Google appears to be working on Windows 10 certification for the Pixelbook from Microsoft

Google’s Pixelbook is easily one of the best laptops on the market today, but no one would be wrong if they argued that Chrome OS holds it back. Recently, we’ve been seeing the possibility of running other operating systems on the Pixelbook, and it seems that Google itself is looking to get the device certified for running Windows 10.

If you’ll recall, AltOS recently came onto the scene as a viable method of being able to install Windows on a Pixelbook. It’s still largely unclear exactly how that will work, but Google is clearly still actively working on the project.

XDA-Developers recently discovered mentions of Microsoft’s WHCK (Windows Hardware Certification Kit) and HLK (Hardware Lab Kit), which give a strong indication that Google wants to get the Pixelbook hardware certified by Microsoft to run Windows 10. The HLK specifically is mentioned in association with “Eve,” the Pixelbook’s development codename. Since Google is using Microsoft’s kits here, it essentially proves that this isn’t just a side project or a hack.

It’s still unknown if Google wants to let the average Pixelbook owner run Windows 10 on their device, but with certification on board the OS would have full support for signed drivers.

It feels unlikely that Google would be willing to ship a version of the Pixelbook with Windows 10 pre-loaded, but with this certification, that’s something that the company would be able to do. AltOS, too, feels more like something that Google is working on for a future device rather than a software update.

9to5Google’s Take

As a Windows user myself, the possibility of this excites me. The Pixelbook is by far one of my favorite pieces of hardware, but the lack of being able to use things like Adobe applications stops me from using it as a daily driver. I feel like Google would never actively ship this hardware without Chrome OS on board, but with AltOS, it feels possible they could give users an easy option to swap things out after the fact.

What do you think about Windows 10 on the Pixelbook? Would you swap Chrome OS for Microsoft’s ecosystem? Drop a comment below and let us know!

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