Who would buy this thing? That’s the question that I first asked when I saw this for the first time at my local Best Buy, and the question I hope to address with this review that I’m banging out on my Pixelbook. I was actually laughing at the specs to price comparison with the Best Buy rep. Up until this point I have never used a Chrombook, let alone even fathom the idea that a $1199 Chrombook existed. In my mind I had Chromebooks categorized as web browsing laptops meant for school kids and the older generation, freely admitting that I really knew nothing about them.
After that first look at the Pixelbook, my interest was piqued in that sense that I wondered if anyone was buying it and if the reviews would be as bad as I thought, and i spent that evening researching it. I had just returned a 15” HP Spectre X360, mostly because I was disappointed that right after I bought it HP announced a refreshed version with a lot of significant changes. I went into my research with the notion that anyone who bought a Pixelbook was a fool with too much money and not enough sense. I have an idea that a portion of anyone reading this review will be thinking the same thing.
Plot twist, I’m one of those fools, though I never have too much money and don’t make a purchase this large lightly. So how did I get here? It’s not a long story, so I’ll try not to drag it out. As I pulled up the reviews, I was shocked how every major website was giving the Pixelbook a glowing review, basically saying the Chromebook concept had finally arrived with the Pixelbook. Price was barely mentioned as a con anywhere, which was tripping me out. User reviews were 90-95 percent parroting what the major tech reviews were saying also, which had me double perplexed and super curious as to what kind of witches brew this laptop had.
At this point, I had a Best Buy gift card in hand from the Spectre return, and figured I’d try it for myself, knowing I had the safety net of Best Buy’s return policy. So I walked out of Best Buy with the 256GB version, which came with the free pen, and set to giving it a run for its money. I won’t get into all the tech specs, as the pros and cons have been beat to death everwhere. What I can talk about is why I kept it, why I haven’t touched my iPad Pro 10.5” after getting it, and how I just may be a convert to chromebooks.
The whole experience of using the Pixelbook daily has been mind blowing for me. Bottom line up front, the Pixelbook is effortless, it integrated into my daily life without having to fight with it. I’ve never had a better web browsing experience anywhere, bar none. I’ve been able to find Chrome Apps or Android apps to replace the few Windows apps I used frequently, mostly dealing with Microsoft Office. I kept trying to convince myself to return it and just pick up the 13” HP Spectre X360 that was recently fully updated, but couldn’t bring myself to part with it.
So here I am, a “fool parted with his money”, and loving every minute of it. This is the first time since I bought my first Macbook that I’ve felt enamoured with a piece of technology. I can’t say if you’re reading this that you’ll feel the same way, but Best Buy’s return policy gives you the risk free option to see for yourself.