Chromebook Pixel 2 possibly in the works

The Google Chromebook Pixel was a hit and miss in terms of release. It was a hit in terms of high-end hardware which runs beautifully, but a miss in terms of pricing and wide-spread acceptance. But it seems that Google may be working on a sequel, with a number of different factors, including a photo, pointing to a Chromebook Pixel v2, codenamed ‘Samus’.

The choice of code-name: Samus, a character from the Nintentdo franchise Metroid, isn’t too out-there for Google, with the ChromeOS team previously choosing StarFox inspired naming for their development boards, and the original Chromebook Pixel as called ‘Link’. Samus has been showing up in the Chrome Issue Tracker for some-time and you can currently search the Issue Tracker for ‘Samus’ and find a number of references. But perhaps one of the most interesting teases has been removed.

A Google+ user, Jacob Gwiazdzinski, managed to screenshot issue 455773, before it was removed. Issue 455773, was a report by a member of the Chromium team, reporting ‘Recovery dialog screen cut off if connecting to HoHo(HDMI)external monitor’. But what was more exciting is the attachment of a picture of the device in action.

The screenshot shows a few things about the device, namely that it appears to have kept the 3:2 screen aspect ratio of the original Pixel, and that the piano hinge of the original Pixel will also be kept.

So, what will ‘Samus’ be running when/if it eventually takes the stage? Well, it’s actually looking to be a pretty high-end release, as befits a Chromebook Pixel style release. The Chromium Issue mentions two types of external port : HoHo and Dingdong, with both listed on the ChromeOS Device information page as USB-C type connectors, with HoHo being HDMI-USB-C, while DingDong is a DisplayPort-USB-C. So it seems that Samus will be rocking the USB-C connector, which is the reversible standard you can plug in first time.

There are various other hardware mentions about Samus throughout the Chromium Issue Tracker and Chromium OS reviews Google Group with mentions of :

• Intel Broadwell processor
• LPDDR3 RAM
• LightBar (that funky four coloured lightbar atop the original Pixel).
• TouchScreen

There’s evidence here. But evidence of exactly what is the next question. This could be an internal board that’s being tested, with no intention of release, but judging by the amount of work that’s gone into it on the various issue trackers, it’s almost certain to be released. The general consensus is that we may see a release around Google I/O in May, so hopefully we’ll see some more information soon.