Google cuts ChromeOS support to eight years as it pushes users toward Googlebook OS
Google ending ChromeOS support two years early
Google has quietly reduced its promised ten-year support window for new Chromebooks to eight years, ending updates in 2034. A support document says many devices will eventually migrate to Googlebook OS, but no migration paths exist yet, and moving will require buying new management licenses. The shift makes continued Chromebook use less attractive as Google pushes its Gemini-powered Googlebook line.
For qualifying devices purchased today whose 10-year support lifecycle extends beyond 2034, Google is committed to supporting your transition to Googlebook OS, with many devices offering direct migration paths.
- TheqO
> Googlebooks are the Google's replacement for Chromebooks, the web-centric computers it launched in 2011 and which run ChromeOS....
The newer Googlebook range uses more powerful processors than their predecessors, plus a new OS called Googlebook OS that bakes in Google’s Gemini AI – a product the Chocolate Factory is very keen to see succeed as the great AI land grab continues.
...If you buy a Chromebook today, updates will end in 2034 eight years into the future
So they have introduced a major change and said any older Chromebooks bought going forward will only get 8. So its not a retrospective reduction for existing customers.
Sounds reasonable.
8 years is still a long time for a cheap Chromebook.
- steveBK123
Extremely sarcastic take but - shouldn't the 10x productivity boost of LLMs like their own in-house Gemini make maintaining software easier?
Nothing in terms of feature release / quality / maintenance I am seeing out Big Software would lead me to believe there's been any productivity increase.
- bryanlarsen
> it’s hard to imagine many Chromebooks currently in service or acquired in the next year or two will still be in service come 2034
While there won't be many there definitely will be some; I know of an ~8 year old Chromebook currently in active use.
- sjs382
Of course they are.
One more datapoint to reference in the future when evaluating Google's long term promises and commitments. "No, we mean it this time."
- PaulHoule
It's funny, I bought a tower computer 13 years ago that is my homelab server and it is still going strong -- two times I have migrated the storage array to new disks and I probably should do it again but I have not looked at the pricing. Much younger i3 machines became e-waste pretty quickly, but a quality PC can keep going and going.
- FloatArtifact
There's simply no real reason that a mobile device can't function as a desktop from a technical level either in software or hardware. Simply dock your phone or it could be even wireless. Boom! Go from mobile experience to desktop experience. It seems they want to cram the mobile experience into a traditional desktop environment (mouse and keyboard driven with windows paradigm). IOS and Android have not embraced desktop paradigm. We simply need a unified SDK to support both experiences and the store downloads the appropriate assets. We're beginning to see somewhat of these concepts with foldables phone coming into the market.
- fauigerzigerk
So for new devices, they will support ChromeOS for another 8 years and then offer an upgrade to Googlebook OS.
I get that this is not 10 years support for ChromeOS. But it is 10 years of supported software upgrades for these devices.
Perhaps the real issue is not the OS that runs on the devices themselves but support for the existing device management approach.
- Arnt
So, if I read that correctly, they're promising that whatever Chromebooks run in 2035-6 will work on the hardware that was sold with ChromeOS in 25-26. And there'll be an upgrade path. Right? That's what they're saying?