Pixelbook Go - A Worthy MacBook Air Competitor

The Pixelbook Go: A Chromebook with a Twist

When it comes to laptops, there are many options available, but one that stands out from the crowd is the Pixelbook Go. This device is designed specifically for those who want a premium Chromebook experience without breaking the bank. But how does it compare to other laptops in its class?

One of the standout features of the Pixelbook Go is its battery life. While my MacBook Air lasts anywhere from five to eight hours, depending on what I'm working on, the Pixelbook Go has been steadily reaching eight hours plus of battery life. This is a significant improvement over many other Chromebooks, and it's a major advantage for those who need a device that can last all day.

Another feature worth noting is the Pixelbook Go's Quick Charge capability. With this feature, you can get up to two hours of additional battery life in just twenty minutes using the included USB-C power adapter. This is incredibly useful for those who are always on the go and need a quick boost when they're running low on power.

The Pixelbook Go also features two USB ports, one on each side of the device, as well as a 3.5mm headphone jack. These are standard features in many laptops, but it's still nice to see them included in a Chromebook. The device runs Chrome OS, which is ideal for those who need a laptop for basic tasks like writing, creating documents, and watching videos.

However, the Pixelbook Go does have some limitations when it comes to software. Unlike MacBooks, which can run full macOS, the Pixelbook Go is limited to Chrome OS. This means that you won't be able to install Windows or macOS apps on your device. However, many of the apps you need for basic tasks are available in the Google Play Store, and there are some creative tools available specifically for editing videos and photos.

One thing to note about the Pixelbook Go is its price. It's significantly more expensive than other Chromebooks on the market, with a starting price of $849 for the model I have here. However, if you're already invested in the Google ecosystem through your phone or tablet, you may find that the Pixelbook Go is worth the extra cost.

Ultimately, whether or not to choose the Pixelbook Go over a MacBook Air depends on your specific needs and budget. If you're looking for a premium Chromebook experience with all the bells and whistles, including a long battery life and quick charging capabilities, the Pixelbook Go may be the way to go. However, if you need a laptop that can run full macOS or have more advanced features, you may want to consider a different option.

Should You Choose the Pixelbook Go Over a MacBook Air?

This is a loaded question, as both devices have their pros and cons. While the Pixelbook Go offers some unique features like Quick Charge and long battery life, it's also significantly more expensive than a MacBook Air. The starting price of $849 for the Pixelbook Go may be out of reach for many budgets.

That being said, if you're already invested in the Google ecosystem through your phone or tablet, you may find that the Pixelbook Go is worth the extra cost. The device offers a seamless integration with other Google devices, including instant tethering and the ability to use your Pixel to unlock your laptop. These features are unique to Chromebooks and can be a major advantage for those who need them.

But what about the budget-friendly options?

If $849 is still out of reach for you, there are other Chromebooks on the market that offer similar features at a lower price point. The Pixelbook Go's entry-level model starts at $149, which is significantly more affordable than the top-of-the-line model I have here.

The Pixelbook Go is definitely one of the best Chromebooks available, but whether or not it's worth the extra cost depends on your specific needs and budget. If you're looking for a premium Chromebook experience with all the bells and whistles, including a long battery life and quick charging capabilities, the Pixelbook Go may be the way to go.

But what about users who need a laptop that can run full macOS?

The truth is, if you're a creative professional or need a laptop that can handle more advanced tasks like video editing or graphics design, a MacBook Air (or even an iMac) may be the better choice. While Chrome OS has improved significantly in recent years, it still lags behind macOS when it comes to sheer power and capabilities.

If you're looking for a laptop that can run full macOS, you'll have to look elsewhere. The Pixelbook Go is limited to Chrome OS, which means you won't be able to install Windows or macOS apps on your device. However, many of the apps you need for basic tasks are available in the Google Play Store, and there are some creative tools available specifically for editing videos and photos.

The Bottom Line

In conclusion, the Pixelbook Go is an excellent Chromebook that offers a unique set of features like Quick Charge and long battery life. While it's significantly more expensive than many other Chromebooks on the market, if you're already invested in the Google ecosystem through your phone or tablet, it may be worth the extra cost.

But what about users who need a laptop that can run full macOS?

If you're looking for a laptop that can handle more advanced tasks like video editing or graphics design, a MacBook Air (or even an iMac) may be the better choice.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enthis video is sponsored by CleanMyMac X the pixel book go was announced last week at Google's event alongside the pixel 4 and 4 Excel my first thought when I looked at it was WOW the pixel book go looks a lot like a MacBook Air or at least the Chromebook version of it and so in this video we're gonna try to answer the question of whether or not the pixel book go could be a MacBook Air alternative before we get started be sure to subscribe and hit the bell to get notifications whenever we share a video the pixel book go model than I have here starts at eight hundred and forty nine dollars which seems a lot for a Chromebook but it does come with a better Intel Core i5 processor over the entry-level six hundred and forty nine dollar version which has a m3 processor and the model that I have here also has 128 gigs of storage as opposed to the 64 gigs found on that entry-level model both models do come with eight gigabytes of RAM which handles Chrome OS very well but I'm not sure if the m3 processor offers up any lag or performance issues the i5 model has been doing really well for me so far and so I really haven't experienced any problems there are a few other pixel bucco models but they're a lot more expensive the most notable being the $1,399 version that has a 4k display a better processor and double the storage and RAM but I'm not sure you really need all of that hardware to run Chrome OS but the one thing I do wish that this pixel bucco model had was a slightly better display don't get me wrong this 13.3 inch display isn't terrible by any means but it is full HD and it doesn't really hold much weight when you pin it up against the 13 inch display that's found on the retina MacBook Air the screen can get plenty bright however but if you're a pixel fiend like I am you're gonna be pixel peeping really hard and you're gonna be slightly disappointed the rest of the display is very macbook air sk as you have some very small side bezels but then some larger top and bottom bezels overall though i really do like the design of the go it's clean simple and elegant especially for a Chromebook which is usually a little bit clunky and meant to be beat up by kids at school the of the pixel book go has AG logo signifying that it's made by Google and the bottom has this really cool wavy bumpy texture to it it definitely helps enhance your grip since this laptop is very slippery because it's really smooth all around there's this coating that gives it the smooth look and feel even though it's made out of metal when you open it up you'll definitely notice there's some more MacBook style inspiration especially in this keyboard layout this keyboard is very very quiet it's amazing the type on and has just the right amount of key travel to it so that it doesn't feel super mushy I think this might be one of the most impressive parts about the pixel book go however I am still very much a fan of the MacBook butterfly switches so every time I switch between the go and the MacBook I really still do like the MacBook keyboard the top row has some custom keys for going back reloading a webpage full screen brightness controlling media etc one of my favorite keys is the Google assistant button which gives me quick access to the assistant so that I can actually type to it instead of using voice commands this is helpful if you're in an area that does not lend to speaking to your laptop very well like if you're in a coffee shop and you don't want to look crazy talking to your laptop you can just hit the button and then type out whatever command you want of course if you want you can still use the voice command to activate the assistant anytime that you want there are dual speakers flanking each side of the go which also still reminds me a lot of a MacBook Air as you can see here and the speaker sound really good probably some of the best that I've heard in a Chromebook for sure and probably some of the better speakers on a laptop this size in fact at times it was able to get a little bit louder at full volume than the MacBook Air but I do think these sound quality from the MacBook at high volumes is a little bit better than the go regardless you're not going to be disappointed by these speakers as far as the trackpad goes this is where I get a little bit disappointed because nothing really beats the artificial click that you get from a macbook over an actual physical trackpad button the pixel book goes trackpad just feels clunky and outdated with that said it's still a good traditional trackpad it's just not like the force touch trackpad that you see on a look inside the go you do have a battery that's said to offer up to 12 hours of battery life this isn't quite true or at least not something that I've been able to get but it is the same claim that Apple says that you get with your MacBook Air and while my air only lasts me about anywhere from five to eight hours depending on what I'm working on the pixel book go has been steadily reaching eight hours plus of battery life which is very nice there's also a quick charge feature which offers up to two hours worth of battery in just a twenty minute charge if you use the included USB C power adapter speaking of USB see I almost forgot to mention there are two USB sea ports one on each side of the pixel book go as well as a 3.5 millimeter headphone jack finally we have Chrome OS running the whole show and if you're using a Chromebook you're most likely doing a lot of what Chrome OS is good at which is writing creating documents or slideshows for work or school and that's again what this device is really made for and it really does a good job in this department the software is limited compared to something like a macbook which can run full mac OS so really i can't compare these two at least in software because there's just no comparison one can do a lot more than the other but most people who buy a low-end macbook air and i could be completely out of touch or wrong on this but i'm assuming that most people buy a macbook air they're probably doing a lot of the same things that people use a Chromebook for they're creating documents slideshows emails etc and while you could edit videos or create some media or graphics on a macbook air for most creative professionals it's just not enough power so you're probably not using that as your main machine you do have the ability to download android apps on the pixel book go and there are some creative tools and apps out there for editing videos photos etc but it's not something that you probably want to do full-time on a Chromebook so at the end of the day should you buy a pixel book go over a macbook air that's kind of a loaded question i'm not trying to take a cop-out here but i'd have to say probably not especially if we're talking about a difference of only a hundred to two hundred dollars as some go models could be compared to the MacBook Air there's no doubt that the pixel book oh is pricey it's a lot more expensive than other Chromebooks out on the market but it's also one of the nicer Chromebooks that you're gonna buy at least in terms of design hardware and that full Google experience if you're a pixel for owner or any pixel owner your phone and laptop will integrate seamlessly together and it offers up some features that other Chromebooks and phones can't do together like instant tethering and the ability to use your pixel to unlock your machine however at eight hundred and forty nine dollars at least for the model that I have here I'd probably still have to recommend you'd pick up a macbook air force lightly more at $9.99 just because of its ability to run full mac OS again that's not to say that this pixel book isn't any good it's just hard to recommend at $149 maybe you could pick up the entry-level model which is still a little bit high for my liking but it's definitely more reasonable and if you're a Chromebook fan you're gonna get one of the best Chromebook experiences that you can get so I'd love to know your thoughts though do you use a Chromebook do you use a Chromebook over a Mac specifically let me know in the comment section down below now before we end today's video I do want to give you more information about today's sponsor CleanMyMac if you update it to Mac OS Catalina or are thinking about doing it soon CleanMyMac x is the must-have utility for preparing a Mac for the update CleanMyMac X delete system junk unseen apps and hidden clutter from your Mac and it gives you more storage space claim iMac can also help you speed up your Mac not only by removing all those junk files and programs from your system but also by offering optimization and maintenance features like freeing up RAM running maintenance scripts etc CleanMyMac also removes malware and adware agents and builds an interactive map of your Mac storage so that you can get all the information you need add a quick glance whenever you need it also because Mac OS Catalina will not be supporting 32-bit applications any longer which could be half of your apps collection CleanMyMac x automatically detects 32-bit apps and deletes them right away with all their parts and leftovers terminated the right way and with the updater feature you'll be instantly getting 64-bit replacements for your software if and when those apps are available so go ahead and click the link in the description down below to check out more information about CleanMyMac this is my downs MacRumors thanks so much for watching and I hope to see you around in the nextthis video is sponsored by CleanMyMac X the pixel book go was announced last week at Google's event alongside the pixel 4 and 4 Excel my first thought when I looked at it was WOW the pixel book go looks a lot like a MacBook Air or at least the Chromebook version of it and so in this video we're gonna try to answer the question of whether or not the pixel book go could be a MacBook Air alternative before we get started be sure to subscribe and hit the bell to get notifications whenever we share a video the pixel book go model than I have here starts at eight hundred and forty nine dollars which seems a lot for a Chromebook but it does come with a better Intel Core i5 processor over the entry-level six hundred and forty nine dollar version which has a m3 processor and the model that I have here also has 128 gigs of storage as opposed to the 64 gigs found on that entry-level model both models do come with eight gigabytes of RAM which handles Chrome OS very well but I'm not sure if the m3 processor offers up any lag or performance issues the i5 model has been doing really well for me so far and so I really haven't experienced any problems there are a few other pixel bucco models but they're a lot more expensive the most notable being the $1,399 version that has a 4k display a better processor and double the storage and RAM but I'm not sure you really need all of that hardware to run Chrome OS but the one thing I do wish that this pixel bucco model had was a slightly better display don't get me wrong this 13.3 inch display isn't terrible by any means but it is full HD and it doesn't really hold much weight when you pin it up against the 13 inch display that's found on the retina MacBook Air the screen can get plenty bright however but if you're a pixel fiend like I am you're gonna be pixel peeping really hard and you're gonna be slightly disappointed the rest of the display is very macbook air sk as you have some very small side bezels but then some larger top and bottom bezels overall though i really do like the design of the go it's clean simple and elegant especially for a Chromebook which is usually a little bit clunky and meant to be beat up by kids at school the of the pixel book go has AG logo signifying that it's made by Google and the bottom has this really cool wavy bumpy texture to it it definitely helps enhance your grip since this laptop is very slippery because it's really smooth all around there's this coating that gives it the smooth look and feel even though it's made out of metal when you open it up you'll definitely notice there's some more MacBook style inspiration especially in this keyboard layout this keyboard is very very quiet it's amazing the type on and has just the right amount of key travel to it so that it doesn't feel super mushy I think this might be one of the most impressive parts about the pixel book go however I am still very much a fan of the MacBook butterfly switches so every time I switch between the go and the MacBook I really still do like the MacBook keyboard the top row has some custom keys for going back reloading a webpage full screen brightness controlling media etc one of my favorite keys is the Google assistant button which gives me quick access to the assistant so that I can actually type to it instead of using voice commands this is helpful if you're in an area that does not lend to speaking to your laptop very well like if you're in a coffee shop and you don't want to look crazy talking to your laptop you can just hit the button and then type out whatever command you want of course if you want you can still use the voice command to activate the assistant anytime that you want there are dual speakers flanking each side of the go which also still reminds me a lot of a MacBook Air as you can see here and the speaker sound really good probably some of the best that I've heard in a Chromebook for sure and probably some of the better speakers on a laptop this size in fact at times it was able to get a little bit louder at full volume than the MacBook Air but I do think these sound quality from the MacBook at high volumes is a little bit better than the go regardless you're not going to be disappointed by these speakers as far as the trackpad goes this is where I get a little bit disappointed because nothing really beats the artificial click that you get from a macbook over an actual physical trackpad button the pixel book goes trackpad just feels clunky and outdated with that said it's still a good traditional trackpad it's just not like the force touch trackpad that you see on a look inside the go you do have a battery that's said to offer up to 12 hours of battery life this isn't quite true or at least not something that I've been able to get but it is the same claim that Apple says that you get with your MacBook Air and while my air only lasts me about anywhere from five to eight hours depending on what I'm working on the pixel book go has been steadily reaching eight hours plus of battery life which is very nice there's also a quick charge feature which offers up to two hours worth of battery in just a twenty minute charge if you use the included USB C power adapter speaking of USB see I almost forgot to mention there are two USB sea ports one on each side of the pixel book go as well as a 3.5 millimeter headphone jack finally we have Chrome OS running the whole show and if you're using a Chromebook you're most likely doing a lot of what Chrome OS is good at which is writing creating documents or slideshows for work or school and that's again what this device is really made for and it really does a good job in this department the software is limited compared to something like a macbook which can run full mac OS so really i can't compare these two at least in software because there's just no comparison one can do a lot more than the other but most people who buy a low-end macbook air and i could be completely out of touch or wrong on this but i'm assuming that most people buy a macbook air they're probably doing a lot of the same things that people use a Chromebook for they're creating documents slideshows emails etc and while you could edit videos or create some media or graphics on a macbook air for most creative professionals it's just not enough power so you're probably not using that as your main machine you do have the ability to download android apps on the pixel book go and there are some creative tools and apps out there for editing videos photos etc but it's not something that you probably want to do full-time on a Chromebook so at the end of the day should you buy a pixel book go over a macbook air that's kind of a loaded question i'm not trying to take a cop-out here but i'd have to say probably not especially if we're talking about a difference of only a hundred to two hundred dollars as some go models could be compared to the MacBook Air there's no doubt that the pixel book oh is pricey it's a lot more expensive than other Chromebooks out on the market but it's also one of the nicer Chromebooks that you're gonna buy at least in terms of design hardware and that full Google experience if you're a pixel for owner or any pixel owner your phone and laptop will integrate seamlessly together and it offers up some features that other Chromebooks and phones can't do together like instant tethering and the ability to use your pixel to unlock your machine however at eight hundred and forty nine dollars at least for the model that I have here I'd probably still have to recommend you'd pick up a macbook air force lightly more at $9.99 just because of its ability to run full mac OS again that's not to say that this pixel book isn't any good it's just hard to recommend at $149 maybe you could pick up the entry-level model which is still a little bit high for my liking but it's definitely more reasonable and if you're a Chromebook fan you're gonna get one of the best Chromebook experiences that you can get so I'd love to know your thoughts though do you use a Chromebook do you use a Chromebook over a Mac specifically let me know in the comment section down below now before we end today's video I do want to give you more information about today's sponsor CleanMyMac if you update it to Mac OS Catalina or are thinking about doing it soon CleanMyMac x is the must-have utility for preparing a Mac for the update CleanMyMac X delete system junk unseen apps and hidden clutter from your Mac and it gives you more storage space claim iMac can also help you speed up your Mac not only by removing all those junk files and programs from your system but also by offering optimization and maintenance features like freeing up RAM running maintenance scripts etc CleanMyMac also removes malware and adware agents and builds an interactive map of your Mac storage so that you can get all the information you need add a quick glance whenever you need it also because Mac OS Catalina will not be supporting 32-bit applications any longer which could be half of your apps collection CleanMyMac x automatically detects 32-bit apps and deletes them right away with all their parts and leftovers terminated the right way and with the updater feature you'll be instantly getting 64-bit replacements for your software if and when those apps are available so go ahead and click the link in the description down below to check out more information about CleanMyMac this is my downs MacRumors thanks so much for watching and I hope to see you around in the next\n"

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