At CES 2020, Intel announced a deeper partnership with Google to develop chips and specifications for Chromebooks based on the chipmaker's Athena project. First announced last year, the initiative covers both the design and technical specifications of new laptops and Chromebooks with the ultimate goal of building the high-performance laptops of tomorrow. Some of the specifications include a requirement for a 'quick wake-up call' & # 39; using fingerprints or buttons, use of Intel Core i5 or i7 processors, improved battery life and charging, WiFi 6, touch screens, narrow glasses and more. The first two Chromebooks built to Athena's specifications were also announced at CES 2020 by Samsung and Asus. However, Intel says more devices are coming, and Google even joined the chipmaker on stage during its speech to show how committed the two companies are to the mission. TEU and GM of Intel customer IT group Gregory Bryant provided more details on his partnership with Google in an interview with TechCrunch, saying, "We're going even further and deepening our partnership with Google to bring Athena to Chromebooks. We have worked very closely with Google to take advantage of these specifications."
Chromebook Athena Project
While Intel will benefit from using more of its chips in Chromebooks, the partnership is also important for Google as it looks to grow its Chromebook business. Vice President of ChromeOS at Google, John Solomon, told TechCrunch how the company plans to extend Chromebooks beyond the classroom, saying, "This is a big shift for Google. Chromebooks have initially found success in the education industry, "But over the next 18 months to two years, our plan is to go further, extending to mainstream users and businesses. These users have higher expectations and a broader idea of how to use these devices. This forces us to provide more performance." . Until now, all laptops built to Project Athena specifications were Windows PCs, though Intel had always said from the start of the initiative that Chromebooks would eventually be added. Recently, Google has started marketing Chromebooks as devices that appeal not only to students but also to business users because they start up quickly, have longer battery life than many Windows devices, and come with built-in antivirus protection. Expect this momentum to continue, especially now that the search giant also has Intel in its corner. Via TechCrunch- Discover all the CES 2020 covers from LaComparacion. We're live in Las Vegas to bring you the latest technology news and releases, as well as hands-on reviews of everything from 8K TVs and folding screens to new phones, laptops, and smart home devices.