Google’s Pixelbook is new favorite travel buddy full Review

The Google Pixelbook is a bit of an odd duck among notebooks, or among tablets – or even among notebook/tablet hybrids. It’s a Chromebook, which by now is an established category, though one with very specific appeal; and it runs Android apps, which makes it feel very much like an iPad competitor. It’s a great device in terms of hardware build and general performance, but it’s obviously not going to work for everyone. It is, however, perfect for one use case, and maybe more so than any other gadget that preceded it: Travel.

Pixelbook was my companion for a couple recent trips, and it proved more than equal to the task. The form factor in particular is a big boon, since the convertible keyboard that tucks under the display means you can use it during taxi and takeoff without getting any flack from the flight attendants. It’s also great for ensuring a comfortable viewing angle regardless of how little room you have, owing either to just general airline seat design or to front neighbors who insist on reclining even though we all know that the only people who do so are selfish inconsiderate monsters.

Design

The Pixelbook is clearly the beautiful result of years of work on Google’s part in refining a unified design across its hardware offerings. But, also, the Pixelbook could be seen as a coming-of-age for Google’s own Chromebook design.

This is, indisputably, Google’s most attractive and well-conceived computing device yet. From the brushed aluminum frame with flush edges to the rubberized palm rest and underside, every design element has achieved style and substance in equal measure.

Of course, just two Thunderbolt 3 ports is going to take some adjustment for anyone that hasn’t bought a laptop in a few years. But, at least it’s more than ready for the future. Speaking of which, the webcam is equally prepared for an increasingly video-centric future with a 720p resolution and 60 frames-per-second capture rate.

Sadly, the same can’t be said of the audio performance. As has become the growing trend in the thinnest and lightest laptops, Google crammed the speakers beneath the keyboard, and the result is awfully tinny sound. Luckily, there’s a 3.5mm audio jack here that allows you to hook up the Pixelbook to external speakers or a pair of earphones.

On the upside, the glass trackpad is a delight to use, tracking super smoothly and accurately both with single- and-multi-touch gestures. However, we found that the trackpad doesn’t like us resting our thumb on the trackpad to click while tracking with our index finger – a common use case, but not this editor’s personal preference.

Likewise, the Pixelbook keyboard is among the best we’ve ever tested. The backlit keyboard’s keys are well-spaced, and the 0.8mm travel is a delight with forceful feedback. We also appreciate the subtle, deeply satisfying clicking sound the keys make – it’s distinct from every laptop keyboard we’ve tested, and now we’re going to expect it everywhere.

The ‘Pixel’ in Google’s eponymous laptop earns its name when it comes to the 3:2 Pixelbook display. At 235 pixels-per-inch (ppi) and accurate color reproduction, this display rivals some of the best around, Chromebook or not, like the 267-ppi Surface Pro and 227-ppi MacBook Pro (13-inch).

The panel works well for movies and photos, not to mention photo editing. The 400 nits of brightness help hugely with this, but it’s still a glossy screen and as such doesn’t stand up to direct sunlight all that well. At any rate, the display is also sharply accurate to the touch, especially when underneath the Pixelbook Pen

Using it in “entertainment mode,” with the keyboard reversed and the screen coming forward, proves the perfect solution for watching movies on the foldout meal tray, for instance. And the tent mode is also effective for lower viewing angles depending on whether your maybe get bumped into business. It’s also still a relatively compact notebook for use as an actual notebook with keyboard for when you want to get work done while up in the air.

The ability to use Android apps provides even more flexibility in terms of travel options, since you can do things like save Netflix shows for offline viewing. One caveat here: I tried to do the same with Amazon Prime Video, and found that playback stuttered in a way that was unacceptable to me, at least. This seems to be one of the bugs that still affect some Android apps when working in Chrome OS, and will hopefully be resolved via future updates on either the Chrome or Prime app side.

Pixelbook can also act as a great offline reader, again supported by the Android app library including Kindle, and it’s a terrific virtual notebook or sketchbook if your interests lean that way thanks to the Pixelbook Pen and its terrific, low latency input. Physical controls and USB-C ports make it a bit more flexible than the iPad for doing things like editing photos in the air, and even though its operating system is based around a web browser, there’s actually a lot it can do while offline. The 10 hours or so of battery life that Google claims for the Pixelbook holds especially true when you’re connecting to the web only intermittently or while laying over between flights, too.

One other thing makes it a superior notebook either while travelling, or any time: That keyboard. It’s probably the most satisfying keyboard to type on I’ve ever experienced in a notebook computer, with responsive, pleasing tactile key response, but with minimal noise, which is perfect for confined quarters like an airplane cabin (and starkly opposite the effect of the current MacBook Pro means of type input).

Ultimately a lot of mobile devices travel well these days, but the Pixelbook just seems particularly well-suited to this task. It’s also impressive how far Chrome OS has come in terms of serving the needs of a greater number of customers – it’s very close to being the only device I need to get everything done both personally and professionally, and for a lot of people I’m sure it’s already there.

Price and availability

Let’s make no bones about it: the Google Pixelbook is a really pricey Chromebook. Starting at $999 (£999, about AU$1,295) and capping out at $1,649 (£1,699, about AU$2,138) – without even counting the $99 (£99, about AU$128) Pixelbook Pen – this is a premium Chromebook with a premium price to match.

(At the time of writing, the Google Pixelbook is not yet available in Australia.)

For that money, you’re getting 7th generation Kaby Lake Intel Core i5 processors on both the entry-level 128GB option and $1,199 (£1,199, about AU$1,555) mid-range 256GB option, each paired with 8GB of memory. However, the top-end 512GB option comes packing a Core i7 processor with 16GB of memory. All of these processor options are Intel’s low-power, low-heat Y series chips, which means all of the Pixelbook models are fanless.

Now, let’s talk about how this stacks up against this year’s Samsung Chromebook Pro and Asus Chromebook Flip, both of which were designed in close conjunction with Google to jumpstart the firm’s Android app push on Chrome OS. Both of these laptops are considerably less expensive, with Samsung and Asus’s currently selling for $499 (about £375, AU$647) and $459 (£675, AU$899), respectively.

However, they’re both considerably less powerful, housing the same 6th generation Intel Core m3 processor that’s similarly designed for low power, and thus low heat, use in fanless chassis designs. That said, they’re both gorgeous Chromebooks in their own right, albeit offering far less local storage and memory.

In the end, these two Chromebooks are a better deal for what the Chromebook platform is today, but that’s not really what the Pixelbook is about. The Google Pixelbook is to Chromebooks of the future what Microsoft’s Surface line was to 2-in-1 Windows 10 devices that followed it.