Google Chromebook Pixel: Unboxing & Review

[@heathermcdowellmusic]

I'm getting a new computer for Christmas I've choose two either the windows surface or MacBook Pro 15 inch retina

[@breadone_]

what did u get

[@YassineELAZMI]

That minimalistic packaging must be so expensive

[@aleph_2ne]

That alone was $500

[@NA-du5vm]

Chromebook of my dreams.

[@oali2478]

I have a mid 2012 macbook pro I got the exact same things presented in a very similar way.

[@amonamarthrules1742]

I'm not a fanboy and I don't really like Apple but come on a Macbook Air is $899 with better hardware (well not a better screen but OS X is certainly the easiest OS to use) OR an Alienware 13 laptop with a GTX 860M , 8GB DDR3 , QHD IPS Touch screen, and an i5 4210U CPU for $1k. Who the fuck said Alienware/Apple were overpriced should check this out.

[@willkenney2821]

It was a niche product to show what the very best the Chromebook can do. Most Chromebooks cost in the region of £200. This was never a commercially viable product. Imagine it like when Audi or Ford put out a concept car that people can purchase for a couple of million. You could buy a perfectly working car for £40,000 but the concept is to show the boundaries being pushed in car design. The Pixel is in the same sense. I would never recommend someone to buy the Pixel from a consumer perspective.

[@amonamarthrules1742]

Will Kenney Very well said. You made a good point man.

[@warrenmcclure7819]

4 Years later I see these Chromebook pixels sell for around $300.00 in mint condition. Just bought myself one, pretty excited because Iv always wanted one ever since they came out but could not justify the cost.

[@MrSaeedted]

Warren McClure does the 5hr battery life hinder you and how does it run Linux? I'm worried at the outdated Chip.

[@warrenmcclure7819]

Well I just received it not to long ago but the 5 hour battery is pretty decent since Im plugged into a wall most of the time. I get about 4 hours of watching youtube and anywhere from 4 to 5 hours of basic web browsing. The hardware honestly isnt outdated if you ask me I say this before it performs better than any Intel celeron, pentium and atom processor you will find in todays chromebooks. This has the 3rd gen i5 processor which is still more than enough to run chrome os well the only bottle neck I see is the ram. It only comes with 4GB of ram which is decent, its enough to run chrome well but if you plan on using it as a full on work machine then it might be barley enough. For most people including myself its enough, and I can see it lasting a good 3 to 4 years so Im not to worried about it, also this is one bad ass looking laptop, its a laptop that stands out since its gun metal grey, it dont have some huge ass logo all over it and that chrome LED strip is fuckin awesome. I really like mine so far and I think you will to, I mean its $300.00 (give or take) for a high quality, fast an reliable chromebook with a 3K (well almost 3K) touch screen. If you ask me thats the BEST bang for your buck. Id say give it a try and if you really dont like it then send it back for a refund, most people on ebay has a 30 day money back garantee. Just make sure before you buy that the person does have that 30 day money back thing. Hope this helps dude!

[@chadnelson7761]

Warren McClure I'm about to get this next week, and I'm so excited! Do you know what version of chrome OS it runs? I know that it won't get Android app support, which I'm OK with.

[@warrenmcclure7819]

Well I have Chrome OS 56.0.2924.87 64bit so it looks like its the most up to dat chrome os and this chromebook will be supported until late 2018 I believe

[@chadnelson7761]

Warren McClure OK perfect thanks!

[@Firespheres]

People are missing the whole FUCKING point....a Google Chromebook is not to play any hardcore games it is 100% about the WEB which means everything you do will evolve around Google Chrome nothing more, nothing less. Also if you are a everyday PC user, you browse the web, do some emailing, watch KZbin videos, listen to music, then why go all out, spend $1299.00 on a fucking laptop, when you can buy an Acer C720 Laptop, do everything just as fast, accurate as this laptop can.

[@YassineELAZMI]

you too are missing the whole fucking point. Fuck dude the laptop costs 1300 fucking dollars. Only idiots can spend that much money for web browsing especially when you can do the same stuff with a regular pc. Google must be laughing so hard when people buy their chromebook. I'm telling you DIS IS SHIT

[@binley2]

People who buy this chromebook are probably the same people who buy Macbooks.

[@derkoekje]

Yassine EL AZMI This discussion tells me that you have both completely missed the point. This isn't a consumer product. Google isn't interested in selling these by the buttload. This was a device built for demonstration purposes, to show other hardware manufacturers that you didn't have to do things as cheaply as possible to build an effective Chromebook. To show that the Chromebook experience and premium hardware can go hand in hand. This is a premium device, designed for people who can afford to use this kind of money for an enhanced look and feel. This isn't made for people who just want to webbrowse and watch KZbin videos, there are Chromebooks in the $200 range for that. So in that case you're right, you shouldn't buy this. No one should. Unless you make enough money to not care what anyone says about only $1300. But this fact doesn't make the product bad.

[@binley2]

MaraudingMaster If it wasn't made for people who just want to webbrowse and watch KZbin videos, then why is this $1300+ machine only capable of that? As you stated, this is a product for rich people to needlessly blow their money on.

[@PerfectBlade20]

Yassine EL AZMI Troll harder, this wasn't made for you and the audience that would buy this would be the audience that understand you can put Linux on this easily which you didn't know until I mentioned it which makes it clear that something like this isn't for you. I would just get a macbook pro for $1300 myself honestly but calling people idiots for buying something they know they will like is very low and shows how insecure you are.

[@ltrgman]

I dig your reviews because you unbox the product as well. Packaging design and the overall presentation of a product is every bit as important as the product itself.

[@MrMiniman629]

It is a REALLY damn nice laptop, but still too much for me considering it is pure chrome OS

[@SilentMover95]

The display is definitely the killer here. Look at how sharp it is.

[@wesmo_]

Just install ubuntu on it and you beat apple all the way back to china

[@SergioInzunza]

What I was thinking,lol

[@Beige1997]

Good luck with 32GB of storage and an OS that doesn't run any software regardless.

[@JoeFilmProjects]

11:27 giving his honest review straight to the device's face!

[@zoracraig6575]

This laptop is now $200 at my Walmart

[@whyme3772]

You can get a decent chromebook for like $179 now in almost 2023.

[@coolerking7427]

I got this pixel for 450 this year. I love it.

[@BdaB164]

I honestly hope Google takes over the technological world. I'd love to see Google make more in house hardware like phones and more computers. This build quality looks amazing, and I'd buy this in a heartbeat if I had the $

[@ChildishTris]

Brandon same though even if this comment is 4 years old :/

[@hassannasser3514]

I think its great that Google decided to make there own laptop, although this still needs a lot of work. Can't wait for them to get much better.

[@bigfoot5105]

It just looks like a cheaply made rip off of a MacBook Pro but with the same price tag as the Mac

[@thai-stylez]

Why do you want that hi-end spec just only for a web browser? I don't get it

[@Pilpup]

Somebody prove me wrong. Why in the fuck would a person pay 1299$ for a netbook? It's already a fad that is on its way out due to tablets coming in. I'm not saying there's not a market for it but the attached price tag is just too much. This device is being compared to apple laptops. That's unfair. Apple price tags are high but it comes with build quality AND functionality. Simply just build quality and a glorified web browser is unrealistic.

[@Pilpup]

***** Don't eat the paint chips Jonathan. You don't EAT them.

[@Pilpup]

Can a google chromebook run Final Cut pro?

[@Pilpup]

That is not what I asked.

[@Pilpup]

"What can the chromebook do that the mac cannot" intensive video editing. You say "There are video editing apps" Good job but thats like saying "I know you like photoshop but picmonkey exists"

[@Pilpup]

Will Avid run on a chromebook?

[@Akatzuki004]

Yes there is. Good Keyboard, good material, 1TB space for 3 years, outstanding display + touch and a very hack friendly BIOS for installing Linuxs distros. This is a dream notebook for devs.

[@kamreo2338]

"Goodies". Only Google would use "goodies" in a list of specs

[@danieljones2850]

+Kamron Reo Google is life.

[@ChildishTris]

Vam google is bae (eW)

[@frankfei1532]

the power brick's wall plug can change into an extension cable, the design is the same too except for the release button

[@RandomAlexGuy]

I paid less for my gaming desktop

[@pinkblueXOXO]

I am so happy that you said that there is up to 1T on "cloud" because I was hesitating to get it if it was only 32gb or 64gb

[@Dave0551]

you call chromebook, I call macbook mock up

[@danieljones2850]

+Dave0551 Everybody else says Chromebook.

[@flynncrawford1960]

I see the extra close to $900 more is for a better picture and touch screen. As far as sound goes, Altec Lansing speakers are built into the HP Chromebook. Mine has all the same apps and set-up as the pixel.

[@TR0ND3ST1NY]

well, this chrome book is for rich people who wants to waste money on another chrome os laptop for cheaper

[@littleBCNtips]

Take this laptop to Kenya-Tanzania-Ethiopia and no one will want it because there is no WiFi in most of the places. It's a piece of crap. And very expensive.

[@EnterABetterName]

DetroitBORG is the shit, he has even Adblock installed

[@RaymondStudio]

with that price i buy a mac book better.

[@devourerofnuggets]

With that price i buy a PC, roughly 3 times more powerful than a Mac.

[@devourerofnuggets]

***** Yeah they do. But no matter what OS, you will never get any viruses if you use common sense.

[@devourerofnuggets]

***** You make absolutely no sense. But if you honestly prefer Mac over other OS's, why not build a hackintosh? You get a Mac OS and high performance with low price. There is literally no reason to even buy a Mac. Only idiots or spoiled kids buys them.

[@razorthingaming6083]

I have a mac PC and a chromebook and over this system I would buy a mac. The mac is closest to a chromebook, so if you want a lower quality macbook air you would get a chromebook. Now the macbook pro is more comparable to a PC. A PC is much more powerful than a macbook, but it is all preference. Macbooks are way better for school and work.

[@devourerofnuggets]

***** I'm not judging your decisions. I'm simply saying that unnecessarily wasting large amounts of money is pure stupidity. Or you're just spoiled and don't know the value of money.

[@MaitreyaVyas]

The design of OS is beauty. Hope MS designs same for Windows in future!

[@khoakhoa96]

1300 bucks for a NOT EVEN computer ? That's way too expensive

[@stevenanderson3205]

thanks I did not see you touch the screen great to know been thinking about getting one to replace my android again thanks.

[@aspike3]

It looks shit.

[@ecereto]

On Chrome Book you can still read/write emails and read/write documents and presentations. When you get online things get synced, More web apps are adding offline support everyday.

[@techexamined]

Great video Michael.. You did a great job showing us this product.. However, the product is the pure definition of excess without purpose...

[@jayh3831]

The chromebook pixel is awesome I never have any problems and its been a long time.

[@artofdylan2356]

i totally agree that they should have made this as an entry level laptop, 1299 for a browser laptop is crazy

[@XIMacManIX]

Guys everyone back up. @ThatProGuy1337 is a pro of life. He knows more than everyone so lets all just have a seat..

[@XarekBermejoSantiago]

you can put ubuntu on a mac too, and in fact its easily, you have Bootcamp, for make a partition it also works for windows and its simply to use, its pre-installed.

[@diego.e.a]

The OS itself looks brilliant, but I would like to see more traditional computer functionality in the future.

[@walter0bz]

no. [1]: you can put full linux on it,which can do anything [2] you have enough pixels to show MORE than a full hd video. so what if it has extra space above and below it. you can put something else there [3] it has a touchscreen which is above the functionality in a macbook

[@mazwrld]

man I was just waiting for you to put a video on youtube

[@ColsonSasseen]

His famous catch phase is " it should slide right out 😂

[@lrthedude]

Thanks for an excellent review. It was very thorough and answered a lot of questions about the Chrome OS that nobody's answered up until now. Also, I loved the little Konami easter egg. Hilarious!

[@walter0bz]

[1] the "crappy screen resolution" is superior for some types of work , a more square display like workstations used to have before economies of scale put entertainment oriented displays everywhere. they did it for reading basically. [2] whilst it doesn't superficially resemble a macbook air, thats the first "Ultrabook" , and surface is essentially an ultrabook-cross-tablet. Apples' idea was just that you have keyboard/screen hardware+OS seperaete from tablet screen+OS; stack them to carry :)

[@kratanuva725]

You could always install a very lightweight linux distro and run Windows with Xen... I have no idea how well that would preform on the Chromebook though.

[@bmg1001]

Have you seen the screen on this? HOLYSHIT ITS AMAZING

[@KKarlozss]

Very good review though !! I forgot to mention. Mission accomplished ! I like very much your reviews ! Have a nice day.

[@mewithme121]

Nice screen, ok design, ok OS. But there seems to be a lack of detail and finishing through all aspects of the product. It will be interesting to how it develops in the future.

[@GeorgeFarrowGreen]

for zooming in to websites you have to go into the settings and activate it

[@dallard13]

If only this had a larger hard drive :/. Not enough flash memory for me, hope they include it in the future

[@skysaunders6563]

after he does the reviews, he gives them back to the company he borrowed it from. He is a professional reviewer and the companies pay him to do this

[@Capp2015]

google didnt plan to sell the pixel, it was showing everyone that they are capable of making high end stuff, this is a forshadowing unit its simply "for whats next" as it says when you go to the website

[@gilmatic8252]

I can't wait to get my hands on one

[@2kreal]

This is a very nice laptop i have one and i absolutely love it

[@johannesmokry]

okay this setup is just awesome *.*

[@mahdikleit]

I would to see google music and gmail have their own app and not being launched on chromeas well as all the other apps. They should also add an app that shows all your files together (like Finder on Mac)

[@TheMatiasTurk]

It is not a fail, actually the Chrome website says that the Pixel is just to inspire other manufactures. The point is to bump up the level of future laptops.

[@Jmanworks]

I don't know why people are saying it's ugly, It looks pretty sweet. The only problem is any kind of media is now in a 16:9 aspect ratio and having a 3:2 aspect ratio makes watching movies or youtube videos it look bad, which sucks considering this is pretty much the only thing Chrome OS can do.

[@taihonghong]

Wow the whole display component shakes as you tap

[@p8blr]

It looks so clean, why did they have to ruin it by leaving the hinge sticking out?

[@haripapas5480]

LOVE THE CHROMEBOOK PIXEL!!!

[@hobbes203]

I really really love the design of this laptop. But I also like my options. It would have been really nice if the OS wasn't just limited to Linux distros and ChromeOS. Hopefully, as Valve starts focusing on getting games for Linux, this laptop, too, will grow popular.

[@SuperKazoo96]

Yes it does Google Doc, Google Sheets, and Google Slides They're free and can be accessed through Google Drive on your devices (PC, Mac, Tablet and Smartphone)

[@MateuszSawiuk]

Not sure if you mentioned that in the review, as I might have missed it, but I was wondering what battery life you experienced while using it.

[@Akatzuki004]

I would love to get one of these and install a Linux distro onto it. But that price is a no-go.

[@DanielLempert]

skype will come as a browser version in outlook, so you can use skype also with the chromebook

[@jakotelephone]

AND IT BEGINS GOOGLE IT BEGINS !

[@butty41]

That has much more abilities and better screen for movies etc, plus more support. so...

[@spleen387]

You can't get any traditional desktop apps, only things that would work in your browser, you can however use word web app by going to. Sky drive then clicking new word file, it's a lot like google docs tho

[@TheTerr0rbyte]

Incredible how Google's first laptop is better designed than almost all Windows PCs out there.

[@curtisjonesjr.5278]

true but you can install diff operating systems an other software to increase its gaming options to a extent.

[@DiabloRoker]

Love it, how is the volume compared to the Macbook Pro?

[@1MadVirus1]

You can even play games on it. If it could support steam then that's also your handy gaming console. Some games like Dota 2 would be great on it.

[@MichaelOrtiz99]

I think this makes sense especially if your familiar with virtualization. Its obviously not perfect but I've dropped windows since 8 and can't stand mac, I've been living on my Nexus 5&7 for a while, So I think I may order one of these. Its between this and the new Acer Chromebook 13 CB5-311-T1UU (13.3-inch Full HD, NVIDIA Tegra K1, 4GB). I'm a sucker for aesthetics and the acer doesn't have a touch screen, or this kick ass resolution. Dunno what to do. My end of the year tech budget is quickly evaporating, I was waiting to see if google launched a new chromebook, but then I realized this thing still has the best specs for a chrome book.. [Q] I also wanted to know if the chrome book will bend all the way back, and if you can disable the keyboard. So that I can use it like a tablet... i guess...if i don't preorder a nexus 9 i can probably justify this a little better....haha.

[@FelixMackable]

your long and detailed reviews are totally great :)

[@RahulDominic]

Everything seems to be moving to the internet and most of the things you can do with applications/programs on windows or a mac can be done online so I think Google is laying the stones for this transition. Granted people like software developers and graphic designers will need more powerful stuff and will stick to a PC or a Mac but others who don't need such power can do most of the things they want to with a Chromebook.

[@SuperRacer5]

One day and 12000 views... That is sick dude!

[@MrGixxerek]

Nice review. I like you a lot. Btw are you from Poland?

[@johnnypowell859]

This laptop isn't meant to be a mainstream laptop. It was designed as a developers laptop so they could code apps for the Chrome OS.

[@walter0bz]

with retina class display and touchscreen? wow!

[@TheR4C]

I hope you will enjoy the 26 ppi difference which you spot immediately...

[@PerfectBlade20]

Chromebooks are great the point of them is that they are low priced devices that combine the simplicity of a tablet and the comfort of a laptop,

[@macintoshxpert]

Actually the 13 inch is available for the same price as the LTE model. Apple experimented with touchscreen's on Desktops and laptops. They found that the best way to deliver multitouch on desktops was through trackpads and mice. They found that it was awkward to wave your arms in the air and led to fatigue. Also the ChromeBook must be better than the IBM Sequoia(world fastest computer) because it doesnt have LTE or 1 tb of free cloud storage!

[@VarunDewan]

I wish they release a successor to this!!

[@vitriolix]

Your complaint about price at the end is kind of nonsensical. This isn't expensive because it has some massive CPU/GPU/RAM, it's not because its a workhorse, but because of the build quality. As you yourself say the case, screen, battery, keyboard, trackpad are all 100% top notch... those are things that matter to the use case this is designed for, road warrior, and they cost. I don't care about final cut. I use my current chromebook to write emails, read articles, etc.

[@DarxideGarrison]

The code that started it all!

[@jabraan.alikadli]

2 questions: 1. What OS do it runs? 2. Is its display better than Apple Macbook Pro (Retina Display)

[@MrDeluxan]

Just out of curiosity, What do you do with these all these devices after you review them?

[@EurichChankov]

from what i understand the pixel was made by google to be not for everyone and they know not a lot of people will buy it but to kind of redefine the standards of what a laptop should be

[@NTeach10]

Out of interest if the MacBook Pro retina's screen can enable the user not to see any pixels what is the point in going higher, especially if its only higher by a few 100 pixels? Furthermore, if its only a web machine, why do you need an intel i5 and hd4000 graphics, I can see a need for it.

[@xyzabcrocks]

the screen and it is linux so you can install some other linux distro for more productivity than something like a mac or alienware

[@garlic_time]

Yes, Because the MBP has a touchscreen, works on Chrome OS, LTE connectivity, and a Gorilla glass screen. Such a replica.

[@emfourex]

You could run windows or mac osx, but mac does come with mac osx as standard

[@TheSaikou96]

Nice device but the price is going to hold it back. 600-800ish would have been a good spot. Might consider one myself tho

[@JoseCalderon85]

I just wanna know what happens when you plug in lets say a hard drive can you browse the files,can you format the disk if you plug a camera can you browse thru the pix ???? I wanna get a chromebook but thats what holding me back im good with all the google services.

[@DipenGupta]

Damn the chromebook, I'm here 'cause Michael uploaded another video! ;D

[@raulparamo4437]

Well i guess it just depends on preference, i like the ease on a mac, and always have liked it. Speaking for myself i dont use it because its "popular". I really find it useful for me.

[@kruemelkuchen96]

Yes and Apple also found out that 3.5'' is the absolute perfect size for a smartphone and nothing else, until they came up with their iPHone5, trying to keep up with the better Screens of HTC, Samsung & co. Apple probably will introduce Touchscreen Macbooks. Just 2 Years later than the concurrence. And for daily use a CBPixel is better than Sequoia, since it just fits the Humen needs better than a Supercomputer (at least when you are on the go)

[@waqqas_the_wicked]

Exactly! And it works without the internet.