The Chromebook Odyssey #13 — 2021: Ten Years Old, Peak Sales, and the Hangover
Chromebooks turned ten in 2021 with record shipments, phone integration, and big anniversary features — then the pandemic demand cliff arrived mid-year.
4 min readNews
ChromeOS updates, new Chromebook launches and Google for Education news. Each stable ChromeOS release is summarized with what changed and what it fixes, alongside new hardware announcements and changes that affect school and work Chromebooks. For step-by-step help, head to the troubleshooting guides.
The Chromebook Odyssey #12 — 2020: The Pandemic Boom
In 2020, remote learning turned the Chromebook into emergency infrastructure. Shipments hit 30 million, shelves emptied, and a $279 tablet became a star.
4 min read
The Chromebook Odyssey #11 — 2019: AUE Anxiety and the Pixelbook Go
In 2019, Chromebook owners discovered their laptops had expiration dates. The AUE controversy — and Google's response — reshaped how Chromebooks are bought and sold.
4 min read
The Chromebook Odyssey #10 — 2018: Crostini Brings Linux to ChromeOS (and the Tablet Detour)
In 2018, ChromeOS gained full Linux apps through Crostini — turning Chromebooks into developer machines — while the Pixel Slate showed how not to build a tablet.
4 min read
The Chromebook Odyssey #9 — 2017: Pixelbook, Google’s Premium Reboot
Four years after the Pixel's beautiful failure, Google tried premium again — this time with an app ecosystem to back it up. The Pixelbook defined high-end ChromeOS.
4 min read
The Chromebook Odyssey #8 — 2016: The Play Store Lands, and Everything Changes
At Google I/O 2016, the browser-only Chromebook died: the full Android Play Store was coming to ChromeOS. Here's how it happened and what it broke and fixed.
4 min read
The Chromebook Odyssey #7 — 2014-2015: The Flood — Bay Trail, $149 Laptops, and a Computer on a Stick
In 2014-2015, every PC maker piled into Chromebooks: fanless Intel chips, $149 price tags, the Chromebit HDMI stick, and the first Flip convertible.
4 min read
The Chromebook Odyssey #6 — 2013-2014: How Chromebooks Conquered the Classroom
While reviewers debated specs, Chromebooks quietly took over American schools. Here's how a browser-only laptop beat the iPad in education, and never let go.
4 min read
The Chromebook Odyssey #5 — 2013: Chromebook Pixel, the $1,299 Contradiction
In February 2013, Google shipped a $1,299 Chromebook with the best laptop display ever made. Critics called it absurd. Its ideas ended up in every laptop you own.
4 min read
The Chromebook Odyssey #4 — 2012: The $249 Turning Point
In late 2012, a fanless $249 Samsung Chromebook became Amazon's best-selling laptop, and Chrome OS grew a real desktop. This is the year the platform found itself.
4 min read