Sustainability starts with tech that actually lasts a long time. After all, the best way to produce less e-waste is to avoid replacing technology that still works. While a smartphone can last 2-4 years, PCs can last much longer, and this also extends to laptops as long as you take good care of them. If you have a Chromebook, however, you’re in luck, as Google has just announced a notable extension to the lifespan of Chromebooks.
Google has announced that Chromebooks will be getting 10 years of automatic updates, meaning that if you go out and buy a Chromebook that was released this year, you should be getting updates all the way up to 2033. Google says that this is more than any other desktop operating system is willing to commit to. This is certainly debatable — my 2009 laptop is still getting Windows 10 updates — but the key word here is automatic updates. This means that official updates with full support will keep coming for the next 10 years without having to install aftermarket operating systems at any point. Google might be doing this to push back against criticism over Chromebook use in education, where many perfectly-functional Chromebooks purchased by school districts have to be recycled because they are no longer receiving security updates.
Chromebooks already had 8 years of updates, which was already pretty nice, but Google is bringing up the bar to 10 years. And not only does this apply to new Chromebooks, but also retroactively applies to older ones as well. If your Chromebook was released in 2021 or afterwards, you’ll automatically get the extension to 10 years. And if you have an older one, you’ll apparently also have the option to extend updates for two more years whenever your Chromebook reaches 8 years of age and you’re still using it.
This is excellent news for Chromebook users. If you’re the type of person to keep their hardware around for as long as possible, you’ll be able to use your Chromebook for longer. The extended support should also mean good news for the second-hand market, since it means older Chromebooks will be worth checking out more (as long as they’re in a good state) and might even have increased resale values.
This change will apply beginning in 2024, but since it’ll apply to the Chromebook you currently have, so really, you just need to wait.
Source: Google
