Google's 10-year Chromebook lifeline leaves old laptops headed for silicon cemetery
- Reference: 1736163909
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2025/01/06/chromebook_end_of_life/
- Source link:
The appliance-like laptop devices were introduced by megacorp in 2011, running its Linux-based ChromeOS platform. They have been produced by a number of hardware vendors and proven popular with buyers such as students, thanks to their relatively low pricing.
The initial devices were designed for a three-year lifespan, or at least this was the length of time Google was prepared to issue automatic updates to add new features and security fixes for the onboard software.
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Google has extended this Auto Update Expiration (AUE) date over the years, prompted by irate users who purchased a Chromebook only to find that it had just a year or two of software updates left if that particular model had been on the market for a while.
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The latest extension came in September 2023, when the company promised [4]ten years of automatic updates , following pressure from the US-based Public Interest Research Group (PIRG). The advocacy organization had recommended this move in its [5]Chromebook Churn report, which criticized the devices as not being designed to last.
PIRG celebrated its success at the time, claiming that Google's decision to extend support would "save millions of dollars and prevent tons of e-waste from being disposed of."
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But Google's move actually meant that only Chromebooks released from 2021 onward would automatically get ten years of updates, starting in 2024. For a subset of older devices, an administrator (or someone with admin privileges) can opt in to enable extended updates and receive the full ten years of support, a spokesperson for the company told us.
This, according to PIRG, still leaves many models set to reach end of life this year, or over the next several years.
"According to my research, at least 15 Chromebook models have already expired across most of the top manufacturers (Google, Acer, Dell, HP, Samsung, Asus, and Lenovo). Models released before 2021 don't have the guaranteed ten years of updates, so more devices will continue to expire each year," Stephanie Markowitz, a Designed to Last Campaign Associate at PIRG, told The Register .
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End-of-life dates for Chromebook models can be viewed on Google's [8]Auto Update policy page on its support site.
Models that reach their Auto Update Expiration (AUE) date don't suddenly cease to function, of course, it is just that they no longer receive feature or security updates. While this may not bother some users (remember "XP forever"?), organizations that have deployed Chromebooks may decide to replace any end-of-life units, even if they are still working satisfactorily.
[9]PC makers hopeful that Chromebook refresh cycles about to kick in
[10]Not even Chromebooks can escape AI PC craze: Google to inject Plus laptops with LLM juice
[11]How to deorbit the Chromebook... and repurpose it for innovators
[12]Chromebooks are problematic for profits and planet, says Lenovo exec
"In general, end-of-support dates for consumer tech like laptops act as 'slow death' dates," according to Markowitz. "The devices won't necessarily lose function immediately, but without security updates and bug patches, the device will eventually become incompatible with the most up-to-date software, and the device itself will no longer be secure against malware and other issues."
While it is inevitable that manufacturers will eventually stop supporting products, they are not always upfront about these timelines with consumers at the point of purchase, Markowitz added. The same can be said of many other products, of course – smartphones typically only offer a few years of updates.
Tech-savvy users may be able to install a replacement platform to their out-of-support device, thus extending its useful life even further, yet this may not always be possible.
"There are many open source operating systems available, which basically means users can switch to free, publicly available software that will keep getting updates and security patches regardless of the device it's being used on," Markowitz said, "but many manufacturers make this difficult or impossible to do on their devices, even after they have stopped offering support."
This makes no sense, she added, as they are "breaking" a device by ending support while also preventing users from fixing or continuing to use the device on their own terms.
Chromebooks have also been criticized for other reasons, with a senior executive at Lenovo once stating the devices are [13]not easy or cheap to recycle , but that it would continue to make and sell them so long as there was a demand. ®
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[2] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/personaltech&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44Z3wMNXKFsntpXb-3spyU_wAAAM4&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
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[4] https://www.theregister.com/2023/09/14/google_chromebook_10_years_updates/
[5] https://pirg.org/edfund/resources/chromebook-churn-report-highlights-problems-of-short-lived-laptops-in-schools/
[6] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/personaltech&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44Z3wMNXKFsntpXb-3spyU_wAAAM4&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[7] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/personaltech&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33Z3wMNXKFsntpXb-3spyU_wAAAM4&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[8] https://support.google.com/chrome/a/answer/6220366
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2024/06/11/chromebook_refresh_cycle/
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2024/05/28/google_ai_chromebook/
[11] https://www.theregister.com/2023/12/11/opinion_column/
[12] https://www.theregister.com/2023/12/07/chromebooks_are_problematic_for_profits/
[13] https://www.theregister.com/2023/12/07/chromebooks_are_problematic_for_profits/
[14] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Something like FydeOS or possibly Chrome OS Flex might help there. I certainly disapproved of Google being allowed to proceed with the highly anticompetitive buyout of Neverware and their CloudReady OS which was suitable for putting on Chromebooks.
Chrome OS Flex
Chrome OS Flex is largely pointless as it doesn't have playstore. Either a regular Linux for the later Chrome OS that really is linux is better.
I did something similar and installed Mint on an old Asus Chromebook. The installation was decidedly fraught and not for the faint of heart. The Chromebook is usable for basic stuff, but it's cludgy and there's no sound
Do they stop working or do they just stop getting updates? It's the former that determines whether they head for landfill.
They stop getting updates, but they work almost like they always did. I used my out of support Chromebook for two or three years, what eventually forced my hand to put Linux on it was that the out of date browser was blocked by a small but increasing numbers of websites (eg Screwfix), or returned misformatted pages that made sites unuseable (eg What HiFi and most sister publications in Future Publishing's stable).
A little popup window reminds you your Chromebook is out of support from time to time, but it's easily overlooked by people who don't understand the possible significance.
"blocked by a small but increasing numbers of websites (eg Screwfix)"
It makes you wonder whether their physical stores have a dress code which would be about the equivalent real world stupidity.
Try going into Screwfix wearing last season's builder's jeans
So long as your builder's bike park is fully accessible then you're always in fashion for Screwfix or any builder's merchant.
Phones
as the article says, phones are the same. I have updated a few to run lineage etc, but then banking apps often stop working, even if you say to said bank "this phone is still getting updates to security etc, whereas the origina OS is not and is now a security risk", they don't care.
I am also surprised that group has not made more noise about W11 and its bad requirements and waste of perfectly good kit
*nix is an option for a lot, but for some users it is not and other apps may not work as you would want (sky sports, Onedrive)
Re: Phones
Does the bank have a choice? I was under the impression that rooting a device would set some sort of write-once flag in the encryption module to state that the device could no longer be "trusted", and that's what is causing the problem. That you're running a better, supported, OS doesn't matter as the encryption thing just says "nope".
Pick one, Google.
Built in obsolescence of three years.
Or do no evil.
You can't do both.
Re: Pick one, Google.
Sure you can! It is all a matter of salesmanship.
Re: Pick one, Google.
"Built in obsolescence of three years"
...which is both unforgivable and irresponsible when we are supposed to be taking care of the planet these days.
Re: Pick one, Google.
"Do No Evil" went away with the poison pill acquisition of Doubleclick
End of Chromebook?
If the hardware starts lasting longer because Google are keeping the updates running longer, that's going to screw the manufacturers. The pricing / performance was based on rapid obsolesence, i.e. your ChromeBook customer was going to be a repeat customer within 3 years.
Now, once everything has averaged out, there's every possibility that they won't be back to buy again for 10 years. On average that's a drop of 66% in anticipated revenue for manufacturers' Chromebook product lines.
There's also a front-loading to this; sales for the next 7 years are likely to decline even more sharply as today's buyers will not be buying again for a long time to come.
And one then has to question, can they still be profitably sold at current prices at 33% (or less) of the established production volume going forward? Probably not. The margins can never have been great (given the low retail price), and low margins work only if the volume is high.
So far as I can see, the only way manufactureres can continue to make money on Chromebooks is if the prices go up. The problem with that is then purchasers might ask if one is buying a Chromebook at full laptop prices, is there any value in having a Chromebook at all?
Many may decide to buy a laptop. If they did, that'd be the end of Chromebook as a viable platform.
Re: End of Chromebook?
quote: your ChromeBook customer was going to be a repeat customer within 3 years.
If I bought a computer that was no use within 3 years I wouldn't buy a thing from that manufacturer again.
Re: End of Chromebook?
Agreed. You and me both.
Re: the end of Chromebook
We can but hope.
And this is why
Chromebooks are banned at the office and at home and are extremely discouraged at the Fine Tertiary Level Institution where I occasionally teach. Well, that, and how badly they do MS Office (Web version only. Web version stinks.). The Fine Tertiary Level Institution has gone so far as to have a special insert just for certain courses requiring the use of MS Office (supplied for 'free' to all students and staff) or 'highly compatible' application suites; Apple iWork (free) and LibreOffice (free) are on the approved list, as long as students turn in DOCX, XLSX, or PPTX files; interestingly, WordPerfect Office (not free) is not on the approved list. (DOC, RTF, TXT, XLS, and PPT are unacceptable; the various ODx formats are accepted by some instructors (me and a few others)...) We are slowly removing MS Office and replacing it with iWork and LibreOffice at the office. At home, I'm pretty much all in on LibreOffice, with occasional iWork for things that LibreOffice is clumsy at (tables; about the only thing that Numbers is good for is building elegant tables...).
Can LibreOffice even run on a Chromebook?
It should be noted that as far as the Fine Tertiary Level Institution is concerned, Chromebooks are a waste of time and money. iPads and iPad Pros are seen as lasting longer and being cheaper in the long run. When Apple products are considered to be cheaper, you're Doing It Wrong.
Re: And this is why
Can LibreOffice even run on a Chromebook?
Yes. My Tosh Chromebook 2 installed LibreOffice as part of the Mint install, and works just fine. Downloaded a 250k XLSX spreadsheet onto it, opened that quickly enough and displayed properly without any challenge. As my Chromebook has only 4 GB RAM and 16 GB of eMMC storage it couldn't cope with anything too meaty in the multi-tasking stakes, but for a ten year old lightweight laptop it's surprisingly sprightly and capable - which goes to show how crippled Chromebooks are under Chrome OS.
Re: And this is why
The life is essentially that of the eMMC.
Re: And this is why
"The life is essentially that of the eMMC."
Or if your Chromebook/Linuxbook can boot from USB, then install your preferred distro on a very compact USB drive, £25 or so for 256 GB, way more than the built in eMMC on early Chromebooks.
Re: And this is why
My dirt cheap Asus Cromebook, bought on impulse a couple of years back as a device to take on travels without caring if it gets lost or stolen, runs LibreOffice in its Linux VM just fine, together with any other Linux apps I've tried. It also runs some old Windows apps under Wine which my Win10 system point-blank refuses to launch, even with compatibility mode settings. It's not the fastest thing on the planet but has a great full-HD screen, decent keyboard, runs cool and silent and "just works" - and nothing beats my glow of smugness seeing others using their ten-times-as-costly theft-magnet Apple MacBooks for exactly the same email/web-browsing/document-editing functions with no appreciable advantage...
10 years !!!
Isn't the amazing thing that we are complaining that 10year old hardware is being abandoned for purely software support costs?
Imagine using a 1985 era Mac or PC-XT in 1995 or a 1995 NiCad-powered 800x600 resolution 486sx portable in 2005 !
Alternately isn't it depressing that PCs haven't noticeably improved in 10 years ?
Re: 10 years !!!
I have a PC I put together in 2013. It has an i5 processor and 32GB RAM. I recently swapped out the graphics card because I was given an Nvidia P2000 which was better than what I had. It's running Linux perfectly happily. I have looked at replacing it a few times but I'm not convinced newer stuff at an affordable price is going to be significantly better. It's not capable of running Windows 11, but that's OK, I don't want to.
As I boasted in another thread, my Xmas project was to convert a 2013 Toshiba Chromebook to run Linux. Took about two slightly hair raising hours, but is now running Mint as a competent (if slow) fully functioning laptop.
To be fair, your non-IT relatives aren't going to be doing this anytime soon, but if you're a Reg reader, then you have few excuses - assuming somebody has hacked out a new bios for you ageing Chromebook.