Android Police reports that Google is planning on releasing an ultra-thin Pixel laptop running Andromeda — the ChromeOS-Android merger — in Q3, 2017. The laptop will be the results of years of work between Google’s Pixel, ChromeOS, and Android team. It is being developed to fully showcase Andromeda in its glory.
Codenamed ‘Bison’ and known informally as ‘Pixel 3’, this ultra-thin laptop will sport a 12.3-inch display and will be powered by Intel’s m3 or Core i5 processor. It will come with 32GB or 128GB of storage space and 8/16GB of RAM. Google also plans on supporting a “tablet” mode in Bison, which makes it unclear as to what kind of form factor the device will have. We are either looking at a 2-in-1 hybrid from Google here or a Surface Book like device. Other specs of the device include a fingerprint scanner, two USB Type-C ports, a bunch of sensors, stylus support, stereo speakers, and more. The quoted battery life of the tablet will be around 10 hours.
Impressively, Google wants to fit all this inside a 10mm thin chassis that will make Biston thinner than the existing MacBook from Apple. This laptop from Google will carry a price tag of around $799 for the base variant, which sounds impressive. It is currently being targeted to launch in Q3 2017.
Again, to reiterate, we will not see Bison launch before Q3, 2017. This means that the laptop is still more than a year away from launch — meaning a lot can change during this time. Nonetheless, it looks like Google is trying to portray itself as a company that can offer a unified set of devices like Apple of Samsung.
It is unlikely that we will see Google announce anything related to Bison at its October 4th event. The company already has its hands full for the event with the announcement of the Chromecast Ultra, Google Wi-Fi, Daydream, Google Home, new Pixel smartphones, and more. As for Andromeda itself, while Google may possibly tease it at the October 4th event, it is unlikely that we will see a formal release of the OS after the event. Maybe just like Android Preview program, we will see Google first release a preview version of Andromeda for developers ahead of its public release in Q3 next year.
[Via Android Police]