RGB Keyboard Support Suggests Gaming Chromebooks Are Coming Soon
Chromebooks started as low-cost machines that relied on the cloud to do everything. Little by little, more powerful processors and faster storage have made their way into these machines, and now Chromebook makers may be gearing up to give them more gaming cred with RGB keyboards. There’s only one reason to do this: Steam-enabled gaming Chromebooks are on the horizon.
Google has been talking about bringing Steam to Chrome OS for the last few years, but the so-called “Borealis” project has yet to bear fruit. However, the groundwork is there. Google controls Chromebook platform hardware much more stringently than it does on the Android side. Some recent boards like Volteer have enough power via Intel’s Iris Xe Graphics to play some simple games and even AAA titles on low settings.
The newest wrinkle is alleged support for RGB keyboards in Chrome. RGB has become synonymous with gaming — almost every gaming component and peripheral these days has enough LEDs to be confused with a flying saucer. According to 9to5Google, the open source Chromium project recently added a flag for RGB keyboards. When enabled, the feature will allow gamers to change the color of each key and cycle through multiple effects. That means there will probably be a GUI of some sort, but it’s not available in any public versions of Chrome OS yet.
The code points to several RGB Chromebooks, two of which are codenamed Vell and Taniks, based on the 12th Gen Intel Alder Lake CPUs. 9t05 speculates these are HP and Lenovo gaming laptops, respectively. There may also be some support for detachable RGB keyboards. A device called Ripple in the open source code appears to be removable — it might be an accessory or simply the keyboard for a 2-in-1 device.
It’s not a sure thing Steam will launch on these RGB-equipped Chromebooks, but it seems like a safe bet. When Steam does finally launch, it’s not going to be the same experience as it is on Windows. Chrome OS is essentially Linux, and many popular games are Windows-only. Still, it’ll be better than playing Android games on your Chromebook. Currently, about 80% of the top 100 Steam games run on Linux, thanks no doubt to Valve’s efforts to make Steam OS a thing. Now, Valve is on the verge of releasing the Steam Deck, which also runs Linux.
Continue reading
Chromebooks Gain Market Share as Education Goes Online
Chromebook sales have exploded in the pandemic, with sales up 90 percent and future growth expected. This poses some challenges to companies like Microsoft.
Microsoft Bleeds Market Share as Chromebooks Outsell Macs for the First Time
Microsoft bled a lot of market share to Chromebooks in 2020, and analysts don't expect things to slow down in 2021.
Windows 10X, Microsoft’s Chromebook Competitor, Supposedly Coming Later This Year
Windows 10X will reportedly ship on systems in H2 2021. Originally intended to compete as a high-end OS variant for premium devices, Windows 10X is now intended for educational markets, where Chromebooks have recently made huge strides.
Chromebook Demand Falling as COVID Vaccination Increases
Windows demand should be buoyed by Windows 11's release, but the report predicts that Chromebook sales will continue to drop through next year.