Snapdragon 7c Chromebook tablet ‘Coachz’ is nearing production

We’ve been reporting on ‘Coachz’ for quite some time now, uncovering all sorts of interesting tidbits about the makeup of this upcoming Chrome OS tablet. From a kickstand to a magnetically attached, wireless recharging USI pen, this tablet will come equipped with all sorts of external tricks that could make it a fan favorite here in 2021. With Chromebook sales still booming and more devices on the horizon than ever before, devices need interesting twists to stay relevant and sell well when they arrive. ‘Coachz’ has those features in spades, but we’ve not been clear on when it was coming. But we’re getting closer.

‘Coachz’ is prepped for manufacturing

According to a new commit in the Chromium Gerrit, ‘Coachz’ looks to be entering a locked phase where it won’t be updated any further as it begins hitting the factory lines and begins production. Check it out:

There’s nothing terribly tough to decipher, here. In general, Chromebooks hit a system configuration lock before they begin production and this is where we are with ‘Coachz’. You’ve likely opened up a new Chromebook and immediately taken an update that is a few versions newer than the one on the device. This configuration lock is why.

There are a few things to consider with this. First, while this does point to ‘Coachz’ nearing production status, it doesn’t mean it is hitting the factory today. It could be a bit, still. Second, this doesn’t give us some absolute timeline on when to expect this detachable Chromebook. We’ve seen new Chromebooks come with versions of Chrome OS that are 2 or 3 versions behind, so we could still be looking at a couple months before we see ‘Coachz’ hit store shelves.

The most likely scenario is an announcement sometime here in Q2 and a release late this quarter or early next. It all really depends on who is making this tablet and how it lines up with their release cadences. I don’t think ‘Coachz’ will just be a quiet, run-of-the-mill release. With it’s 3:2 QHD screen, kickstand, detachable keyboard, wirelessly-charging USI pen, fingerprint scanner, and Snapdragon 7c internals, this tablet is set to be a unique and buzz-worthy Chromebook. I would expect whoever built it to be pretty bold in proclaiming it to the masses. And it looks like that could happen just about any day now.