FEBRUARY 2020 • TECH ADVISOR 31middle of the pack and the leader. Mozilla developed
the Kraken JavaScript benchmark to measure browser
speed using real-world applications and libraries.
Shorter bars are better here, and the Pixelbook
Go once again does better than most other recent
Chromebooks we’ve tested.
We aren’t showing a comparison chart for battery
life. A minor bug in Chrome 77, the current OS
version, prevented the Cr-XPRT test we normally
use from running properly. We tested battery life
manually instead, setting the Chromebook display
to 200 nits and connecting earbuds, with the volume
set to 50 percent.
We ran the Cr-XPRT performance benchmark a
dozen times, then streamed an hour-long YouTube video
over and over until the battery was nearly depleted. In
all, we got a little over eight hours of battery life. Your
mileage will vary, but this is a decent duration, though
short of Google’s estimate of up to 12 hours.Verdict
When Google vice president of hardware design Ivy
Ross introduced the Pixelbook Go on 15 October,
she said they set out to make a laptop that would be
“fast, last all day, and look and feel beautiful”, but
with a more attainable price point. The Pixelbook Go
achieves that with very few compromises.
We don’t yet know whether users will flock to
the Pixelbook Go in a way they haven’t for Google’s
high-end Chromebooks, or other Chromebooks in its
same price range. But Google has once again made a
standard that may be hard to beat. Melissa RiofrioFEBRUARY 2020 • TECH ADVISOR 31middle of the pack and the leader. Mozilla developed
the Kraken JavaScript benchmark to measure browser
speed using real-world applications and libraries.
Shorter bars are better here, and the Pixelbook
Go once again does better than most other recent
Chromebooks we’ve tested.
We aren’t showing a comparison chart for battery
life.A minorbugin Chrome77,thecurrentOS
version,prevented the Cr-XPRT test we normally
usefromrunningproperly.Wetestedbatterylife
manuallyinstead, setting the Chromebook display
to 200 nitsandconnectingearbuds,withthevolume
setto 50 percent.
We ran the Cr-XPRT performance benchmark a
dozen times, then streamed an hour-long YouTube video
over and over until the battery was nearly depleted. In
all, we got a little over eight hours of battery life. Your
mileage will vary, but this is a decent duration, though
short of Google’s estimate of up to 12 hours.
Verdict
When Google vice president of hardware design Ivy
Ross introduced the Pixelbook Go on 15 October,
she said they set out to make a laptop that would be
“fast, last all day, and look and feel beautiful”, but
witha moreattainablepricepoint.ThePixelbookGo
achievesthat with very few compromises.
We don’t yet know whether users will flock to
the Pixelbook Go in a way they haven’t for Google’s
high-end Chromebooks, or other Chromebooks in its
same price range. But Google has once again made a
standard that may be hard to beat. Melissa Riofrio