Review: Google Chromebook Pixel

By this point, you already have an opinion on Google's Chromebooks. The idea of living with a computer that runs only web apps, some of which also work offline, is a concept you're either OK with or not into at all.

You either get it or you don't. For those who do get it, Google's Chromebook Pixel is an outstanding machine. For those who can't embrace the idea of Chrome OS – even at the low $250 price point of the Samsung Chromebook, itself a fantastic machine – well, the $1,300 Pixel will do absolutely nothing to convert you. If anything, it'll just piss you off. It will elicit scoffs and huffs and grumbles about how Google has no idea what it's doing building a high-priced laptop that only runs a web browser.

You can count me among the converts. I'm what you'd call a cloud power user. For the last couple of years, nearly everything I do on a desktop or laptop computer takes place in the browser (usually with a dozen or so tabs open). As such, everything I need to do for work, I can do on a Chromebook.

After using the Pixel since its launch almost a week ago, I feel like this computer was tailored to suit my current computing life. I'm enamored with the machine.

How could I not be? The Pixel is the most powerful and finely crafted Chromebook ever built. It's lust-worthy in its excess, and there's nothing else quite like it on the market. And if you opt for the $150 LTE connectivity upgrade, it becomes a laptop that's a hell of a lot of fun to take along with you almost anywhere.

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Is the Pixel perfect? Not at all. Does it meet all of my needs? Almost, but no. But with its considerate design, built-in 4G connectivity, gobs of speed, nice trackpad and intriguing, high-density touchscreen, the Pixel is a device that is ahead of its time, and something that's clearly been designed to far exceed the demands of the regular web user.

All previous Chromebooks have been unapologetically utilitarian – cheaply priced, cheaply built, and a bit crude. They're the entry-level economy cars of laptops. They're great secondary computers that I've found myself using as primary machines due to their convenience. But the Pixel is different than all the rest. It's like riding in a plush new, high-performance, luxury sports car. If the Samsung Chromebook is a Honda Fit, the Pixel is a Lamborghini Gallardo. While they live on two opposite ends of the Chromebook spectrum, they perform the same basic functions, albeit with wildly different levels of style, class and power.

Open the lid and the machine starts up automatically. Before you can even reach for the power button, it's on. In about four or five seconds, your login screen pops up. From there, you see your desktop and you're ready to launch any web app or website. Everything is stupid-fast because Chrome OS is such a lightweight operating system. There isn't much to it. Sure, there's a desktop, but you can't do anything with it other than change the wallpaper and pin app icons to the lower left-hand corner (and nowhere else).

No matter which Pixel you buy, Google throws in 1TB of free Google Drive storage for three years. Buying this much Google Drive storage would cost more than the most expensive Pixel.Within the case are damn near the same guts you'd find in a 13-inch MacBook Air, which is priced about the same. Both use Intel's Core i5 CPU with integrated HD Graphics 4000 processing. Both ship with 4GB of RAM, though Apple does offer an optional upgrade to 8GB of RAM for an extra $100. And both have non-user-replaceable batteries, a minimum of ports, and no optical drives.

The Wi-Fi-only version with 32GB of local storage runs $1,300. An upgraded version, which connects to Verizon's 4G LTE network and offers 64GB of local storage, sells for $1,450. No matter which Pixel you buy, Google throws in 1TB of free Google Drive storage for three years. Buying this much Google Drive storage would cost more than the most expensive Pixel ($50 per month over three years is $1,800). It's so much space, I suspect most Pixel users won't even use the whole terabyte afforded them.

But no matter how you look at it, the Pixel isn't cheap. It's priced like a premium laptop because it is one. The quality quickly becomes apparent once you get to using it. It's sturdy as hell. I couldn't find a flex or a creak in my testing. The body is made of durable, smooth anodized aluminum. This metallic skin serves as a comfortable palm rest as you're typing on the Pixel's black chiclet keyboard, which is one of the nicest keyboards I've ever typed on. An ambient light sensor activates keyboard backlighting as needed. And below the keys is a black glass trackpad that is one of the most responsive and finger-friendly trackpads I've ever used. The trackpad captures a feel that's somewhere between glass and smooth rubber. It's soft, but not pliable. And it's awesome.

The Pixel's body design is top-notch, too. It doesn't redefine the laptop in any way, but it's a cleaner take on the rectangles we've seen before. The ports – two USB 2.0, one mini-display port, and a combo SD/MMC card reader – are devoid of labels. There's no Google logo to be found either, just the word "Chrome" inlaid above the keyboard and etched into the back of the display's piano hinge. The cut-out at the center of the laptop's lip (below the trackpad), allows you to get your thumb under the lid to lift it up when it's closed. And it's also the same shape as an upside down tab from the Chrome browser. An LED light strip on the Pixel's lid lights up when you turn it on, when you put it to sleep, or when you type the Konami Code. It serves no real purpose, but it adds a bit of fun to an otherwise business-minded design. The Pixel fits right in with Google Glass, the Nexus 4, 7 and 10 as yet another beautifully designed and well-built device that Google is pushing out to consumers under its own brand.

The Pixel's defining feature is its display – it's packed with more pixels than any other laptop ever made, and it handles touch input gracefully. The display measures about 13 inches diagonally, and it packs a density of 239 pixels per inch. The official resolution is 2560 x 1700 pixels arranged in a 3:2 aspect ratio that's a bit taller than the 16:9 screens found on most laptops. I like the taller display. It's totally natural to use, it makes perfect sense for reading web pages, and it never felt awkward. I also rarely needed to crank the display up to its full brightness. Usually, I found that I was comfortable at about mid-brightness. There's no question that this is one of the best displays I've ever seen on a laptop. It's gorgeous – right up there with Apple's high-density MacBook Pro displays. This is how all laptop displays should look.

When it comes to touch, the display does what it can very well, but that's currently not very much by default. For now, touch input can be used to open links, tap through menus, scroll through web pages, and pan around zoomed-in photos. Pinch-to-scale and other familiar gestures need to be switched on manually (type chrome://flags into the browser and enable what you'd like), and Google has yet to officially add these touch behaviors to Chrome OS.

I do have some other complaints. While toting the Pixel every place with me – all over San Francisco, into Dolores Park on a sunny day, and even on a drive down to Mountain View when I sat in the passenger seat – the 3.3-pound weight felt too heavy.

Battery life left me wanting, too. The best I was able to get out of the Pixel was just over five hours (which, to be fair, is all Google promised) with the display at 50 percent brightness and with Wi-Fi on. Using the LTE connection and cranking the display any higher dropped me to about four hours of juice.

Surfing the web all over the bay area on Verizon's LTE network was freeing – I often experienced download speeds faster than those of the Wi-Fi networks at home and work – but it can get expensive. The Pixel comes with two years of 4G data, capped at 100 megabytes per month. Beyond that, you can buy a $10 day pass or a monthly plan ($20 to $50) from Verizon. I don't like the idea of having to sign up for yet another data plan, or paying extra on top of my already-too-high phone bill to make that happen.

Lastly, the web can't be expected to do any heavy lifting. I do occasionally edit video and work on design-heavy projects, so I have a need for things like Adobe's Creative Suite, Avid, and Final Cut Pro – apps for which there are no true web-based alternatives. This likely won't change for at least a few years, if ever.

Until then, the Pixel is a lot like a Lamborghini, a Rolex watch, or a pair of high-priced Air Jordans. It's cutting-edge, expensive and beautiful, but it's a luxury item. It's priced high enough that few will be able to justify taking the plunge. Those who do, however, likely won't be disappointed.

WIRED A thoughtfully designed, expertly built, premium laptop. One of the best display and trackpad combos you can find. Verizon LTE is fast and abundant. 1TB of free Google Drive storage for 3 years. More power and speed than you need.

TIRED Battery life won't get you through a full workday. Most websites and web-based apps aren't fully ready for touch input. Chrome OS needs more gestures support, too. Not all desktop apps can be matched in the browser. USB 2.0 instead of USB 3.0 makes no sense given the high price.