Chromebook Pixel
The most recommended of 4 chromebooks
Owners praise its build quality, durability and hybrid tablet form, though the software is the usual complaint.
Owners praise its build quality, durability and hybrid tablet form, though the software is the usual complaint.
14 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 9
- criticize it
- 5
- approval share
- 64%
Recommended in 3 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Owned for 13 years
Median of the 4 owners who said how long they have had it.
Each square is one year.
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 9 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- 1.8 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, not met.
- Recommended in 3 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, not met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Durable, top-tier build quality
“the quality, performance, and durability was top tier”
Comment from 12 May 2026 in “Googlebook: Designed for Gemini Intelligence – Coming Fall 2026 – Googlebook” “It is phenomenal hardware”
Comment from 12 May 2026 in “Googlebook: Designed for Gemini Intelligence – Coming Fall 2026 – Googlebook” “I have two that work just fine today.”
Comment from 12 May 2026 in “Googlebook: Designed for Gemini Intelligence – Coming Fall 2026 – Googlebook” Ahead of its time
“I've always thought chromebook pixel was a product ahead of its time”
Comment from 28 Oct 2026 in “MacBook Pro with PROLED XDR Display and Touch” “these laptops were awesome and IMO well ahead of their time”
Comment from 12 May 2026 in “Googlebook: Designed for Gemini Intelligence – Coming Fall 2026 – Googlebook” “Those original Chromebook Pixels were awesome machines.”
Comment from 12 May 2026 in “Googlebook: Designed for Gemini Intelligence – Coming Fall 2026 – Googlebook”
Other chromebooks people recommend
The three most recommended other chromebooks, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chromebook PixelThis page | 9 | 5 | 64% | 3 | 13 yrs4 owners | — |
| Lenovo Chromebook Plus | 8 | 2 | 80% | 5 | — | — |
| Lenovo Chromebook | 6 | 6 | 50% | 3 | — | — |
| Lenovo IdeaPad Duet | 5 | 2 | 71% | 4 | — | — |
What people said
14 of the 15 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“I've always thought chromebook pixel was a product ahead of its time”
“I found the touch useful for momentary interactions, like buttons.”
“You can install linux on the old PixelBook or Chromebook Pixel.”
“It is phenomenal hardware”
“Chromebook Pixel 2013 had that atrocious function key row that didn't align with the rest of the keyboard”
“Google never sold through their first production run of Chromebook Pixels”
“the quality, performance, and durability was top tier”
“I have two that work just fine today.”
“Those original Chromebook Pixels were awesome machines.”
“They replied that there was no fixing it.”
“these laptops were awesome and IMO well ahead of their time”
“I had the original Chromebook Pixel and the Pixelbook and they were both great.”
“Every time it booted I had to press Ctrl-L (iirc) to continue the boot”
“had a perfect form factor for hybrid tablet/laptop use, though not the software”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.