Google had some news to reveal at this year’s big Intel Developer Forum conference today, including new Chromebook hardware from brand new OEM partners, as well as a few existing ones. The new devices will include notebooks powered by Chrome OS from Asus and Toshiba, as well as newly designed models from existing partners Acer and HP, and will roll out “over the coming months,” according to Google.
The new line of Chromebooks are based on Intel’s latest Haswell processor architecture, which offers big benefits in terms of power draw and performance. Google says that leads to battery life that lasts “all day,” though it isn’t being very specific about hardware specs or details yet. The Acer Chromebook is described as “light and portable,” while the HP Chromebook14 will offer a variety of color options as well as 4G connectivity on some models, and Asus is offering a Chromebox for portable desktop computing.
So with new hardware partners included, Google now has six top laptop OEMs working on the Chromebook line, including Samsung and Lenovo, in addition to its own hardware in the high-end Chromebook Pixel. The thin, browser-like Chrome OS is increasingly a popular option for hardware makers looking for a way to defray losses from the shrinking PC market, alongside Android, so it’s not surprising to see more manufacturers come on board. Pricing and other details around the new machines will follow later on.