Fresh after killing Allo, Google is ready to dismiss another one of its projects. Turns out that the company is ready to downsize its laptop and tablet segment, according to insiders. We could have seen the last of Pixel Slate and Pixelbook models…
Google started a program called “Made by Google” in 2016, an initiative that created a lot of hardware products, ranging from Pixel smartphones to smart speakers, headphones and tablets. According to Business Insider, Google is downsizing and cutting back on the hardware efforts. They’re calling them “roadmap cutbacks”, removing dozens of employees from the “Create” team, which is the hardware division that handles Google’s tablets and laptops.
Employees have been moved to other positions within Alphabet, Google’s parent company. Hardware engineers and technical program managers have been affected by this downsizing. Manufacturing jobs remain stable and unaffected and we’ve heard through the grapevine that the 2019 tablets and laptops are still a go. A Pixelbook 2 may happen, maybe also a Pixel Slate 2.
Of course, Google may just be shuffling employees around, so it’s not a decision set in stone. What’s clear is that Google is struggling to make a dent in the tablet and laptop market, at least with its own hardware products. It’s hard to compete with other companies’ Chromebooks, with Surface tablets and laptops and of course the iPads.
Maybe they’re also holding back for Fuchsia OS.
