> Googlebooks are the Google's replacement for Chromebooks, the web-centric computers it launched in 2011 and which run ChromeOS....
The newer Googlebook range uses more powerful processors than their predecessors, plus a new OS called Googlebook OS that bakes in Google’s Gemini AI – a product the Chocolate Factory is very keen to see succeed as the great AI land grab continues.
...If you buy a Chromebook today, updates will end in 2034 eight years into the future
So they have introduced a major change and said any older Chromebooks bought going forward will only get 8. So its not a retrospective reduction for existing customers.
Sounds reasonable.
8 years is still a long time for a cheap Chromebook.
If you bought a Chromebook a month ago, updates for Chrome OS will also end in 8 years, not 10; Google promises you will get a new OS for the device [0]:
> ChromeOS devices will continue to receive regular updates and security patches through mid-2034. For qualifying devices purchased today whose 10-year support lifecycle extends beyond 2034, Google is committed to supporting your transition to Googlebook OS, with many devices offering direct migration paths.
Large organisations don’t buy a single batch of machines then call it a day. If an organisation standardised on Chromebooks because of the support period, they will still need to buy new machines and those won’t get the support period they had expected.
The worst part is that Google does not have full MDM management for Googlebooks out of the box and won't have that until "late 2027". That means these can't even be deployed to enterprise until proper policies and MDM frameworks even get built for the OS.
I see orgs flipping back to Macbook Neos now. Google just handed Apple the education market back on a light blue and green platter.
are you saying google is betraying them unless they sell new chromebooks with 10y chromeOS contracts going forward until the heat death of the universe?
No one here is saying companies need to offer products forever. They do need to honor their commitments made in the past. For purchasers who bought more than two years ago and those who purchase after today, there's no issue. They are getting what was promised prior to their purchase. People who bought in 2024 or before will get 10 years. People who buy tomorrow will get 8 years.
The only issue is for those who purchased Chromebooks in the past two years. They purchased based on a promise of ten years support. Now Google is retroactively clawing back two years of that support. If today Google had announced 2036 as end of support instead of 2034, there'd be no problem.
From my understanding of the article, it sounds like ChromeOS support is getting pared back for those devices, but the devices themselves should still be supported, albeit via a (planned but not yet in existence) migration path to GooglebookOS.
Although tbh, I've not really used either in anger, so I can't really comment on if that is a raw deal or not. (Beyond the usual dislike of change that will always be encountered).
Sounds reasonable.
8 years is still a long time for a cheap Chromebook.