14 DAY TRIAL // Security updates have become one of the decisive factors when customers worldwide start looking into new devices, and until now, Google’s Chromebooks have more or less lagged behind its rivals due to limited support timeframes.
But as part of its commitment to Chrome OS and Chromebooks, Google has recently decided to introduce a series of major changes, including 8 years of support for all new devices.
In other words, buy a new Chromebook today and you’ll continue to receive updates until 2028, as Google itself promises.
The new Lenovo 10e Chromebook Tablet and Acer Chromebook 712 are the first models to benefit from 8 years of updates, and more will probably follow in the coming weeks and months as Google wants to make Chrome OS a more powerful rival to Windows and macOS, especially in the education market.
“When we first launched Chromebooks, devices only received three years of automatic updates. Over the years, we’ve been able to increase that to over six. Last fall, we extended AUE on many devices currently for sale, in many cases adding an extra year or more before they expire. This will help schools better select which devices to invest in and provide more time to transition from older devices. And now, devices launching in 2020 and beyond will receive automatic updates for even longer, “ Jim Deno, Program Manager, Chrome OS, explained.
The new update policy is only available for new devices, so the existing Chromebooks models won’t benefit from extended support.
Windows 10 support
Support for Microsoft’s Windows 10 depends on the operating system version that customers purchase. For example, the most recent version, Windows 10 version 1909 (November 2019 Update) is supported for Home, Pro, Pro Education, and Pro for Workstations editions until May 11, 2021. Enterprise and Education SKUs will continue to be serviced until May 10, 2022.
At the same time, however, Microsoft offers enterprises the LTSC/LTSB editions, which receive up to 10 years of updates. Windows 10 Enterprise LTSC 2019, for example, which launched on November 13, 2018, will reach the mainstream support end date on January 9, 2024, but extended support will continue to be offered until January 9, 2029.
However, Google addressing this major drawback of Chrome OS is certainly bad news for Microsoft, as it makes the platform a better choice for both the education and enterprise markets in the long term. Whether or not this will improve Chromebook adoption remains to be seen, but it’s very clear Google is pushing hard in this direction.