Google and their partners have already announced a slew of new Chromebooks with USB-C charging in 2017 (and a few in 2016). You’re going to see plenty more coming in the pipeline, as Google is wanting all Chromebooks to use USB-C for charging. As the company explained in their blog post on Tuesday, many schools and even classrooms have different Chromebooks. And with most Chromebooks having different proprietary chargers (like traditional laptops), it makes it harder to charge students’ Chromebooks, especially when not everyone in the classroom has the same one. That issue is gone with USB-C though.
Google is focusing on Education right now with Chromebooks, and USB-C has a whole bunch of advantages over proprietary chargers. The big one being the fact that all Chromebooks can use the same cable for charging. Another is the fact that it is reversible. So no matter how the child attempts to plug in their Chromebook, it’ll just work. Unlikes with micro USB and even USB-A. Which is pretty important in a education setting. On top of all Chromebooks having USB-C for charging, they are also working on super-fast charging over USB-C for all Chromebooks. So that Chromebook carts can quickly charge any Chromebook, no matter who the manufacturer was. This way students can use their Chromebooks longer, without needing to be plugged in.
On top of this, all Chromebooks released in 2017 will feature Android Apps through the Google Play Store. Now this isn’t a huge surprise, given the fact that Google did announce the Google Play Store for Chrome OS last summer at Google I/O. But it was only available for a handful of Chromebooks, and the roll out to older Chromebooks has been quite slow. Luckily all new Chromebooks will get it out of the box. Including the Samsung Chromebook Pro and ASUS Chromebook Flip C302 that was announced at CES 2017 earlier this month. Things are really starting to look up for the Chromebook world. Google and their partners are announcing more and better Chromebooks, and also making them a bit more powerful and high-end, which is also important for anyone looking to switch from a PC or Mac to Chrome OS.