A few months after the Lenovo Yoga Book was officially unveiled last August at IFA 2016 in Berlin, rumors that Lenovo is working on another variant of the device powered by Chrome OS have emerged. This unannounced model was referred by its codename ‘Pbody’ in commits within Chromium repositories, but sadly, according to recent commits, it would appear that the so-called Pbody has been canceled by Lenovo for unknown reasons.
The Lenovo Yoga Book is a relatively unique convertible that launched with Microsoft’s Windows 10 operating system, with another, slightly cheaper variant running a custom version of Android OS developed by Lenovo. But what really sets the Lenovo Yoga Book apart from other convertibles is its exterior design, as it carries a touch-sensitive keyboard coupled with a haptic feedback motor that vibrates when typing in order to give the sensation of a more mechanical keyboard. Considering the fact that the Lenovo Yoga Book can already be purchased with Android OS running out of the box, a third variant powered by Chrome OS seemed to be the next logical step in the device’s evolution. Sure enough, Lenovo has been working on the Chrome OS variant of the device, but that model has now been canceled, as one of the recent commits refers to it as being “dead.”
On the other hand, it seems that Lenovo may still have plans for touch-sensitive keyboards in the future, the very same commit reveals. As for the reasons behind the Pbody’s cancellation, it’s possible Lenovo was discouraged from launching a third variant of the device that didn’t end up being a massive commercial success. In fact, it would seem that the touch-sensitive keyboard may have pushed away prospective buyers looking for a slim convertible device. Speaking of profitability, while the Windows 10 and Android OS variants of the Lenovo Yoga Book are powered by an Intel chipset from the Cherry Trail family, the Pbody was supposed to hit the market along with a more desktop-grade Intel CPU based on the Skylake architecture. This could have made it more costly than its Cherry Trail counterparts despite it running Chrome OS, and Lenovo may have taken an issue with this concept.