Why I think Chromebook manufacturers are leaning into Intel’s Twin Lake processors

We’re in a strange spot right now for Chromebooks and ChromeOS. With the impending change over to the Android Kernel, there are many unknowns and likely a ton of moving parts behind the scenes. That uncertainty can’t be great for hardware manufacturers looking to stay in the Chromebook game while keeping an eye towards the future, and I think that combination of factors is leading many to invest in tested hardware for the time being.

Current small-core Intel chips for Chromebooks

Right now, if you look at the released Chromebooks based on ‘Nissa’ (the baseboard for the Intel N100 series of chips), you’ll see cros.tech lists a whopping 39 devices attributed to this single board. That number alone is wild, but you do have to remember that ‘Nissa’ encompasses devices with the N100, N200, i3-N305 (think Lenovo Flex 3i), along with the newer N150, N250 chips inside (think just-announced devices from BETT 2025).

So, all together, we’re looking at current-gen and “next” generation devices numbering 39 with a ton more in the Chromium Gerrit on the way. For further reference, the N150 /N250 are based on Intel’s Twin Lake (versus the outgoing N100/N200’s Alder Lake) architecture, and this should result in a nice performance bump; it just might not truly be a generational leap. And as far as Chromebooks are concerned, that’s OK. The N100 and N200 have been solid chips for more-affordable Chromebooks, and the N150 and N250 should bring a performance bump that will definitely be noticed.

So, with all that in mind, we have nearly 40 devices spawned from ‘Nissa’ with a ton more on the way since the N150/N250 didn’t require a new baseboard to deploy devices. That’s an unprecedented number of individual devices for one baseboard, but there’s likely a reason for the flood of these types of Chromebooks both existing now and on the way.

Uncertainty and caution

With these well-tested processors available for new Chromebooks, I’m not at all shocked to see manufacturers pulling the reins back a touch at this particular moment when it comes to high-end Chromebooks. We’re in a strange spot in the Chromebook story, for sure, and until we actually get some timelines, I don’t fault Chromebook makers for moving forward with a bit more caution for now.

The N150, N250 and N-305 are not gambles and they tend to go in devices that are lower in cost. More of these devices could be on the way simply to bridge the gap as manufacturers look to the future of ChromeOS and Android being a lot more similar. Instead of spending big right now on hardware optimized for an OS that is going to change at its core, I can see all of the major players keeping the lower-cost streams flowing and holding back a bit on the higher-end stuff until the path forward is more clear.

I could even imagine a scenario where these companies already know how this will all shake out in the next year or so, and maybe they all have some big plans to make a splash as this new, Android-ified ChromeOS rolls out. Building for that future makes a lot of sense, and the timeline could be getting a tad bit murky for now. While I have no doubt that current Chromebooks will function just fine with the new Android Kernel, if I was making a new Chromebook, I’d want to ship the best version of that hardware that aligns the most with the new Android kernel for sure.

Where we are specifically in that timeline right now is completely unclear, though. Google hasn’t shared any updates on where things are with this transition, and without any idea of when this new kernel will show up, it’s tough to track how manufacturers will react in the interim. It is important to note that all these companies have many of the future details for ChromeOS way ahead of time, so I don’t think they are operating in the dark.

But they are subject to Google’s delivery on the Android Kernel if they want to make their next big Chromebook announcements around Google’s unveiling. And how long that all takes and when it will actually happen is all unclear at this point. As I’ve said, it’s a tough, strange spot we’re in right now. Here’s hoping that the shift will pay big dividends down the road both in the hardware and software realms.