Google’s Chrome OS started out as a browser-based operating system for notebook and desktop computers. But over the past few years Google has added support for touchscreen displays and the ability to run Android apps, and we’re seeing a growing number of Chromebook convertibles like the Asus Chromebook Flip and Samsung Chromebook Plus and Pro.
Soon we may even start to see Chromebooks designed to work without a keyboard at all.
We’d already heard that Google was considering adding support for models with detachable keyboards. Now there are code commits for Chromium OS “devices having buttons but no keyboard.”
Specifically, it looks like coders are working on a new device code-named “Scarlet,” although it’s not clear what company is building that device or what it’ll be called if and when it comes to market.
But Chrome Unboxed notes that there’s reason to think that Scarlet could be one of the first Chrome OS tablets designed for use without a keyboard, although it’s not clear if that means that it will come with a detachable keyboard or no keyboard at all.
Every Chromebook that could be arguably described as a tablet up until now has been a convertible with a built-in keyboard and a 360-degree hinge that lets you flip the screen so that it’s back-to-back with the keyboard.
The advantage of a detachable keyboard is that the tablet itself can be thinner and lighter.
The “Scarlet” tablet is expected to feature a Rockchip RK3399 hexa-core processor, which is the same chip used in the Samsung Chromebook Plus.
