The Asus Chrome OS Tablet Rumor
The 2019 Consumers Electronic Show doesn’t begin until January, but the rumors about upcoming releases were rampant today. On Twitter (@rquandt) Roland Quandt shared information about upcoming releases from Asus and other manufacturers. Quandt, who has a reputation for ferreting out early tech news, dropped several announcements in the past 24 hours, but the most intriguing tidbit is his claim that Asus might show a 10-inch Chrome OS tablet:
Don’t be surprised when ASUS launches what I think is its first Chrome OS tablet ~10inch screen. Could be one of the devices we get to see at #CES2019.
— Roland Quandt (@rquandt) November 12, 2018
Once the tweet dropped, it wasn’t long before geek sites picked it up and ran with it. (We’re running right along with the rest of them).
Why You Should Care
Asus releasing a Chrome OS tablet is exciting for several reasons. On the Chrome OS tablet front, Google’s soon-to-be-released Pixel Slate is getting all the attention. The Pixel Slate is available for pre-order and goes on sale on November 22nd and the specs are relatively high, even for the base model. But so is the price and the wait is long. If you pre-order the base model today, you are still looking at 3-4 weeks until the Pixel Slate ships. Google always aims high with their Android and Chrome hardware. Google’s previous mobile computing hardware releases are aimed at the top end of the Android and Chrome market. It’s the other players in the game who offer lower specs and build quality, along with the lower prices.
Acer’s Chromebook Tab 10 gets the record book asterisk as the first consumer Chrome OS tablet. The Chromebook Tab 10 met with mixed reviews when it launched in early 2018, mostly due to concerns that the Chrome OS was not up to the task of running a full tablet operating system. Acer also aimed the Chromebook Tab 10 as an educational tool which is cool for little Billy in 2nd Grade Language Arts but a bit of a let down to the rest of us who were hoping for an alternative in the listless Android tablet space.
If Asus releases a Chrome OS tablet shortly after Google launches the Pixel Slate will hopefully mean the general public will get the chance to get their hands on a relatively premium device with nice specs but a lower price and wider availability than the Pixel Slate. Even if Asus shows a Chrome OS tablet at CES 2019, that’s not a guarantee the tablet will be ready to go retail. But who knows? We must wait for the next rumor.
