ISSUE387|COMPUTER SHOPPER|MAY2020 19
ADDING‘GO’OR‘Lite’to aproduct’s name is
usually an indication that it’s had its function
or appearance curtailed in some way. That’s
why we were surprised that Google chose to
go with the Pixelbook Go as the name forits
latest flagship Chromebook.
Wheremost manufacturers have opted to
go in at the low end with theirChromebooks,
Google has historically chosen to do the
opposite, using its own-brand productsas
standard-bearers.
RECYCLABLE MATERIAL
So is the Pixelbook Go acut-downproduct?In
most ways,absolutely not. It’sslim, light,very
nicely put together,and it has abig,bright
13.3in screen. With acomfy keyboard and
largetouchpad, it’s agreatall-round machine.
It even houses notaweak Intel Celeron CPU,
as so manyofits Chromebook brethren do,
but aCorei5-8200Y. This is aproper laptop in
every sense other than it runs Chrome OS.
And yet, despiteits relativelyhighprice
andgrown-up specifications, it seems Google
haslowered itssights somewhat withthe
Pixelbook Go.Itdoesn’t run theverylatest
10th-genIntel CPUs, instead sticking with
low-power eighth-gen chips. Andit’s much
more of abasic design than the2-in-1 Pixel
Slate(Shopper374) andthe original Pixelbook
(Shopper368).
The compromise is that thePixelbook Go
starts out considerably cheaperthan bothof
these.Indeed, prices start at £629 forthe Core
m3-based Pixelbook Go,which comes with
8GB of RAMand 128GBofstorage.
Thereare atotal of four models in the
range, andasyou progress through the
ranks,theprices rise,too.Weweresent the
Intel Corei5-8200Ymodel with8GBof
RAM and 128GB of storage, whichcosts
£829.It’sashame that you don’t get the
model withthe 4K Molecular Displayuntil
you gettothe top-end£1,329 Corei7model
–all theothers come withthe same 1080p
screenasour review unit.INTHE GROOVES
It’sclear, then,that the Google Pixelbook Go
iiisnot achhheapoptiiion. In terms offfiiitsdddesiiign,
however,it’s rightupthere with the very
best laptopsonthe market. It’s not
particularly flashy –eventhe red model
is prettyplain–but it feels solidand
beautifully built, at the same time as being
verylight(1.06kg) and slim(13.4mm).
Unusually,the most eye-catching part of
the Pixelbook Go is its crinkle-cut underside.
Aside from adding alittle extra bitofgrip,it
doesn’t have much point. The rest of the
design is unfussy yetappealing.Its gently
curved corners and flat lid feel friendlyand
approachable,and we particularlylike the
smooth mattfinish, whichGoogle calls
“finely paintedmagnesium”;itfeels lovely
under thepalm.
Othernice touchesabound. The chassis
feels remarkably rigid given how slimitis,
and thelid closes with asatisfyinglysoft yet
solid thunk. Another nice touchisthatyou
can open up the laptop with just one finger
without it tipping back on itsheels. Fartoo
manymanufacturers neglectthisimportant
aspect of laptop design, making the lid
magnettoo strongorthe gaptoo thinto
easily get anypurchase on.Althoughthereare some other feature
highlights, notably a1080p webcam (that’s
something noteven Apple’s high-end
MacBook Pro laptopshave), there’snot a
huge amount else to get terribly excited by
on thefeatures front.
Connectivity, as you’dexpect from such a
slim device,isminimal.You get apair of USB
Type-C ports, one on each side of thebase
and bothofwhich can be used to charge,
output videoorconnect peripherals. There’s
alllso a3.5mmhhheadddsetjjjackkkon thhhellleftftftedddge,
and that’syour lotfor physical ports. There’s
no microSDcard slot or SIM card slot for
on-the-go connectivity.
Wireless connectivity is covered by a
simple dual-band 802.11ac card, which
supports Bluetooth 4.2 and dual-band 802.11ac
Wi-Fi. Again, it’sasurprise that thePixelbook
Go doesn’t support the latestWi-Fi 6
technology,and althoughthisisn’t theend of
the world,itisalittle disappointing.KEYVICTORIES
The Pixelbook Go’s keyboard, on the other
hand,isareal highlight:it’s adelight to type
on, whetheryou’reahunt-and-peck specialist
or ahigh-speedtouch-typingdynamo.Ithas a
solid base,the keyaction is light,quietand
well dampened,yet just positive enough to let
you know your keypresses have registered,
while thekey tops are large enough to keep
typostoaminimum.
When it comes to layout,the usual
Chromebookrules apply,which won’tbeto
everyone’s tastes. Youget aSearchbutton
on theleft-hand sidewhere you’d normally
find aCapsLockkey,which hasalways beenIt’snotparticularlyflashy,
butthePixelbookGofeels
solidandbeautifullybuilt,
atthesametimeasbeing
verylightandslim