Is Google giving up on ChromeOS? Leaks hint at Windows 10 support for Pixelbook

Google’s Chromebook platform has seen some success among students and a select group of brave souls who’re willing to venture out with what is, essentially, a web-only device. [caption id=“attachment_4514811” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Google Pixelbook[/caption] While the cheaper end of the Chromebook spectrum is made up of $200 Chromebook from the likes of Dell, HP and Acer, the higher end of the spectrum only sees Google and its lovely Pixelbook hardware. Developers at XDA, who’ve been closely tracking developments, have noted that Pixelbook developers appear to be working on getting the Pixelbook certified hardware compatibility with Windows. Mentions of WHCK (Windows Hardware Certification Kit) and WHLK (Windows Hardware Lab Kit) hint at this. According to XDA, getting WHCK and WHLK certification means that the device will have support for signed drivers and other such perks, which guarantee a certain level of user experience. Earlier reports from XDA also suggested that developers were working on enabling native Windows 10 support on the device. The Pixelbook is certainly a lovely device, and its hardware will put many Ultrabooks to shame. Priced at $999 ($749 at its current, discounted price), the Pixelbook includes a 7th gen Intel Core i5 CPU, 8 GB RAM and 128 SSD storage. The device is just 10.3 mm thick and is convertible, which means it can be used as a laptop or a tablet in various combinations. It also supports a stylus and promises 10 hours of battery life. Such great hardware being limited by ChromeOS was always a point against the device. Why would anyone want to spend $999 on a web-only laptop when they could buy a more flexible Windows or macOS device for the same price?