A Pixelbook Windows 10 certification could be in the works. Information discovered over at the Chromium Review points to Google working on getting AltOS running on the Pixelbook, which would allow the Chromebook to potentially run Windows 10, though not in an official capacity through Microsoft. AltOS has been in play well before now, but the Chromium Review shows a recent update time frame of May 30, which suggests Google is still actively working with the software and trying to get Microsoft to certify the Pixelbook to officially be cleared to run the desktop operating system.
Though the certification would be needed for Google to put out a Pixelbook with Microsoft’s operating system a certification does not mean that Google would actually follow through with such a release. The Pixelbook has been Google’s showcase for Chrome OS, its own operating system, and releasing a Windows 10 version of it would likely take away from that, though it would certainly give consumers more options. That being said if Microsoft gave the Pixelbook a certification then Google would at least have the option to take that path if it ever felt the desire to put out such a product.
In addition to the Chromium Review continuing to show active communication on AltOS, one post on the page makes note of using the Windows Hardware Certification Kit and Hardware Lab Kit, which further points to the possibility that Google is trying to get this certification from Microsoft for the laptop. Also worth noting is that it may not end up getting the certification despite its efforts, and if there’s no certification then that also means no official working version of Windows 10 for the device. The Pixelbook certainly seems to be powerful enough and come with the necessary hardware specifications that Windows 10 would require to run, whether or not that ever becomes reality is unclear.