Over two-years after the original Chromebook Pixel, Google has unveiled its successor with the same name. The new Chromebook Pixel packs updated internals and a lower price-tag than the original.

It is still a niche product, but the new Chromebook Pixel has far better chance of finding buyers than its predecessor as the Chrome OS ecosystem has improved a lot since and the enhanced processors offer better battery life.

According to Google, the Chromebook Pixel will retail via the Google Store, which is a re-branded version of the devices section on Google Play. More on the Google Store later in the report.

Talking about the new Pixel, it sports a 12.85-inch high-resolution touchscreen, an aluminium body, and a glass trackpad along with two USB Type-C ports. The ports will not only act as the charging points for the device, but also allow the users to transfer content to device using the right cable or adapter as well as for the 4K video output via HDMI or display-port adapter. As rightly said in the tech press, it is one port to rule them all.

While Pixel is the first Chrome OS device to feature a USB Type-C port, more upcoming Chrome OS as well as Android devices will have one. It is expected to become the standard port over the coming years.

A USB Type-C is still uncommon, Google has also included two USB 3.0 ports on the Pixel as well as a SD card reader and audio jack.

On the processor and RAM front, Chromebook Pixel buyers will have the option to go for either the latest-gen Intel Core i5 processor with 8GB of RAM or latest-gen Intel Core i7 processor with 16GB RAM. You can check out the detailed specifications later in the report.

Pricing & Availability

According to Google, the Chromebook Pixel will retail starting $999 and is now on sale in the United States via Google Store. No word on release in other countries.

Google Play devices section re-branded as Google Store

Google has re-branded the devices section on Google Play and it will now be known as Google Store. It will now be directly accessible at store.google.com and offer branded Nexus phones, Nexus tablets, Chromecast, Chromebooks, Android Wear devices, Nexus Player, and Nest (depending on market) devices as well as their accessories.

“We’ve been selling our devices on Google Play for years, but as we’ve added more products to the family, we thought it was time to make it easier for you to learn more about them. So today we’re also launching the Google Store, the new home for the latest devices made with Google,” wrote Andrew Bowers, Director of Consumer Hardware at Google, in a blog post.