Tested using Methodology v0.8
Reviewed Nov 01, 2021 at 01:58 pm
By Alexander Tozzi, Ryan Lim, and Yannick Khong
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overview test results deals 0 comments
Size
Operating System
The Google Pixelbook Go (2019) is a 13 inch Chromebook that's lightweight and easy to carry around.It has great up-firing speakers that get very loud,a good 1080p webcam for video calls, as well as a decent keyboard and excellent trackpad.Like all Chrome OS devices, youcan't runx86 desktop applications, meaning you're mostly limited to using the Chrome browser, Linux apps,and Android apps from the Google Play Store. It's available with Intel 8th GenY-series processors, which are powerful enough to handle light productivity tasks but aren'tideal for heavy workloads. The batterylaststhrough a typical8-hour workday on a full charge, and while it does get a bit hot under load, it remains completely silentthanks to its fanless design.
Our Pixelbook Go has an Intel Core m3 model with 8GB of RAM. It can handle most light productivity tasks, but we recommend heavy multitaskersopt for the Core i5 variant with 16GB. The Core i7 model comes with a 4k display and is the only option with 256GB storage, but the higher resolution likely won't be noticeable to most people at this screen size and will negatively impactbattery life. Also, even the top-end i7 model might still struggle in very demanding tasks like video editing. Every component is soldered onto the motherboard and is non-upgradeable, so you need to make sure to get the configuration you want when making your purchase.
Our Verdict
8.0 School
The Google Pixelbook Go is great for student use. It's easy to carry around because it's thin and light, and its battery lasts an entire day unless you're gaming. The keyboard is decent and quiet, and the touchpad is responsive. The Intel CPUs are powerful enough to handle light tasks, like word processing and web surfing, but they struggle with demanding workloads like complex 3D design or physics simulations. Also, you're limited to web-based and Android apps because Chrome OS doesn't support x86 desktop apps.
Pros
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Easy to carry around.
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Battery lasts a full 8-hour day of light productivity and video playback.
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Exceptionally well-built.
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1080p webcam captures decent amount of detail.
Cons
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Only has USB-C ports.
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Must be online to perform most tasks.
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Can't run x86 desktop apps.
3.7 Gaming
The Google Pixelbook Go is bad for gaming. The Intel Y-series processors and integrated graphics can handle some light Android games from the Google Play Store but not demanding AAA titles. Also, you can't run DirectX games like Shadow of the Tomb Raider or Civilization VI due to Chrome OS' limitations.
Pros
-
Doesn't get too hot and is silent under load.
Cons
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Y-series CPU and integrated graphics can't handle heavy workloads.
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Only has USB-C ports.
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Must be online to perform most tasks.
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Can't run x86 desktop apps.
8.2 Multimedia
The Google Pixelbook Go is great for media consumption. Its 1080p screen delivers a sharp image, and you can also purchase it with a 4k display on the Core i7 model if you wish. Our model has near-full sRGB coverage, decent color accuracy out of the box, and gets bright enough to fight glare in most environments. Its up-firing speakers sound clear and loud, but like most laptops, there's a noticeable lack of bass. The battery lasts an entire day of video playback.
Pros
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Easy to carry around.
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Battery lasts a full 8-hour day of light productivity and video playback.
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Great-sounding speakers.
Cons
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Doesn't handle reflections well.
3.6 Workstation
The Google Pixelbook Go is bad for use as a workstation. Its low-power Intel Y-series processor can't handle heavy workloads, and it only has integrated graphics, making tasks like 3D rendering extremely time-consuming. Everything is soldered onto the motherboard, which means you can't upgrade any of the components after purchase. You'll likely need a dock or dongles because it only has USB-C ports.
Pros
-
Doesn't get too hot and is silent under load.
Cons
-
Y-series CPU and integrated graphics can't handle heavy workloads.
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Only has USB-C ports.
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Must be online to perform most tasks.
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Can't run x86 desktop apps.
7.0 Business
The Google Pixelbook Go is decent for business use. Both the laptop and the charger are compact and easy to carry around, which is great for people who travel for work. Plus, its battery lasts through an entire 8-hour workday. Unfortunately, it only handles light productivity tasks, and you can't run any x86 desktop apps on Chrome OS without a workaround through a third-party solution. It only has USB-C ports, which means you'll likely need a dongle if you want to connect to an external display or projector.
Pros
-
Easy to carry around.
-
Battery lasts a full 8-hour day of light productivity and video playback.
-
Exceptionally well-built.
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1080p webcam captures decent amount of detail.
Cons
-
Y-series CPU and integrated graphics can't handle heavy workloads.
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Only has USB-C ports.
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Must be online to perform most tasks.
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Can't run x86 desktop apps.
- 8.0 School
- 3.7 Gaming
- 8.2 Multimedia
- 3.6 Workstation
- 7.0 Business
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- Updated Nov 01, 2021: Review published.
Differences Between Sizes And Variants
We tested the Google PixelBook Go with an Intel Core m3-8100Y CPU, 8GB of RAM, 64GB of eMMC storage, and a 1080p display. There are four possible configurations, and they're available in two colors: Just Black and Not Pink. You can see the four modelsin the table below.
| Model | Specifications |
|---|---|
| Core m3 |
|
| Core i5 |
|
| Core i5 |
|
| Core i7 |
|
Our display and performance results are only valid for the configuration that we tested. If you come across a different configuration option not listed above, or you have a similar Google Pixelbook Gothat doesn't correspond to our review, let us know, and we'll update it. Some tests, like black uniformity and color accuracy, may vary between individual units.
You can see our unit's labelhere.
Compared To Other Laptops
Apple MacBook Air 13 (M1, 2020)
The Google Pixelbook Go (2019) and the Apple MacBook Air 13 (M1,2020) are both thin and light ultraportable laptops, but they run on different operating systems. The Pixelbook Go runs Chrome OS, a lightweight Linux-based operating system that supports web apps, Android apps, and Linux apps. On the other hand, the MacBook Air runs macOS, which supports programs optimized for the MacBook Air's M1 SoC, iOS and iPadOS apps, and x86 applications through Rosetta 2. While both laptops are powerful enough for simple tasks like web browsing, the MacBook Air can handle significantly heavier workloads. Battery life is about the same on both laptops for light productivity, but the Pixelbook Go can last much longer for video playback.
Compare Side-by-Side
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Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2019)
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2019) and the Google Pixelbook Go (2019) are very different laptops. The MacBook Pro is available with high-power Intel H-series CPUs and discrete AMD Radeon Pro GPUs, so it can handle significantly more demanding tasks than the Pixelbook Go, which is only available with low-power Intel Y-series processors and integrated graphics. The MacBook Pro runs macOS and supports x86 applications like DaVinci Resolve, whereas the Pixelbook Go runs Chrome OS and supports web apps, Android apps, and Linux apps. If you only perform simple tasks like web browsing and video playback, the Pixelbook Go is a better choice because it's more portable and has much longer battery life.
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HP Chromebook 14 (2021)
The Google Pixelbook Go (2019) and the HP Chromebook 14 (2021) are both Chromebooks designed for light productivity tasks and media consumption. The Pixelbook Go is better for the most part. It has a sharper and brighter display, a larger and more responsive touchpad, and a significantly better webcam. Also, it's available with more powerful CPUs and can handle heavier workloads. The Chromebook 14's battery lasts longer for light productivity, but the Pixelbook Go lasts longer for video playback.
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Acer Chromebook Spin 311 (2021)
The Google Pixelbook Go (2019) is better than the Acer Chromebook Spin 311 (2021). The Pixelbook Go sports a larger, sharper, brighter, and more colorful screen, and you can even upgrade to a 4k display on the Intel Core i7 model. The Pixelbook Go feels sturdier, and despite its larger screen size, it's thinner and takes up less space in a bag. The Pixelbook Go has a backlit keyboard, which the Spin 311 lacks, and it also has a bigger touchpad and a much better webcam. As for the CPU and GPU performance, even the base model of the Pixelbook Go feels snappier and can handle much heavier workloads, although don't expect to perform extremely demanding tasks like 3D modeling or video editing. Battery life is slightly longer on the Acer for light productivity, but it's about the same for both devices with video playback.
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Acer Chromebook Spin 713 (2020)
The Acer Chromebook Spin 713 (2020) and the Google Pixelbook Go (2019) are both Chrome OS laptops that are well suited for productivity and multimedia viewing and are available in a variety of high-performing Intel CPUs, but the Acer is a convertible 2-in-1laptop, whereas the Pixelbook is a traditional clamshell. The Acer's display looks sharper andgets brighter, and it has much more ports. Also, its keyboard keys havelonger travel, and although it isn't silent like the Pixelbook, its keyboard deckdoesn't get nearly as hot under load. On the other hand, the Pixelbook's magnesium alloy body feels significantly better built, andit's more portable. Also, its touchpad is smaller but tracks significantly better, and its speakers sound louder and much nicer.
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HP Chromebook x360 12 (2021)
The Google Pixelbook Go (2019) and the HP Chromebook x360 12 (2021) are both Chrome OS devices, but the HP is a 2-in-1 touchscreen convertible, whereas the Pixelbook is a traditional clamshell laptop. The Pixelbook is a better laptop for productivity and multimedia use, as it has a sharper, brighter, and more colorful display.Its keyboard doesn't feel as fatiguing despite its shorter travel distance, its glass touchpad has excellent tracking and gesture recognition, and its 1080p webcam and microphone are far superior.Also, the Pixelbook's battery lasts far longer, and it feels significantly better built and is somewhat more portable. In addition,it's available with much more powerful CPUs, more RAM, and much faster, larger storage. On the other hand, the HP has a much more flexible port selection, and it doesn't get as hot under load.
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Lenovo Chromebook C340 15 (2020)
The Lenovo Chromebook C340 15 (2020) and the Google Pixelbook Go (2019) are Chrome OS laptops. However, the C340 is a 2-in-1 convertible that you can use as a tablet, whereas the Pixelbook Go is a traditional clamshell laptop. The Pixelbook Go has a smaller display, but it's sharper, brighter, and more colorful, and it's also more color-accurate. Performance is about the same between the C340's Intel Core i3-8130U and the Pixelbook Go's Intel Core m3-8100Y, although you can get the Pixelbook Go with a more powerful Core i5 or i7 processor. Also, the Pixelbook Go starts with 8GB of RAM, whereas the C340 is limited to 4GB. The Pixelbook Go's webcam, speakers, and touchpad are significantly better than the C340's, and it also has longer battery life, especially for video playback.
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Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 15 (2019)
The Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 15 (2019) and the Google Pixelbook Go (2019) are thin and light ultraportable laptops. However, they're quite different because the Surface Laptop 3 runs Windows, while the Pixelbook Go runs Chrome OS. This means that the Surface Laptop 3 can run full x86 applications like Adobe Premiere, whereas the Pixelbook Go is limited to web apps, Android apps, and Linux apps. The Surface Laptop 3 has a larger display and a better keyboard, but its battery life is significantly shorter than the Pixelbook Go's.
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Lenovo Chromebook Flex 5 (2020)
The Google Pixelbook Go (2019) and the Lenovo Chromebook Flex 5 (2020) are both Chrome OS devices. However, the Lenovo is a convertible with a 360-degree hinge, while the Pixelbook has a traditional clamshell design with a touchscreen. The Pixelbook is the better laptop overall, with a brighter, much more color-accurate display, a far better-tracking glass touchpad, and a significantly better webcam, microphone, and speakers. Also, the Pixelbook's battery lasts far longer, and you can get it with faster CPUs, larger SSD storage, and much more RAM. On the other hand, the Lenovo's keyboard has more travel, and its keyboard deck doesn't get as hot under load. Also, it has an extra USB-A port, although it can't output to an external display.
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Acer Chromebook Spin 714 (2022)
The Acer Chromebook Spin 714 (2022) is marginally better than the Google Pixelbook Go (2019). The Spin 714is a newer device, so it's available with faster Intel 12th Gen. CPUs, whereas the Pixelbook Go uses much older Intel 8th Gen. processors. There's also a difference in the form factor; the Spin 714 isa 2-in-1 convertible, meaning you can use it as a tablet, whereas the Pixelbook Go is a clamshell laptop that doesn't supporttouch input. The Spin 714has a wider port selection, as itincludes a USB-A and HDMI port, and its USB-Cs support Thunderbolt 4. On the other hand, the Pixelbook Go has a much larger and more responsive touchpad, and it's more portable because it'ssmaller and lighter.
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Test Results
Design
Form Factor
The Google Pixelbook Go has a simple and somewhat casual design. It comes in two colors, Just Black and Not Pink. The top bezel is a bit thick by current standards, but that also translates to more room on the keyboard deck to rest your wrists, as it's a compact laptop. The bottom has a unique ribbed texture that makes it easier to hold, and the whole laptop has a soft coating on top of its magnesium alloy body.
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9.0 Design
The Google Pixelbook Go feels exceptionally well-built and premium. The body is a magnesium alloy, and neither the screen nor deck exhibit any flex. It does pick up fingerprints easily, which might bother some people.
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9.1 Design
Range
Stability
One Finger Lift
The hinge is outstanding. It feels strong and doesn't wobble, but it's still easy to open the laptop with one finger. Although it has a touchscreen, it isn't a 2-in-1, so it can't flip around for use as a tablet. If you prefer a 2-in-1 Chromebook, check out the Lenovo Chromebook Duet (2020).
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9.2 Design
Size
Thickness
Width
Depth
Volume
Weight
Charger Size
Charger Weight
The Google Pixelbook Go 13.3 is very portable. It's thin and light, and the USB-C charger is also small.
—
3.3 Design
Ease Of Access 6.5
RAM Slots
Storage Slots
Replaceable Battery
Replaceable Wireless Adapter
The Google Pixelbook Go's serviceability is bad. Accessing the components is relatively easy: you only have to remove the feet, some screws, and the battery cable before completely removing the back panel. Unfortunately, everything is soldered onto the motherboard, making it impossible to upgrade and hard to fix. Opening the laptop or making any hardware changes may void the manufacturer's warranty.
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Design
- Google Pixelbook Go
- 45W USB-C wall power adapter
- USB-C to USB-C charging cable (2m)
- Quick start guide
- 3x Google stickers
—
Display
Resolution
Aspect Ratio
Pixel Density
Panel Type
Touch Screen
Screen-To-Body Ratio
The Core m3 and Core i5 models of the Google Pixelbook Go come with a 1080p IPS panel. The i7 model comes with what Google calls a 'Molecular display' with a 4k resolution, which is essentially an LTPS LCD commonly found on mobile devices. LTPS displays have a faster response time and produce more vibrant colors than a typical IPS panel, but they tend to degrade faster. The 1080p screen has a pixel density similar to a 27 inch 4k display, which is sharp enough for most uses. The 4k panel on the i7 model technically delivers a sharper and more detailed image due to its higher pixel density (331 PPI), but you likely won't notice much of a difference on such a small screen.
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5.9 Display
Refresh Rate
Variable Refresh Rate
Both the 1080p and 4k displays are 60Hz. As you can tell from the amount of ghosting in the motion blur photo, the response time is slow, so it isn't ideal for viewing fast-moving content or gaming. Unfortunately, we can't predict how the 4k LTPS display on the i7 model performs.
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8.3 Display
Native Contrast
The 1080p display on the Core m3 and Core i5 models of the Google Pixelbook Go has a great contrast ratio, much better than the typical 700-1000:1 contrast of most IPS panels. However, blacks still look grayish in the dark. LTPS displays typically have roughly the same contrast ratio as high-end IPS displays, so we expect the 4k screen on the Core i7 model to perform similarly. Chromebooks have a built-in Content Aware Brightness Control feature, which is a type of adaptive brightness, but it doesn't seem to affect the checkerboard pattern that we use for testing. The contrast ratio can vary between individual units.
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7.5 Display
Maximum Brightness
Minimum Brightness
The Google Pixelbook Go gets bright enough to combat glare in most settings, but you'll still have problems in very sunny environments. It has an adaptive brightness feature that adjusts the screen's brightness according to the content and the amount of ambient light, but it doesn't seem to do much with our checkerboard test pattern as we've only seen a difference of about 10 cd/m². It gets very dim at the lowest brightness setting for a more comfortable viewing experience in dark rooms. The i7 model with the 4k display seems to have roughly the same peak brightness, according to most online user feedback.
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6.3 Display
Screen Finish
Total Reflections
Indirect Reflections
Calculated Direct Reflections
The Google Pixelbook Go's reflection handling is only mediocre. Even with an image displayed at max brightness, you can still clearly see reflections. If you commonly work in brightly lit rooms and need a Chromebook with better reflection handling, considerr the Lenovo 100e Chromebook 2nd Gen (2019).
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7.0 Display
Uniformity (Std. Dev.)
The Google Pixelbook Go's black uniformity is decent. It has some backlight bleed at the corners and blooming around the test cross, but it's only visible when viewing dark scenes in a dark room. Black uniformity may vary between units.
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6.6 Display
Color Washout From Left
Color Washout From Right
Color Shift From Left
Color Shift From Right
Brightness Loss From Left
Brightness Loss From Right
Black Level Raise From Left
Black Level Raise From Right
Gamma Shift From Left
Gamma Shift From Right
The Google Pixelbook Go has okay horizontal viewing angles. The image looks washed out when viewed from the side, which isn't ideal for sharing the screen with someone else.
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6.5 Display
Color Washout From Below
Color Washout From Above
Color Shift From Below
Color Shift From Above
Brightness Loss From Below
Brightness Loss From Above
Black Level Raise From Below
Black Level Raise From Above
Gamma Shift From Below
Gamma Shift From Above
The vertical viewing angles are passable. The image is dimmer, and colors look faded when viewing from above or below, meaning you need to look at the screen almost straight on for the best image accuracy.
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8.6 Display
Avg. White Balance dE 2.09
Avg. Gamma
Avg. Color dE
Avg. Color Temperature
The Google Pixelbook Go's out-of-the-box color accuracy is excellent. Most color and white balance inaccuracies are hard to spot with the naked eye, and the color temperature is very close to our 6500K target. Gamma doesn't quite follow the sRGB curve; most scenes appear brighter than they should, while very dark and very bright scenes are over-darkened. Color accuracy may vary between individual units.
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8.3 Display
sRGB xy
sRGB uv
Adobe RGB xy
Adobe RGB uv
DCI P3 xy
DCI P3 uv
Rec. 2020 xy
Rec. 2020 uv
The Google Pixelbook Go's 1080p display has near-full sRGB coverage, which is great for most productivity tasks, media consumption, and even some content creators working in sRGB. It has very good coverage of the Adobe RGB and DCI P3 color spaces, but it's likely not wide enough for most professionals. It has very limited coverage of the wider Rec. 2020 color space. We can't comment on how the 4k display performs as we've only tested the 1080p display.
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10 Display
Flicker-Free
Flicker Frequency
Flicker Active Below
The Google Pixelbook Go's backlight is entirely flicker-free, which helps reduce eye strain for some people.
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7.2 Interface
Typing Quality 7.0
Numpad
Backlighting
Operating Force
Actuation Force
Pre-Travel
Total Travel
The Google Pixelbook Go's keyboard is decent. The deck feels solid, and spacing is good, although some might find it a bit cramped. The keys are very stable and provide tactile feedback; however, the key travel is very short and may cause some typos because it's sometimes hard to tell whether a keypress was registered. It's very quiet, which is great for students in classrooms. The backlight has six levels of brightness and gets very bright.
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8.5 Interface
Tracking Quality 9.0
Size
Material
Dedicated Buttons
The Google Pixelbook Go's touchpad is excellent. It feels smooth, responds well to gestures, and it's easy to click and drag things around. Palm rejection is pretty good; it picks up random movements once in a while, but it doesn't happen often, and we don't expect it to be an issue for most people.
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8.4 Interface
Max Volume
Standard Error @ Normal Vol. (65 dB)
Slope @ Normal Vol. (65 dB)
Bass Extension (Low-Frequency Ext.)
Treble Extension (High-Frequency Ext.)
Dynamic Range Compression @ Max Vol.
The Google Pixelbook Go's speakers are great. They're up-firing, and they get pretty loud without much compression at max volume. They don't have much bass, though, which is typical for most laptops.
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8.2 Interface
Video Quality 8.5
Resolution
Position
Privacy Cover
Face Unlock
The Google Pixelbook Go's 1080p webcam is very good. It captures a decent amount of detail, and the colors look natural. Voices come across loud and clear through the microphone, but there's a noticeable static hiss in the background that might distract some people.
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3.0 Connectivity
USB-A Ports
USB-C Ports
Thunderbolt
USB-C Charging
USB-C Display Out
HDMI
DisplayPort
3.5mm Jack
Card Reader
Ethernet
Proprietary Port
Security Lock
The Google Pixelbook Go has very few ports. There are only two USB-C ports, one on each side, and they both support DisplayPort (up to a 4k resolution), charging, and USB 3.2 Gen 1 (up to 5Gbps transfer speed). You'll likely need to carry dongles for your peripherals. If you need a similarly sized Chromebook with an HDMI port, check out the Samsung Chromebook 4 (2019).
—
Connectivity
Wi-Fi
Bluetooth
We don't know which wireless adapter the Google Pixelbook Go uses. It seems like the label is on the underside of the motherboard and hidden underneath a plastic material.
—
Configuration
Brand
Model
Core Count
Thread Count
The Google Pixelbook Go is available in three CPU configurations, all from Intel's 8th generation, known as Amber Lake Y. The Intel Core m3-8100Y in our unit is the base model, and you can also get it with an Intel Core i5-8200Y or the top-end i7-8500Y if you need more processing power. All three processors have two cores and four threads; they only differ in base and boost clock speeds.
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Configuration
Brand
Model
Dedicated/Integrated
VRAM Size
All four configurations of the Google Pixelbook Go have the same integrated GPU. It's powerful enough for general productivity and most games from the Google Play Store, but it isn't ideal for heavy workloads like video editing or AAA gaming.
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Configuration
Capacity
Modules
Type
Speed
The Intel Core m3 model of the Google Pixelbook Go is only available with 8GB of RAM. The Core i5 is available with 8GB or 16GB, and the Core i7 model only has a 16GB option. 8GB is enough for most uses, but if you tend to keep many Chrome tabs open or want to future-proof the device, you might want to opt for the i5 or i7 models with 16GB of RAM.
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Configuration
Advertised Capacity
Usable Capacity
Drive 1
Drive 1 Type eMMC
Drive 2
Drive 2 Type No 2nd Drive
The 64GB eMMC storage drive is the only option available for the Core m3 model. It's likely enough if you mainly keep your data on the cloud, but it'll fill up quickly if you install many apps or games from the Google Play Store. If you need more local storage, you have to upgrade to either the i5 or i7 models, which have 128GB and 256GB of SSD storage, respectively.
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4.7 Performance
CPU Single-Thread
CPU Multi-Thread
GPU Compute
The Core m3-8100Y scores poorly in the Geekbench 5 benchmarks, which is expected for a low-power Y-series processor in a fanless laptop. It struggles in demanding tasks like file compression, encryption, or video encoding, but it's more than enough to run web-based apps on Chrome OS. The Core i5 and Core i7 CPUs are faster, but they have the same number of cores and threads as the Core m3, which means you might not see a significant performance boost in multi-threaded workloads. We can't run the GPU compute test on our version of Geekbench 5 because it doesn't support the proper graphics API, though we don't expect it to perform well as this laptop only has integrated graphics.
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LEARN ABOUT GEEKBENCH 5 (SYNTHETICS)
not tested Performance
Single-Thread
Multi-Thread
Cinebench R23 doesn't work on Chrome OS.
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LEARN ABOUT CINEBENCH R23 (CPU RENDERING)
0 Performance
CPU Render Time
GPU Render Time
GPU Render Time (Optix)
Intel's Y-series processors are very low-powered CPUs that aren't designed for 3D rendering. This means you'll get extremely long render times, even on the Core i7 model.
We ran the CPU render test using the Linux version of Blender since there isn't a version for Chrome OS. We can't run the GPU render test because the Linux version of Blender doesn't support the proper API.
—
LEARN ABOUT BLENDER (3D RENDERING)
1.9 Performance
Overall Score
The Google Pixelbook Go performs terribly in the Basemark GPU benchmark, as expected for integrated graphics. It can handle some light Android games from the Google Play Store, but it isn't powerful enough to run GPU-intensive AAA titles.
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LEARN ABOUT BASEMARK GPU (GAME SCENE)
4.9 Performance
Sequential Write Speed
Sequential Read Speed
Random Write Speed
Random Read Speed
The Core m3 variant of the Google Pixelbook Go uses eMMC (embedded Multi-Media Card) storage with very slow read and write speeds. However, it still feels very responsive because Chrome OS is a relatively light operating system, and most tasks are web-based. When it comes to writing or reading data from the drive, the SSD storage on the i5 and i7 models will perform much faster.
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9.3 Performance
Capacity
Battery Life (Web Browsing)
Battery Life (Video Playback)
Battery Life (Gaming)
Charge Time
The Google Pixelbook Go has outstanding battery life, although it may vary slightly because Chrome OS has an adaptive brightness feature that can't be disabled. You can get nearly thirteen hours of video playback and even longer if you're only doing light tasks like web browsing and text formatting. However, the battery depletes significantly faster if you play games. We expect the Core i5 and i7 variants to have slightly shorter battery life due to their higher CPU clock speeds. The 4k display on the i7 model technically requires more power due to the higher resolution. However, it's also using an LTPS panel, which is known to be more energy-efficient, so it's hard to say how it impacts battery life. Battery life can vary greatly depending on your usage.
—
LEARN ABOUT BATTERY
0 Performance
Avg. FPS
1% Low
0.1% Low
1% Low Delta
0.1% Low Delta
Avg. FPS On Very Low
Borderlands 3 doesn't run on Chrome OS, and it likely wouldn't be able to maintain playable frame rates with such a low-powered CPU and integrated GPU.
—
LEARN ABOUT BORDERLANDS 3
0 Performance
Avg. FPS
1% Low
0.1% Low
1% Low Delta
0.1% Low Delta
Avg. FPS On Minimum
Avg. Turn Time
Civilization VI doesn't work on Chrome OS.
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LEARN ABOUT CIVILIZATION VI
0 Performance
Avg. FPS
1% Low
0.1% Low
1% Low Delta
0.1% Low Delta
Avg. FPS On Low
CS:GO doesn't work on Chrome OS.
—
LEARN ABOUT COUNTER-STRIKE: GLOBAL OFFENSIVE
0 Performance
Avg. FPS
1% Low
0.1% Low
1% Low Delta
0.1% Low Delta
Avg. FPS On Lowest
Shadow of the Tomb Raider doesn't work on Chrome OS.
—
LEARN ABOUT SHADOW OF THE TOMB RAIDER
7.9 Performance
Keyboard Temp While Idle
Keyboard Temp Under Load
Fan Noise While Idle
Fan Noise Under Load
Power & Fan Control App
The Google Pixelbook Go's Y-series processor is fairly low-power, but it can still get pretty hot because there's no fan, causing a hot spot around the '8' on the keyboard. The i5 and i7 models may get even hotter due to their higher clock speeds, but we can't confirm this.
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LEARN ABOUT THERMALS AND NOISE
not tested Performance
CPU Temp (Cinebench)
CPU Perf. Loss (Cinebench)
GPU Temp (Heaven)
GPU Perf. Loss (Heaven)
We can't test the performance over time because UNIGINE Heaven and Cinebench R23 aren't compatible with Chrome OS. That said, we don't expect many users would use a Chromebook for intensive, sustained workloads due to Chrome OS' limitations, even the i5 and i7 models.
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LEARN ABOUT PERFORMANCE OVER TIME
Additional Features And Software
Additional Features And Software
Operating System
Additional Software
The Google Pixelbook Go runs on Chrome OS, a lightweight Linux-based operating system designed to surf the web and run web apps through the Chrome browser. It can run Android apps from the Google Play Store, as well as Linux apps. However, it can't run any desktop x86 applications, like the full version of Adobe Premiere, without a third-party solution like Parallels, which lets enterprise Chromebooks run Windows in Chrome OS. Adobe Acrobat and Lightroom are pre-installed, and the Calm app for sleep tracking and meditation, but none of them offer a free trial, and they require an account or subscription to use. If you find Chrome OS too restrictive and prefer a laptop that can run x86 applications, check out the Apple MacBook Air 13 (M1, Late 2020).
Every Chromebook has an 'expiration date' at which it stops receiving software updates, and according to Google's official document, the Pixelbook Go's end-of-life is June 2026. Google may extend this date as they have in the past for other Chromebooks; it's best to check their official document for any changes.
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Additional Features And Software
RGB Illumination
Touch Pen
Secondary Display
Biometrics
The Google Pixelbook Go doesn't have any extra features like biometric login or pen input. The only other feature Google advertises is the inclusion of the Titan C chip for extra security against malware.
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