The ASUS Chromebook Flip released last year was met with relatively positive reactions from consumers, so it isn’t outrageous to presume that the Taiwanese tech giant is working on a follow-up to it. According to latest reports, that’s exactly what’s happening at the moment. After several rumors claiming that a Chromebook device codenamed “Cave” is the ASUS Chromebook Flip 2 proved to be false, new information emerged suggesting that the next ASUS-made computer running the Chrome OS is actually codenamed “Bob.”
For starters, Bob is certainly an ASUS device as its commits are connected to an email issued by the Taiwanese company. Speaking of which, the said email address is the very same one related to the original ASUS Chromebook Flip, as Chrome Unboxed recently pointed out. Furthermore, latest reports confirmed that Bob is powered by a Rockchip processor and in all likelihood sounds like a convertible computer. Now, for the best part. If you follow the source link below, you’ll end up looking at a DTS file hosted by Google’s Chromium Code Review website. Among other things, DTS files are capable of representing data structures used to describe particular hardware, which is what this one in particular does. Now, inside it, there’s a reference to Bob and another one related to Bob’s display, which the DTS file in question labels as the AUO B101EAN01. There are nine variations of this particular display in total, so there’s no way to know how bright the display will actually be, but all variants feature the same size and resolution. More specifically, the AUO B101EAN01 is a 10.1-inch display boasting a resolution of 1280 by 800 pixels, i.e. the same one featured by the ASUS Chromebook Flip.
Now, while these repositories are definitely legitimate, you should take this report with a grain of salt nonetheless, as there’s still no confirmation that ASUS will ever launch a follow-up to its Chromebook from last year. However, if we presume that the ASUS Chromebook Flip 2 is in the works, it’s fair to assume that the device will probably hit the market shortly. Namely, as Chrome Unboxed points out, all integral parts of Bob’s base are built on a board whose development started more than four months ago.