Tech Advisor - UK (2020-02)

FEBRUARY 2020 • TECH ADVISOR 23

Google’s Senior Director of Product Management

for Create Hardware. Enter the Pixelbook Go, a

laptop with a careful balance of quality features and

economical compromises. Its £629 starting price (via

Google) is still somewhat high – and the top-end

model will cost £1,329. Still, it could bolster a sparse

‘middle class’ of Chromebooks that’s still struggling

for traction. And it’s a darn sight better than the

typical bare-bones model. If you’re committed to the

Chromebook universe, this is a laptop worth buying.

Price

As befits a midrange laptop, the Pixelbook Go

comes with good- or better-quality components in

reasonable amounts. For instance, while many low-cost

Chromebooks come with a measly 4GB of RAM, all

versions of the Pixelbook Go come with at least 8GB.

Also, low-end Chromebooks tend to use

inexpensive and slower eMMC storage, and not much

of it, while the Pixelbook Go uses speedier SSDs, with

capacities ranging from 64GB to a fat 256GB, so it’s

closer to a Windows laptop. We’ll detail the different

versions first, then list the specs common to all.

A note about the CPUs: these are Intel Amber

Lake mobile processors, designed for thin-and-light

laptops. Even though they sip a mere 5 watts of power,

they use high boost clocks to deliver a jolt of extra

speed. They’re a noticeable improvement over the

bargain-basement CPUs you’ll find in many low-cost

Chromebooks.

Note that in the UK, the Pixelbook Go isn’t due to

arrive until early 2020.

FEBRUARY 2020 • TECH ADVISOR 23

Google’s Senior Director of Product Management
for Create Hardware. Enter the Pixelbook Go, a
laptop with a careful balance of quality features and
economical compromises. Its £629 starting price (via
Google) is still somewhat high – and the top-end
model will cost £1,329. Still, it could bolster a sparse
‘middleclass’ofChromebooksthat’sstillstruggling
fortraction.Andit’sa darn sight better than the
typicalbare-bonesmodel.If you’recommittedtothe
Chromebookuniverse, this is a laptop worth buying.

Price
As befits a midrange laptop, the Pixelbook Go
comes with good- or better-quality components in
reasonable amounts. For instance, while many low-cost
Chromebooks come with a measly 4GB of RAM, all
versions of the Pixelbook Go come with at least 8GB.
Also,low-endChromebookstendtouse
inexpensiveand slower eMMC storage, and not much
of it, while the Pixelbook Go uses speedier SSDs, with
capacities ranging from 64GB to a fat 256GB, so it’s
closer to a Windows laptop. We’ll detail the different
versions first, then list the specs common to all.
A note about the CPUs: these are Intel Amber
Lake mobile processors, designed for thin-and-light
laptops. Even though they sip a mere 5 watts of power,
they use high boost clocks to deliver a jolt of extra
speed. They’re a noticeable improvement over the
bargain-basement CPUs you’ll find in many low-cost
Chromebooks.
Note that in the UK, the Pixelbook Go isn’t due to
arrive until early 2020.