Google Pixel Slate Chrome OS tablet might dual boot Windows 10
While majority of the interest for Google's event next week naturally revolves around the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL phones, the event will most likely go beyond that. There's the already leaked Google Home Hub and the recently leaked new Chromecast. And then there's the Google Pixel Slate, the Chromebook believed to be internally called "Nocturne". This tablet-like device is going to be a lot of firsts for Google, including the first time it concedes space with another and rivaling operating system.
It is not the first Pixel tablet, that would be the Android-based Pixel C, nor is it the first Chrome OS tablet, a title that belongs to the Acer Chromebook Tab 10. It would be, however, the first Google-made Pixel tablet that runs Chrome OS. In other words, the first Google Chrome OS tablet.
But more than just a design novelty, the Pixel Slate, a.k.a. "Nocturne", could also be the first one to dual boot Windows 10. This recent analysis by 9to5Google adds to clues we've also seen before. The Pixel Slate might also be the only Chromebook to officially do so, since Windows 10 certification might not come easy.
This feature could be a double-edged sword. It could make the Pixel Slate more appealing, being able to run four operating systems on one device: Chrome OS, Android, Linux, and Windows 10. It could, however, also backfire, making users less inclined to use Chrome OS and the others since they have access to Windows 10 anyway.
There's no telling if the feature will even be available from day one anyway. It could come at a later date, like Android and Linux support. There is a certain sense of irony that Google would now be working on dual booting Chrome OS and Windows when it never official gave Android its blessing back when the likes of Samsung and ASUS were pushing for it.