Google launched its Googlebooks platform a week ago, and a lot of people were wondering what this meant for Chrome OS and Chromebooks. Since Googlebooks and its Android-based Googlebook OS lack the management frameworks markets like schools require, Chromebooks will continue to be available for now, until such time Googlebooks catch up in that regard. However, in a support document, Google states that update support for all Chromebook devices will end in 2034:
ChromeOS devices will continue to receive regular updates and security patches through mid-2034. 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.
↫ Google support document
Google promised 10 years of updates for all Chromebooks, and it’s now breaking that promise for anyone buying a Chromebook between now and whenever the last Chromebook rolls off the production line. Sadly, we live in a world where corporations are free to make and break whatever promises they want virtually free of consequences, and as society we’re so used to it that anti-consumer behaviour like this barely elicits a shrug.
Google does state that “many newer commercial Chromebook models will be capable of upgrading to Googlebook OS”, but that, too, is just another promise – and a vague, one at that – so who knows how many devices will actually be capable of upgrading out in the real world. On top of that, we have no idea if Googlebooks will just be yet another in a long line of quickly abandoned Google tablet/laptop projects, further adding to the uncertainty.
Stuff like this should not be legal.
> breaking that promise for anyone buying a Chromebook between now and whenever the last Chromebook rolls off the production line
Well, I would not say they are breaking any promises for Chromebooks bought now forward. Because they are currently promising to support these devices through mid-2034. That is the deal currently available.
The promises in question are to people who bought Chromebooks between mid-2024 and now (the past two years). They were told that they would get 10 years of support. It seems that this has changed to between 8 and 10 years of updates (depending on when you bought) and a promise to “support the transition to Googlebooks” after that. As Thom says, what exactly that last part means remains to be seen.
I’ll go on record with my prediction that “support during the transition” means aggressive ads for Googlebooks starting years before the end of support and constantly ramping up, paired with discounts from 165% of retail price all the way down to 100%
Manufacturers don’t want to provide longer support even though the hardware still works. Supporting hardware for decades doesn’t align with business values. Fine, whatever, I would not judge them for this except when they keep hardware vendor locked thereby depriving owners of alternative support options. It is inexcusable to deprive owners of keys to their own hardware especially at EOL because it blocks owners from getting software support from elsewhere. 3rd operating systems have a proven track record of supporting old hardware long after manufacturer EOL. Manufactures have a planned obsolescence agenda whether they openly admit it or not and it’s a huge conflict of interest. Their tactics are significant contributors to the world’s e-waste problems.
Obviously manufacturers cannot be trusted to clean up the e-waste mess they are creating; they have no incentive to do the right thing. IMHO manufacturers need to pay penalties for the e-waste they’re creating OR provide the the tools the community needs to support themselves. We need to disincentivize business models that leave hardware in graveyards.
Another question is, how many Chromebooks have an unlockable bootloader + UEFI + ACPI + SMBIOS? In other words you can install a generic Linux distro (or BSD/Illumos/Haiku/AROS/Windows etc.) on it? And how many don’t, in other words, are locked down e-waste once ChromeOS support ends?
So far, all come with unlockable firmware. Having alternative firmware out there is a community side thing, but at least it’s possible.
I expect anything predominantly driven by the Android org (such as those “Googlebooks”) to be very locked down, though.
(Disclosure: I used to work on ChromeOS firmware, and the “you own it, you can modify it” philosophy is among the few things that never changed in the wider org. However, I left the mothership a few years ago, so I can’t say what way things are moving these days or going forward.)
pgeorgi,
People need to know that ARM models can have more issues and are frequently known not work work with the various community projects.
https://docs.mrchromebox.tech/docs/known-issues.html
It’s not helpful if you already have the hardware, but verify the specific model works before buying!
Unopposed0108,
Most do have unlocked or easy to unlock bootloaders, and can be converted into bona fide Linux machines. (But as Alfman will remind, not the ARM versions).
But that is only a small percentage of the people
Most schools do NOT want to install and maintain Linux. If they did, they would not be buying Chromebooks and paying $100 per student per year in the first place. (Or whatever the current rate is)
Schools want simplicity. And proper tools to control their entire fleet “The chromebook can be taken home for homeworks”, means the browser is locked down, there are controls for apps, and they know where the devices are.
sukru,
In general owners should always have the keys to their own hardware.
In the case where the owner is the school, users (ie students) don’t have nor should they expect the freedom to install their own OS. That is fine. However conceptually if the school decommissions and then sells used chromebooks to a second hand market, the new owner really should not be locked down like a student. We should promoting technology where the owner gets the keys to their own hardware and criticizing technology where they don’t.