ChromeOS will continue receiving updates beyond 2034

When it comes to laptop hardware, Google is making some significant changes as it moves away from Chromebooks and pushes Googlebooks. The first wave of devices were revealed earlier this month, and moving forward, more models will be revealed by Google’s OEMs.

This brings into question what will happen with existing Chromebooks, and in particular the support of its operating system – ChromeOS.

To offer up some clarity on that front, Google issued an update to one of its support pages.

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“We will maintain support for current Chromebook devices running ChromeOS as outlined in our Auto Update policy and the Chromebooks you have today will continue to receive updates through their supported lifetime. Chromebooks remain available for all school and enterprise deployments today,” it explained.

“Your active ChromeOS Enterprise Upgrade and ChromeOS Education Upgrade associated with existing devices will remain and maintain their current management capabilities,” it added.

More specifically, the company outlined a 10-year period of support for newer Chromebook laptops. Older models can expect support up until 2034.

“ChromeOS devices will continue to receive regular updates and security patches through mid-2034. For qualifying devices purchased today whose 10-year support lifecycle extends beyond 2034, Google is committed to supporting your transition to Googlebook OS, with many devices offering direct migration paths,” an FAQ on the support page pointed out.

As for ChromeOS-powered devices migrating over to the new operating system, Google did share that certain new models of Chromebook would be able to do so, but did not make mention of any specific OEM manufactured offerings.

“Many newer commercial Chromebook models will be capable of upgrading to Googlebook OS. Details on migration paths and device eligibility will be shared at a later date,” it concluded.

As such, those who have already invested in ChromeOS and Chromebooks, support will remain in place for quite a few more years before switching to newer hardware needs to be considered.

[Image – Photo by Andrew Neel on Unsplash]

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