 The Pixelbook Go is super portable, it's physically beautiful, it feels great to use, and it starts at just $50 more than last year's Pixel Slate, $649 US dollars. That might seem steep for what is still a Chromebook. But Google might not be completely out of their minds. Did you know that in 2018, Chromebooks had 60% market share in US K-12 classrooms? I didn't. That was someone falling off their chair because they were so shocked. So maybe Chrome OS deserves a bit more respect. Maybe the Pixelbook Go isn't a totally unnecessary product. What's this? The top-end model costs $1400? Motherf- Corsair's Hydro-X series of custom cooling components includes water blocks, reservoirs, fittings, adapters, tubing, and more. Check it out at the link in the video description. There's a lot to like here. The aesthetics and the industrial design of this machine are on point. The playful rounded edges and even the Pixelbook branding above the keyboard are reminiscent of the 2006 MacBook, but much slimmer and sexier. And the shell is made of what Google calls finely painted magnesium, which not only makes the Pixelbook go crazy light, but it also gives it a wonderful matte finish that makes it look kind of like plastic, but not in a cheap way at all, if that makes sense. The ribs on the bottom give the Pixelbook an extra bit of visual flair and also make it easier to grip, making it just the kind of design that makes you want to pick it up and go and maybe never come back. Despite its tiny slim body, Google was able to pack a 47-watt-hour battery inside, which they say will last up to 12 hours of mixed use. And in our testing, got pretty darn close, more like 11 plus hours of mixed use. But that's still more than enough for a workday, and with this kind of build quality, I would expect it to stand up handily to the rigors of daily business use. For a device this thin and light, the Pixelbook Go feels shockingly sturdy and rigid, and the hinge barely wobbles at all, even if you are a lap-typer. So let's think, what else is good? Titan C security chip, fast charging, oh, the keyboard! It's quite similar to the original Pixelbooks. It's LED illuminated, it's extremely thin while retaining a distinct tactile bump, and Google advertised their switches as hush keys. And they're indeed extremely quiet to type on, but unlike the horrendous keyboard folio from the Pixel Slate, they're not mushy at all. Now there's still a launcher button in place of the caps lock, and there's still no delete key, but depending on your preference, this may or may not bother you. Riley in particular said he found alt backspace super easy to get used to. So overall, we both ended up liking the keyboard, but not without a couple of small gripes. The trackpad is also great. It's large, it's made of glass, it's very responsive, and has a nice, satisfying soft touch feel. I dare say it's almost as good as a Mac trackpad. And you know what? Even the webcam is good. You can just make out the intricate design on that motherboard water bottle that you could get at lttstore.com. Okay, so is that enough? Can we talk about the bad stuff now? Alright. So the 13-inch 1080p display has touch, it's bright enough for outdoor use, but it's got these massive top and bottom bezels that might contribute to the 2006 MacBook vibe if you're into that, but definitely look out of place on a modern device. And I don't think I'm the only one who's going to be a little underwhelmed by both the specs and the I.O. You get just a headphone jack and two USB type-C ports, no Thunderbolt 3, and even the thousand dollar model is equipped with only a Core i5 and 128 gigs of local storage. In fairness, premium thin and light notebooks like Dell's XPS series are priced fairly similar, but the XPS in particular is a lot faster, and it, you know, runs Windows. Now I know, I know, comparing Chromebooks to Windows books isn't super fair, and an 8th Gen Y series ain't the sharpest crayon in the shed, sure, but Chrome OS is built to run on low spec machines, right? Well, yes, but what is fair to ask is what exactly is it running? Because the thing is, even though Chrome OS has indeed come a long way, it's got a proper file manager, it's got support for Android apps, and it's even got some limited Linux functionality now baked right in, Windows and Mac OS still wipe the floor with it when it comes to support for professional app suites like Microsoft Office, Adobe Creative Cloud, or, well, just about any app that doesn't run in a browser. I mean, even Chrome, the browser, has some shortcomings on a Chromebook. For example, you can't sign into and then switch between your personal and your work Google accounts without logging out entirely and then logging back in. This might not be applicable to you, but it is a disadvantage for people with personal and work accounts that want to, like, flip between them on their lunch break, for example. Now, there are workarounds for filling in some of Chrome OS' missing functionality. The problem is just that they kind of suck. Need to use Word? Well, you could just switch to Google Docs and break the formatting of your documents, or you could use Word Online and deal with the limited functionality of the browser-based app. Want to use Photoshop? Well, there are a great number of simplified versions of the app that you can try. Want to play games? Well, that's no problem, as long as you like mobile games and not cool ones like Call of Duty Mobile, because setting those up with a mouse and keyboard is a real hassle. So the question here and its answer is similar to the one we asked in our iPad Pro review. Can this thing work as your main computer? And the answer is yes. But should it work as your main computer? No. And the main reason why still comes down to price. If this thing was running Windows, I'd probably be daily driving it right now. It feels so good. But Chrome OS is just demonstrably worse as an operating system than Windows or Mac OS. So because of that, buying a Chromebook only makes sense if it's considerably cheaper than a comparable Windows laptop or a MacBook. I mean, that is assuming that the most important thing to you in a laptop is functionality in addition to aesthetics, because the Pixelbook Go is definitely strong in that latter category. It's kind of like a fat, useless dog or cat, you know, like it's cute, but it's a mockery of its wild predator ancestors. You know, like, yes, you are. You're just so cute. Go fetch. So even though the Pixelbook Go represents the cheapest flagship Chromebook that Google has ever made, I mean, even the Pixel Slate started at 800 bucks once you factored in a keyboard attachment, it's still just too expensive to be a serious option. Or is it? Okay, crazy, crazy pitch here, guys. I think Google keeps making these things knowing that nobody is buying them because they are playing the ultimate 4D chess long game here. All right. The Pixelbook lineup is for customers that don't exist yet, but they will in the future. Once all those kids who have spent their formative years using cheap plastic Chrome OS notebooks grow up, enter the business world, and then want something familiar, but that doesn't trash their cred when they whip it out in the boardroom. Right there. That's it. For now, though, I just can't recommend this thing. I mean, I do want to thank Google for sending it to us to review, though. Every once in a while, we get accused of being Google fanboys and girls. And then, you know, fortunately, along comes something like a Pixelbook, giving us a great opportunity to prove that, no, we do not in fact like everything that Google does. Yet. Speaking of yet, Hi-Fi Man and Massdrop really are the perfect combination, and their Massdrop X Hi-Fi Man HE-4XX Plano Magnetic Headphones are a great example of how they both listen to the community. They're an open back headphone design with a smooth and engaging sound, not to mention bass that slams. They've got a soft touch matte finish that's matte enough to resist fingerprints even, and they include a one year manufacturer warranty. Best part, they're on sale now for 130 bucks instead of $180, so check it out today. Join the drop at the link in the video description. Man, it's just so beautiful, isn't it? It's so dumb. Yes, you are. If you guys are looking for something else to watch right now, check out our recent video where we built our very own Minecraft server. Not related to this at all, but whatever, you're here. Why not watch that? That. It's cool. It's pixels.