Recently, the new Chromebooks have been rolled out. And due to some reason, $600 Chromebooks are a dangerous development for Microsoft. Here, this post will show you the specific factors and how it reflects. Just read the following paragraphs to learn more!

$600 Chromebooks

This week at IFA in Berlin, among the new hardware launch, there are two premium Chromebooks including Lenovo’s $600 Yoga Chromebook and Dell’s $600 Inspiron Chromebook 14.

The former brings high-end styling and materials to the Chromebook space and has well-specced internals and a high-quality screen. The latter offers better styling, bigger, better quality screens, and superior specs to the Chromebook space although it has slightly lower specs.

These systems join a few other premium Chromebooks that has been already out there, for example, HP’s Chromebook x2 a few months ago, Samsung Chromebook Plus and Pro more than a year ago, etc. And these systems can cause ripples in Redmond.

To put it simply, most Chrome systems are cheap since they use plastic instead of metal, inexpensive ARM processors instead of more powerful and pricier Intel ones, TN instead of IPS, etc. Besides, Chromebooks are hitting the same price points as netbooks did in the mid-2000s.

This makes Chromebooks extremely attractive in the K12 education market. And for careless student users, they are a good choice due to the low price and almost disposable nature of the devices.

However, these $600 Chromebooks are not aimed at those students. Lenovo reps say the new Chromebook’s development is due to the demand for Chromebooks from users with a bit more disposable income.

For example, new college students having used Chrome OS at high school and families wanting robustness of Chrome OS are looking for machines that use better materials, are more attractive, powerful and a bit faster. And $600 Chromebooks are such machines.

$600 Chromebooks Are a Dangerous Development for Microsoft

This shows a few things. Most important of all, Chrome OS’s mix of Web applications is enough to meet the needs of a growing number of home and education users. And Windows still has application advantage overall.

However, as Web applications continue to improve, these applications are becoming less relevant. And a browser and the Web are sufficient for many users, Windows is not necessary and even there is no need to run the browser.

Namely, this is bad news for Windows. In the consumer space, Windows’s position has vastly eroded by smartphone’s rise and the subsequent loss of the smartphone market to iOS and Android. But Chrome OS expands beyond K12 education into both college and home environments. This means PC-Windows’s home turf, is under the attack.

In many situations, the traditional third-party applications of Windows are irrelevant at best, and downright liabilities at worst. And Windows could stick around in these consumer markets if it were still the place to run a browser. But undoubtedly, Chrome OS has advantages over Windows if you want to do is to run a browser.

Final Words

As time goes on, this will also have an influence on the corporate space. Currently, it seems that Chrome OS’s success is limited and fairly US-centric. In this way, the knock-on effects on consumer and enterprise spaces should be reduced.

However, this development is not only bad news for Microsoft’s position in the consumer market but also across Microsoft’s entire business.

Tip: If you are running Windows PC instead of Chrome system, we suggest using free backup software, MiniTool ShadowMaker, to back up all important files, OS, disk or partition to keep PC safe.
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