“Absurd”: Google, Amazon rebuked over unsupported Chromebooks still for sale

Article note: The "Refurb, AOE" Chromebooks being dumped for cheap are _awesome_ toys. Selling "new," full price, no warning out of support ones is a different, terrible thing. The main appeal of Chromebooks is the idiot-proof management system (for individuals or institutions) so long support windows are a big deal. The question of why the support windows _are_ so short is still valid; new Chromebook hardware really isn't substantially higher spec in the last several years, and the fact that years of aged out ones can run mainline Linux _just fine_ indicates there is likely no major technical reason that ChromeOS-flavor Linux needs to be dropping 2016-era machines... which indicates "business reasons."

Enlarge (credit: Getty)

Google resisted pleas to extend the lifetime of Chromebooks set to expire as of this June and throughout the summer. Thirteen Chromebook models have met their death date since June 1 and won't receive security updates or new features from Google anymore. But that hasn't stopped the Chromebooks from being listed for sale on sites like Amazon for the same prices as before.

Take the Asus Chromebook Flip C302. It came out in 2018, and on June 1—about five years later—it reached its automatic update expiration (AUE) date. But right now, you can buy a "new," unused Flip C302 for $550 from Amazon or $820 via Walmart's Marketplace (providing links for illustrative purposes; please don't buy these unsupported laptops).

That's just one of eight Chromebooks that expired since June while still being readily available on Amazon. The listings don't notify shoppers that the devices won't receive updates from Google. The US Public Interest Research Group (PIRG) pointed this out in a press release Wednesday, sharing screenshots of the models: