The Chrome Cast 76: Our Pixebook 2 hopes have been revived

This week on The Chrome Cast, we talk about a handful of things in the lead-up to our main topic of conversation: a renewed hope in a Google-made Chromebook for 2020. Presumably the successor to the Pixelbook, ‘Halvor’ is in possession of a Google-only feature that we’ve only seen in the Pixelbook, Pixelbook Go and Pixel Slate up to this point in the #madebyGoogle era of Chromebooks. Obviously there’s a lot to unpack on this subject and its a fun discussion to have as we consider Google moving from a position of setting the bar for the ecosystem to simply being an active participant in it.

We also spend a bit of time in this podcast talking about USI pens and the duo of test pens we now have in the office that confirm how good USI compatibility will be once these accessories finally start shipping in the coming months. We’re hoping to have Pete Mueller – USI Chariman – on the show next week to discuss more about USI and the potential of this universal standard for not just Chromebooks, but for computing as a whole.

Shop Best Chromebooks of 2020 So Far on Chrome Shop

NOTABLE LINKS

• Proof that Google may be making a Pixelbook 2 for 2020 after all
• Chrome 85 update brings tab-focused productivity features and more speed
• ‘Kaleidoscope’ for Chrome may become a single media hub for all your streaming services
• Here’s the first USI stylus you can buy on Amazon that we can actually recommend
• Learn more about supporting us by joining our Patreon Community