Intel’s seventh-generation Kaby Lake processor family, out quite recently, is likely the last cyclical release for Intel, with future releases set to come out not on a set timeline, but when Intel is able to make significant advancements. Still, it’s a pretty good upgrade from the sixth-generation Skylake family, even among the lower-end Core M lineup. The new Kaby Lake lineup has only been around since the end of August, and if some recent Chromium commits are to be believed, it seems that Kaby Lake chips are starting to find their way into Chromebooks pretty early on, after a fairly short stint in the newest and most high-end systems. This development is a bit surprising, since a somewhat small number of Skylake Chromebooks are out there today.
What seems to be the very first Kaby Lake Chromebook is being referred to internally as “Eve”, and was only added into commits on Tuesday. Not much info is out there at the moment, but the commits point to a “kbl” processor type, clearly Kaby Lake, that pulls most of its basic support code from the “Glados” base used to accommodate Skylake chips. This makes sense, given that Skylake and Kaby Lake are internally quite similar, but since Kaby Lake does not have a dedicated base could indicate that this device is merely a tester or reference device, but without further evidence as to the core programming of Eve, there’s not much to go on in that direction.
Interestingly, alongside the Kaby Lake code, Eve’s repositories sport code that seems to point to a convertible device of some sort, though the code does not specify if the mechanism would consist of a 360 degree hinge or a detachable keyboard. This could simply mean that both will be supported, since Eve may well be the baseboard for future Kaby Lake devices, or a prototype Kaby Lake device for the purpose of integrating all of the new chip family’s quirks neatly into Chromium so that future devices will be better supported. Intel’s powerful new Kaby Lake chips guarantee a smooth experience even at the entry level, and are almost as power efficient as ARM chips. Support for Kaby Lake could very well mean that Chromebooks could take another big step toward mainstream adoption.