Wi-Fi and Bluetooth have been the go-to wireless technologies for connecting devices for a long time. But ultra-wideband (UWB) is emerging as the next big thing, promising high-speed data transfer. Google is now exploring the potential of ultra-wideband (UWB) for Chromebooks, with a focus on use cases such as connecting Chromebooks to each other, to phones, and to multiple devices at once.

Chrome Unboxed recently uncovered the details about UWB on Chromebooks. They came across mentions of UWB (Ultra-Wideband) in Chromium Gerrit, a tool that developers use to discuss and review changes to source code. 

In particular, Google is in the process of experimenting with UWB for various purposes on Chromebooks. These experiments involve trying out connections between Chromebooks, connections between Chromebooks and phones, and even connections involving multiple users, going beyond just one-on-one links.

Ultra-wideband for Chromebooks is still in the testing phase, so it could be a while before we see them on a ChromeOS device. However, the potential applications of UWB on Chromebooks are exciting. 

If you’re not familiar with UWB (ultra-wideband), it is a short-range wireless communication technology that is energy-efficient, versatile, and cost-effective. It can transfer data quickly, up to 675Mbps, and allows for highly accurate location tracking down to the centimeter. This is why Apple AirTags use UWB to reliably track your lost items.

Ultra-wideband technology in a Chromebook could open up new possibilities for connections. As the blog points out, it could make wireless extended displays a reality. This would be a major improvement, as it would eliminate the need for cables and make it easier to set up and use multiple displays.

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Google had been working on a project to bring new Chromebooks with built-in NVIDIA graphics cards to market. However, new reports say that the project has been called off, dashing hopes for a true gaming Chromebook. A comment on the Chromium Gerrit commit has revealed that multiple Nvidia Chromebook projects have been canceled. 

Google’s gaming Chromebook dream is over

The commit, which was shared by About Chromebooks, stated that the “Herobrine, Hades, and Agah” boards have all been “canceled”. As per 9to5Google, the Hades board was to be the basis for the RTX 4050 Chromebooks, while the Agah board was used for development testing only and featured RTX 3050 graphics.

This means, Google canceled the development of three Chromebook boards that were designed to support Nvidia GPUs. This is disappointing news for those who were hoping for more powerful gaming Chromebooks. 

That said, it’s possible that the company may still release future Chromebooks with dedicated GPUs. A newer code change has revealed the existence of a board codenamed “Aurora.” This board is believed to be for internal Steam testing purposes and not a real device, but it is specifically marked as having an RTX 3050 graphics card. Therefore, work might still be ongoing to make Steam on ChromeOS compatible with dedicated GPUs.

Besides the cancellation of the Nvidia-powered Chromebook boards, Google has also canceled the development of Chromebooks powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 7c+ Gen 3. This means that there will be no new ChromeOS tablets in the near future.

In the grand scheme of things, it appears that we’ll probably have to rely on integrated graphics for managing our gaming requirements on Chromebooks. However, if you’re aiming to enjoy an intensive game on a Chromebook, you might want to explore options cloud gaming options like NVIDIA GeForce Now for the time being.

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