NS The original Pixelbook Four years later, it’s still beautiful hardware, and even my entry-level i5 model is fast enough for everyday use. In fact, I write 99% of my content here. Although this is a Google device, there is one thing that is a bit disappointing. This is just an older Android version. Android 11 was announced for Chromebooks in April, and you’ll find a lot of Chromebooks with it. However, the launch was slow as Android 11 quietly rolled out to more devices.
Right after I quit running Android 11 on my Pixelbook, I saw an update notification pop up. At first it seemed like a normal Chrome OS release, but when the Chromebook took 30 seconds or so to reboot, I thought it might be more. And look. I was running Android 11. If so, has it improved?
Given that this is the first Chrome OS release running Android 11 on a Pixelbook, the experience is surprisingly stable. Transparency issues with Android app notifications (shown above). Productivity Launcher flag I enabled it, not the Android update itself.
Apart from small visual improvements to notifications, one of the highlights of Android 11 is the improved dark mode. Apps like Telegram automatically switch themes with the system, just like a phone. Another appreciable improvement is better app extensions. Android apps usually look awkward when you change the Chromebook’s default display size, and Android 11 fixes the problem by adjusting the overall layout, fonts, and interface to fit the rest of the display size.
There are further improvements under the hood, with significant performance improvements in virtualization. With Chromebooks in mind, you’ll see better performance in apps that haven’t been updated.
I got the Android 11 update from the Chrome 97 developer channel for my Pixelbook, plus other users watching from the canary. Hopefully it won’t take long for everyone to use it.
Thanks: Engraved gold
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