Once again, we’re dying for new Chromebook hardware in the spring

We’ve talked about this before, but there’s no getting around the fact that the introduction of Chromebook Showcases (which started in the fall of 2023 with the launch of Chromebook Plus) hosted by Google have made the late winter and spring months a very rough time for those who are looking forward to new Chromebook hardware.

Google says they align these events with manufacturers to fit into the two big purchase cycles each year, and I can’t blame them for that. But the way things line up, it means we see an absolute dearth of device releases from October until May; and having an 8 month gap between device announcements across an entire OS ecosystem for the most part is a tough pill to swallow.

More flies in the ointment

This time around, we have to pile on the fact that Google and its partners only announced two new devices at the fall Chromebook Showcase in 2024, pushing it to a full year for most manufacturers to announce new consumer-focused Chromebooks. And with one of those new device last fall being from Samsung – who had largely exited the space for a few years prior to the new Galaxy Chromebook Plus – you have what could be a full year since we’ve seen new flagship releases from Acer, ASUS, Lenovo and HP. Yikes.

Also, let’s consider the unknown factor of the upcoming Android Kernel, the updates that will happen as a result, and the holding pattern some Chromebook makers may find themselves in currently with all of this news swirling. With Chromebooks getting 10 years of software support, I can’t imagine a scenario where the new kernel affects any existing device’s ability to take full advantage of the OS, but I can also see device makers being a little skittish until the details are fully ironed out.

So what we have are a ton of factors influencing new Chromebook releases, and an existing Chromebook selection that is still great, but feels a bit stale; and that’s what makes this all so difficult. Consumers are looking for the latest, greatest stuff on the market, and while some potential buyers may not know that the best overall device from Acer right now (the Chromebook Plus Spin 714) is coming up on being a year old, some of them absolutely do.

Because of this, we end up in this same spot from last year, and there’s just no good answer for it. Aligning releases to have dedicated Chromebook Showcases is fantastic in my opinion. I love that there are press event specifically for Chromebooks and I love when they come around a couple times per year.

But the fallout of not having Chromebooks appear at big shows like CES, MWC, Computex or IFA is increasingly being felt. New, interesting hardware is a big part of the game when it comes to electronics and tech, and as much as I hate to admit it, I think this is the massive downside to having dedicated Chromebook events that pull potential announcements and releases from other big events throughout the year.

So, what’s the answer?

I won’t pretend to have an answer on this, but I do have thoughts. No surprise there, right? I think Google could continue having a couple events for press each year (like they do now) where new software features – big, tent pole features – are announced along with one or two new devices that best showcase those features.

Alongside those new devices and features, other Chromebooks that are still within the one-year release window could be included and shown off to simply highlight the latest hardware being made by Google’s partners and how all these new features function on devices that were perhaps announced and released a few months prior.

In this scenario, manufacturers could release devices on their schedule and maybe get Chromebooks in the conversation at major tech conferences once again. Again, I really love the Chromebook Showcase events and I have no want for them to go away. I just want Chromebook hardware in the news a bit more often than it is right now. And the only way to do that is to get releases throughout the year.

Will this happen? That’s obviously unclear for now, but it sure feels a bit necessary at the moment. Going 8 months between major hardware unveilings is pretty brutal, and I don’t think it’s good for the Chromebook market overall – regardless of how much I really love the Chromebook Showcase events. One way or another, it feels like something has to give.