READ NEXT: These are the best Chromebooks you can buy Google Pixelbook Go review: What you need to know The Pixelbook Go's scores were average for its category of high-end Chromebooks, which includes models like the Acer Chromebook 714 and Lenovo Yoga Chromebook C630 in addition to steeds from Google's own stable. Less-expensive Chromebooks perform far worse—around 200 on WebXPRT and around 100 on CrXPRT. The Pixelbook has the older chips: Intel’s seventh-generation i5-7Y57 or i7-7Y75, depending on the configuration. The Pixelbook Go is the newer device, therefore it has newer Intel processors with an added third option: The eighth-generation m3-8100Ym, the i5-8200Y, and the i7-8500Y.

As for Google Assistant, the service can be activated either using a dedicated keyboard button or via your voice, if you don’t invest in the Pixelbook Pen. However, the latter only works when the laptop is logged into – waking the Pixelbook with a ‘Hey, Google’ voice command is in the works, we’re told. As a writer, my favorite aspect is possibly the 235-ppi resolution on the 12.3-inch screen, as text in Google Docs and the iA Writer app looked crystal clear. 4K video isn't abundant at the moment, but details in a 4K nature video I streamed on YouTube were wonderfully clear, allowing me to see every scale and bead of water of a luxuriating snake. However, both Google's video player and the VLC video app need a little more tweaking to support 4K video. There's no denying that the Pixelbook feels great to hold and use. The chassis itself sits with the best that Lenovo, HP, and Dell have to offer in the lightweight subnotebook convertible category while remaining firm and surprisingly unyielding. It would be quite the competitor in the mainstream Ultrabook space in the unlikely event that we see a Windows-based Pixelbook. Powered by an 8th Gen Intel® Core™ (m3/i5/i7) processor for faster browsing, gaming, and seamless 4K output to an external monitor. Compare m3, i5, and i7 processors

In real-world numbers, the Go has one of the best battery life endurances we’ve ever tested on a Chromebook. It lasted over 13 hours in both our web browsing and video loops tests. We saw good performance in the Pixelbook battery too, but the Go was our clear winner in this scenario. The Pixelbook Go is no Pixelbook 2 That’s what tips the balance in favour of a five star Best Buy award for me. With battery life this good and a keyboard this usable, I’ve found myself searching for reasons why I wouldn’t use Pixelbook Go over any other laptop. The Bellroy sleeve also offers a wedge mode that lets you to turn it into a stand, elevating the screen closer to eye level and allowing you to type on keys raised at an angle, which can prove more comfortable. Frustratingly, the wedge position requires you to fold a flap inside the sleeve to a position that doesn't quite feel natural or correct.

In both cases, however, we tend to find that Intel Core processors feel zippier, maybe even overkill, for basic Chrome OS functions. It’s when you dive into the Android and Linux aspects that you may feel the pinch of these “Y” chips. Chromebooks aren’t meant to run AutoCAD or Destiny 2, but you should see good performance using web applications and non-graphics-heavy Android apps. Portability The Pixelbook Pen works beautifully as a stylus, offering plenty of pressure response as well as tilt support, which makes drawing on the display a pleasure. The display’s snappy response helps the digital ink follow close enough behind the pen that any delay is indiscernible.

The best Chromebook to date – period

Add “Go”, “Lite” or “LE” to a product’s name and the immediate assumption would be that it’s had its function or appearance curtailed in some way. That’s why I was surprised that Google chose to go with the Pixelbook Go as the name for its latest flagship Chromebook. This is a gorgeous laptop. It’s slim, light, very nicely put together, and it has a big, bright 13.3in screen. With a comfy keyboard and large touchpad it’s a great all-round machine. And it houses, not an Intel Celeron as so many of its Chromebook brethren do, but a full-fat Intel Core i5 CPU. This is a proper laptop, in other words, albeit one that runs ChromeOS. The Pixelbook Go's camera is far better than those of most other ultraportable laptops, owing to its 1080p resolution. (Most laptop webcams are limited to shooting video in 720p.) This means noticeably better videoconferencing quality—the picture was free of graininess during my testing in a brightly lit office, something that even far more expensive laptops can't accomplish. Parents buying their college-bound son or daughter a Pixelbook Go will appreciate this feature.

Now, let’s discuss what you’ll spend your entire time staring at: the display. Short of the highest-end configuration, the Pixelbook Go utilizes a 1080p touchscreen, which we find to display colors with the vibrancy and accuracy we expect from laptops within the high-end price range. However, we do wish that Chrome OS could render at native resolution without scaling – the most legible scaling produces an effective 1,600 x 900 resolution, cheapening the impact of its 1080p standing somewhat. November 10, 2017 update: We incorrectly stated that the Pixelbook ships with a 15 W Core i5-7200U. This has been corrected to the 7 W Core i5-7Y57.) Where the Pixelbook Go stretches out a lead over all its rivals is battery life. Quite simply, it’s stunning in this regard. In our video rundown test, it lasted 14hrs 15mins, which is nearly five hours longer than the Dell Inspiron Chromebook 14 and nearly six hours longer than the Pixel Slate. This really is a laptop you can work on all day without plugging it in into the mains, perhaps more so than any other conventional laptop I’ve used. And the fact you can charge it via USB Type-C only adds to the convenience. Lasting for more than 16 hours on our battery rundown test, the Pixelbook Go is an excellent choice for a laptop to accompany you on your next flight, or even just a day of meetings with no chance to visit a power outlet.Powered by a 7th Gen Intel® Core TMi5-7Y57 or i7-7Y75 processor for faster browsing, gaming, and seamless 4K output to an external monitor. Compare i5 and i7 processors Chromebooks aren't for everyone. As detailed on our list of what Chromebooks can and cannot do, its environment does not cater to the everyday needs of most Windows or MacOS users and is instead made to serve as a SSH client with heavy dependence on Google's cloud services. As a result, Chromebooks are often very inexpensive since Chrome OS is laser-focused on web browsing and remote work. Recent examples include the Acer Chromebook 14, Lenovo Flex 11, and Lenovo ThinkPad 13 each retailing for less than half of Google's latest convertible. One huge benefit of Chromebooks is that they normally all come with squeaky-clean installs of Chrome OS, and naturally the Google Pixelbook Go is the cleanest of them all. However, this also means that this laptop doesn’t really offer anything truly unique in terms of software or features that isn't already offered by other Chromebooks.