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As we are seeing the development of Android apps on Chromebooks finally starting to see a launch point, the next place for the platform to grow is clear: tablets and detachables.
Let’s face it. Convertibles are great, but there is still a big market for tablets not attached to physical hardware. Sure, the lines have blurred with the success of Microsoft’s Surface and the introduction of a larger, “more productive” iPad Pro, attracting users who want a tablet sometimes but a laptop on other occasions.
But overall, there are still divides in what people want and need. Some people want tablets. Some want detachables. Others want convertibles or clamshells. Chromebooks are looking to fill all of those spaces.
Detachables and Tablets On The Way
Detachables and tablets will inherently rely on Android apps much more heavily than clamshells, however. Because the form factor begs for more of an app-driven experience, my guess is we won’t see these new form factors arrive until the Android App situation is fully sorted out.
That has not stopped the hardware side of development, though. New tablets and detachables are on the way, and one of the differentiating aspects of these devices is camera layout.
And we’ve found the cameras being used on ‘Soraka’.
This new detachable Chromebook will be outfitted with a couple very capable shooters from OmniVision.
You can see in this commit the actual model numbers of cameras being used for ‘Soraka’. A front-facing 5MP and rear-facing 13MP camera look to be on board.
Just as interesting, the 13MP sensor being used was just released mid-2016, so we’re not talking bargain-bin sensors. You can read all about it here, because the spec sheet is long. And, as we all know, specs and descriptions aren’t the end of the conversation. They are the start, though.
And this looks to be a very capable set of cameras for ‘Soraka’ and whatever devices follow in its footsteps. Keep in mind that ‘Soraka’ is being built off the reference device ‘Poppy’. As it was with ‘Gru’, the Samsung Chromebook Plus and upcoming tablet ‘Scarlet’, one reference device can spawn multiple offshoot devices with similar hardware underpinnings.
So, it stands to reason that we could see a handful of devices over the coming months with this camera setup. It is our hope that these cameras do well since we could be seeing them around for a while. From the initial look, I’m hopeful these will be decent performers. Even though you won’t be taking lots of shots with a tablet or detachable, decent camera performance is always a welcome addition to any hardware experience.
