a terminal command will start the Steam install process. Once installed, users should be able to install games through Steam as they would on Windows. You can find more details on the process here.

It’s great to see Steam finally arriving on Chrome OS, even in such an early state. However, I wouldn’t recommend trying it to anyone not comfortable with using alpha software and contending with bugs. Still, now that it’s actually available, it hopefully won’t be much longer before Steam moves from alpha to beta, and then to full release.

Source: Google, (2) Via: The Verge

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Upcoming Chrome OS update could bring support for variable refresh rate displays

With Steam support on the horizon (but still vaguely distant), now seems like a great time for Chrome OS to get variable refresh rate (VRR) support.

First spotted by About Chromebooks, Chrome OS 101 is now hitting the Dev Channel with VRR support. The functionality isn’t enabled by default — instead, it appears to be hidden behind a flag (on of Chrome’s semi-hidden settings available by typing ‘chrome://flags’ in the URL bar).

The feature boasts the following description:

“Enable Variable Refresh Rate

Enable the variable refresh rate (Adaptive Sync) setting for capable displays”

9to5Google suggests the feature might only work with external displays rather than Chromeboooks’ built-in screens. Still, if the support is there, it opens the door for Chromebooks with built-in VRR-capable displays down the road.

For those not familiar with VRR, it allows displays to adapt the refresh rate (the number of times the screen refreshes each second) to match the frames per second (fps) of content. VRR is particularly useful for games, where the framerate can vary depending on what’s happening.

For example, a pre-rendered cutscene might run at 30fps, while a walking section of the game could run at 70fps. When a more intense encounter happens — say, an explosion — the framerate could drop suddenly. VRR enables the display to match, reducing screen tear and making things feel smooth.

Typically, displays run at a set refresh rate (most run at 60Hz, or 60 refreshes per second). If content doesn’t sync with that, you can see tears (where the screen refreshes mid-frame, splitting the image) or other artifacts.

9to5 also points out the VRR will be a bigger deal when Chromebook hardware catches up. Most Chromebooks use integrated GPUs that aren’t as powerful as, say, discrete AMD or Nvidia GPUs popular among PC gamers. VRR could still be helpful, but may not be as significant a factor on lower-end hardware.

Either way, it’s good to see the feature make its way to Chromebooks as Google prepares to push the platform into gaming.

Source: About Chromebooks Via: 9to5Google

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Google announces Steam for Chrome OS, but you can’t get it yet

Google officially announced the Steam for Chrome OS alpha, but it seems like it isn’t quite available yet.

As reported by Android Police, a presenter at Google’s Games Developer Summit offhandedly announced the program, saying it “just launched.” However, it doesn’t appear to be available on the web yet, with Ars Technica’s Ron Amadeo tweeting that Google said people can learn more on the Chromebook community forum, but that there doesn’t appear to be anything on the forum about Steam yet.

That information should arrive eventually (hopefully). You can check for that here.

Until more official info becomes available, all we have to go on is what we’ve learned before. That includes an initial list of Chromebooks that will support Steam (you can check that out here), and general requirements of an 11th Gen Intel Core i5 or i7 and at least 8GB of RAM.

Although the requirements will likely rule out many lower-end Chromebooks, they could change going forward. Aside from the requirements, Steam for Chrome OS will likely be available for Chrome OS Dev or Canary builds to start before it moves into a beta and eventually stable release down the road.

Source: Android Police