Google Pixelbook 2 reportedly canceled — here’s what we know

(Image credit: Tom's Guide)

Update: Google Pixel 7 colors just revealed — and a storage disappointment.

Google Pixelbook fans, pour one out for the Google Pixelbook 2. The Verge is reporting that plans to design a successor have been scrapped, giving us good reason to doubt we'll ever see the rumored Chromebook.

This is significant because we really liked the original Google Pixelbook, and we weren't alone. When it debuted in 2017, the original Pixelbook was widely hailed as one of the best Chromebooks of the year thanks to its elegant design and solid performance. With a design reminiscent of premium laptops from the likes of Apple and Dell (and a similar price tag), the original Pixelbook (pictured above) was a strong argument for why Google should design a premium Chromebook that can serve as a ChromeOS flagship.

However, the original Pixelbook's $999 starting price was also quite high for a Chromebook, which may help explain why Google went on to release the cheaper Google Pixelbook Go in 2019, rather than a Pixelbook 2. With a starting price of $649 the Go was more affordable, and in our Google Pixelbook Go review we lauded it for being a sleek, minimalist Chromebook with great battery life and good performance.

Google Pixelbook Go in use on a desk — The Pixelbook Go was a great little Chromebook when it was unveiled in 2019, though it had a hard time competing with lower-priced Chromebooks with similar features. (Image credit: Future)

Now, according to The Verge report, Google has canned its efforts to build the next Pixelbook and eliminated the team that was working on it. What's more, Pixelbook team members have reportedly been redistributed inside Google rather than being laid off, according to a source trusted by The Verge. It's yet unclear what other project(s) they may be working on.

One possibility is the Google Pixel tablet we heard about earlier this year during the Google I/O 2022 press event. Yes, despite the troubled launch of the original Google Pixel Slate in 2018 and Google's 2019 promise to get out of the tablet game, it looks like the search giant is taking another swing at building its own Chrome slate.

But since the Google Pixel Tablet isn't slated for release until 2023 and we haven't heard much in the way of official details beyond that, it's hard to know what impact the device will have in the world of Chrome-powered tablets. However, it's a safe bet that we won't be seeing any Pixel Chromebooks from Google for the foreseeable future.

Alex Wawro is a lifelong tech and games enthusiast with more than a decade of experience covering both for outlets like Game Developer, Black Hat, and PC World magazine. A lifelong PC builder, he currently serves as a senior editor at Tom's Guide covering all things computing, from laptops and desktops to keyboards and mice.