For recent generations of students, Chromebooks are ubiquitous: Google‘s handy, budget-friendly laptops have become classroom fixtures across the US and beyond, handling everything from homework to essays and assignments.
But many of those students are now heading to university or entering the workforce, where choosing a laptop for themselves is a different prospect altogether – something Apple is making a play for with the MacBook Neo.
Google isn’t sitting idly by, though, and the recent launch of its Googlebooks is a big statement of intent.
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Far from being the inexpensive Chromebooks familiar in schools, Googlebooks like the Acer Googlebook 14 are premium laptops running a new Android-based OS, with deep smartphone integration and the company’s Gemini AI.
After years of gaining a deep familiarity with Chromebooks and ChromeOS, these students might be tempted to stick with Google’s ecosystem as they grow older and their computing needs change.
But is familiarity enough? Apple’s MacBook Neo and a wide range of cheaper Windows laptops also offer compelling alternatives, and both platforms are already deeply entrenched in work and everyday life.
School of Chrome
Google launched its Chromebook project back in 2011, initially as a general-purpose laptop, but its success really came in the education sector – long dominated by Windows – where inexpensive hardware, straightforward device management, and Google’s classroom tools won out.
Michael Boreham, principal analyst at Futuresource, told TechRadar that Chromebooks accounted for just 16% of US K–12 mobile PC sales in 2013, rising to 50% by the end of…