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I said in an article about the upcoming Chromebook ‘Eve’ last week that we don’t speculate too often. In that article I speculated a bit and thought it would be a while before I would do so again.
Turns out I didn’t even make it a week. However, what we are looking at today is simply too juicy to not kick around. So, lets take a look at a connection that, while not written in stone, seems very, very likely.
What we learned from Samsung last week in a direct email from our contacts is the Chromebook Pro will be available later this spring. No dates set and no use of the word ‘delayed’. They simply said it will be available later this season.
What we also learned in the last week is Android apps aren’t fully fleshed-out with Chrome OS 58. Sad news on both fronts, for sure.
We also know Google I/O is coming up in a little over a week.
These are the things we know for sure. Let’s talk about things we think we know.
The Convergence
Hardware
First, let’s look at Samsung’s hardware on the Chromebook Pro. Remember our review? If not, take a peek real quick. You can also see the side-by-side video with the Chromebook Plus. What you’ll notice is there is no difference in them from a hardware perspective.
Sure, the motherboard and internal processor are different, but that is literally the only difference. As we know, the Pro will come in black when it officially arrives, but other than that, nothing new has to be done to get this device out the door.
Because of this, it is almost impossible for me to believe that Samsung is having any issues manufacturing the Pro. The Plus is still selling well and obviously being produced as we speak. Unless there’s a shortage on black paint, I think it is safe to say Samsung has full-scale ability to get the Pro off the line.
The problem the review unit of the Samsung Chromebook Pro had was not hardware-related at all. It was software.
The Android app implementation was full of bugs, crashes, and force-closes. It wasn’t nearly as bad for us as it was for Deiter Bohn at the Verge, but it wasn’t good.
Android on Chrome OS
This feels like an ongoing theme: we hope for a full roll out of Android, signs point to it coming in a future release, and we give our reasons why the next one could be the one. I’m not going to do that here.
Maybe since we’ve not tied any specific significance to Chrome OS 59, that will be the one. Honestly, I’m exhausted trying to figure it out. It will be here when it gets here, I suppose.
However, with Samsung’s hotly-anticipated device waiting in the wings, Android app implementation is the only thing I can imagine being the hold up, here.
If their hardware is ready and waiting, the only other piece would be software. Consider the fact that Samsung and Google both said ‘late April’ for the release of not only the Samsung Chromebook Pro, but Android Apps making it out of Beta status.
It seemed that, for months, both parties have been readying the release of the Chromebook Pro as the flagship device to display Android on Chrome OS in its fullness. From the onset, that convergence seemed planned and on purpose.
Fast forward to May and we have a delay in the software (clearly) that seems to now be manifesting in a delay of hardware.
Again, with no physical reason to delay, the Chromebook Pro is being pushed back to late spring.
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Google I/O
Last year, Google rather-queitly announced the fact that they were bringing Android apps to Chromebooks. It didn’t make the stage for the keynote alongside Google Home, Allo, Duo, and Assistant. Instead, it was relegated to a side stage the day after.
Around here, we celebrated the announcement and all the potential it stood for. A year later, we are still waiting for the implementation to reach maturity. No less excited, we are ready for this whole initiative to become a reality across Chrome OS and become the game-changer we’ve been expecting for 12 months.
To say we’re hoping for some sort of confirmation of the end of Beta is an understatement. We want to see Google get this launched and for it to be done right.
Convergence
If they were to announce the completion of the Android app initiative, a full release date for some time in June would be realistic and give them a final month to get the last kinks worked out. Mid-June is also when Chrome OS 59 is scheduled to drop. Mid-June would also be the end of Spring (June 19th, specifically) and the end of the window for the Chromebook Pro to be released to the public.
Lot’s of things lining up, right?
Now, circumstances don’t equal proof or facts. I’m not saying I know for sure these things are lining up and I’m definitely not saying I have any kind of insider info.
I’m just connecting dots.
With Google’s extended schedule on Android coming to Chrome OS, I’m not confident in anything surrounding this topic anymore. But, when the circumstantial evidence is this strong, I have to make some inferences.
With that, I’d say there’s a good chance we’ll see Google address the situation at I/O. I’d say we’ll see the Samsung Chromebook Pro show up in mid-June. And I think there’s a chance it becomes the device that ushers in Android Apps on Chromebooks, sans Beta.
I’ve been wrong on this stuff before, but I have a good feeling about this.
