Google ending ChromeOS support two years early

Rise of the Googlebook means ChromeOS users get eight years' support, not a decade

Google’s basic mathematical skills appear a little fragile, after the company revealed its promise of ten years of support for new Chromebooks will only last for eight years.

The web giant’s calculation problem appeared in a support document titled “What the Googlebook announcement means for your ChromeOS devices.”

Googlebooks are the big G’s replacement for Chromebooks, the web-centric computers it launched in 2011 and which run ChromeOS. Chromebooks have won plenty of admirers in the education sector, especially schools which  see them as a fine way to get decent and well-priced computers into kids’ hands without having to take on the burden of managing a full OS.

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The newer Googlebook range uses more powerful processors than their predecessors, plus a new OS called Googlebook OS that bakes in Google’s Gemini AI – a product the Chocolate Factory is very keen to see succeed as the great AI land grab continues.

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Google has so far launched Googlebooks only for consumers. None of the web giant’s five current Googlebook hardware partners designed their first models for the education market or other fleet buyers.

Those five, and many other OEMs, continue to crank out Chromebooks.

Google’s support policy for Chromebooks includes ten years of updates. However the support document states that if you buy a Chromebook today, updates will end in 2034 – eight years into the future, not a decade.

“For qualifying devices purchased today whose 10-year support lifecycle extends beyond 2034, Google is committed to supporting your transition to Googlebook OS, with many devices offering direct migration paths,” the support page explains.

But those migration paths don’t exist yet.

“Many newer commercial Chromebook models will be capable of upgrading to Googlebook OS. Details on migration paths and device eligibility will be shared at a later date,” the document explains.

Whenever the migration paths arrive, they will come with a requirement to acquire a new license for Googlebook OS management tools – existing ChromeOS licenses won’t make the trip.

While Google has unilaterally changed a policy, it’s hard to imagine many Chromebooks currently in service or acquired in the next year or two will still be in service come 2034. So the shorter support period is largely moot. But Google’s intention to make continued use of Chromebooks unattractive is clear. ®