Source: Android Police
The tech industry is competitive with companies in a never-ending race to get their most advanced products out to gadget-hungry customers. Laptops are a particular market, and there is talk hinting toward Google’s plan to release a new device to rival the MacBook. Android Police reported on September 26, “The project, known internally as ‘Bison’ and by the informal nickname ‘Pixel 3,’ will likely be the first brand-new device to showcase Google’s combined Android/Chrome OS ‘Andromeda’ operating system in a laptop form factor. Bison, then, would be the culmination of years of work by Google’s Pixel team and Google’s Android and Chrome OS teams.”
Google solidified its position in the PC market when it upgraded the functionality of the Chromebook by making all the Play Store apps available on Chrome OS. According the reports, 'Bison,' will not be marketed as Chromebook. Rather, 'Bison' will be promoted as an Android laptop with aspects of Chrome OS.
The anticipated release date is mid-2017 and Google has yet to make an official statement about the new device. Consequently, early specifications about ‘Bison’ are not final and could change in the months to come. Nonetheless, these early speculations are stimulating talk among tech news outlets. Let’s see what all the buzz is about.
Source: The Verge
Designed as a 2-in-1, ‘Bison’ is planned as a super-thin laptop that also supports ‘tablet’ mode. It will have a 12.3” display screen and will be powered by either an Intel m3 or i5 Core processor with 32 or 128GB of storage and 8 or 16GB of RAM. Based on this, speculations imply there will be 2 models. Additional distinguishing features include a fingerprint scanner, two USB-C ports, a 3.5mm headphone jack, a host of sensors, stylus support (stylus sold separately), quad microphones, stereo speakers, and an estimated battery running life of 10 hours. The device will also have a backlit keyboard and glass trackpad that uses haptic and for detection comparable to the MacBook. Incredibly, Google plans to fit all these features in a structure that is less than 10mm thick compared to the MacBook Air, which is around 17.25 mm thick.
Considering all the features intended for the ‘Bison,’ this new device is not going to be cheap. Still, the planned price is going to be competitive and starts at $799, which is cheaper than similar products from Apple. While nothing is set in stone, the prospect of Google merging the power of Android and the best of Chrome OS could be a breakthrough moment in laptop technology for the Internet giant.
