How far can ChromeOS go for professional work?

[u/Efficient_Role607]

I work as a data analyst/data engineer and I’ve been trying ChromeOS as my main device. Since most of my work is cloud-based, it actually covers a lot more than I expected. It’s fast, simple, and handles the core parts of my workflow well.

That said, there are still moments where it feels like something’s missing for heavier or more complex tasks. But with so much of today’s work shifting online, it feels like ChromeOS has potential beyond just casual or student use.

Do you think ChromeOS can evolve into a tool more professionals rely on, or will it always stay mainly for everyday/light use?

[u/akehir]

If the software you need is available on Linux, it's actually great using ChromeOS for work.

So software development, infrastructure, etc.

[u/Sufficient-Food934]

I think it can be both. Most of my workflow is also online (educator and healthcare professional) but the availability of Linux and Android (plus higher performing Chromebooks) also open up the possibility for a strong hybrid workflow that can include both cloud apps and locally installed apps. I can't think of any local app I use other than my vpn, and some light games.

[u/Efficient_Role607 → u/Sufficient-Food934]

Absolutely, that hybrid setup makes a lot of sense. It’s interesting how much of professional work has moved online, and for most tasks, cloud apps cover everything we need. The fact that Chromebooks can now handle Android and even some lightweight local apps really blurs the line between casual and professional use. I’m curious though, for anyone pushing ChromeOS further, what’s the one feature you wish was better for heavier workflows?

[u/LooperActual]

The lack of a cloud-based tax return software in the UK drove me to buy a Windows mini pc but my Chromebook works for everything else as it runs Android apps. I managed to find a good and cheap one from PC World (UK) though. When I visited Best Buy in Austin I was gobsmacked at how expensive and bad the Chromebooks were.

[u/Efficient_Role607 → u/LooperActual]

That’s interesting, it really shows how much regional software availability shapes the Chromebook experience. In places where the key apps aren’t web-based, it makes sense people lean on a secondary device. And yeah, pricing can be all over the place depending on the market. A very mid-range Chromebook can feel like great value, but the wrong model at the wrong price point gives a totally different impression.

[u/Ok_Cup6216]

I've been using ChromeOS for business for years. I have some old Windows accounts software which I run in Linux with Wine, otherwise everything else runs through a browser or in Linux.

Windows is too resource hungry and complicated for normies. I have put so many people into ChromeOS. It's just a question of irrational fear.

[u/Romano1404]

In recent years there has been a major push towards web based apps that store their data in the cloud. The main driver behind this development is saving costs since writing a browser app is cheaper and easier to maintain than a plattform specific client.

Popular examples are Evernote, MS Teams, Spotify, Teamviewer, even AutoCAD released a web based app.

Interestingly the idea that everything runs in the browser was originally pioneered by Steve Jobs with the original Iphone but they quickly abandoned that idea only 1 year later when they added the App store to Iphone OS 2.0

[u/rklrkl64]

I do think it's time to bump up the typical spec seen on Chromebooks - in their early days, they were seen as an online-only lightweight device only good for running Web apps (and not many at once). Now with them coming with Android and Linux, they can run a lot more apps and offline too (think LibreOffice, VLC etc). 8GB RAM, an N100 CPU and a decent amount of storage (or at least a microSD slot) should be the minimum now to qualify for being called a Chromebook. Google might also want to raise the min specs of the Plus models at some point too.

Once the specs make multitasking non-painful, then I do think ChromeOS+Android+Linux gives good coverage for professional apps (and you've got cloud services like Office 365 on top of that if you are tied to a particular vendor). There will still be some gaps though - for example, Android does have a Photoshop app, but I believe it's nothing like the Windows/macOS versions.

[u/Dismal-Refrigerator3 → u/rklrkl64]

I agree. Issue I have had is I don't want to spend what is required to get a chromebook with good specs when I can get a better windows laptop for the same price.

[u/Training_Advantage21]

Agreed. At work I was given a windows laptop but most of the time I'm on the browser for Google Cloud, Github, Tableau server, or doing admin work via Citrix and SSH. I can do some things locally on the laptop, Office, Tableau Desktop and VS Code, but the cloud/browser versions of those are becoming increasingly as good as the local versions.

The chromebook is for personal use but I could easily see it replacing the work windows laptop. I do programming/data pet projects on Github using Codespaces and a lot of Google Docs for CV and other job hunting related documents. I think Google Docs and slides is not quite up there with MS Office yet. I did install Linux/Python locally but in the end it's simpler to keep working on the cloud for programming and data projects.

[u/RaZif66]

Sadly the usage in Malaysia still low, we get low specs of Chromebook right here...not many choices, me myself stick to used pixelbook go and it becomes my daily machine for years

[u/Admirable_Edge_7826]

Well, if you want to get true functionality (only if you don’t care about warranty) you can remove write protection and then remove chunks of bloat which can make it run smoother and you can even add additional things too (even a full Linux environment, Linux you can add with write protection on can’t do overly much, removing write protection alone can do wonders, removing write protection opens the door for Linux)

[u/Heiko-67]

I've been using Chrome OS for work for years. All of my clients require me to log into their Citrix servers anyway and that works fine on a Chromebook with 8GB RAM or more.

[u/USGrant76]

I work in a cross functional role between Finance and Data Analysis. I think a Chromebook can work if Google marketed the devices to companies and not just education/consumer.

At work I have Windows Dell laptop. I use Excel heavily but have used Sheets in the past. I was surprised to learn that Sheets supports Macros and VBA like scripts using Google Apps Script.

I also use PyCharm and DBeaver to connect to our DBs and work with data. There is no Chromebook version of the apps but I guess you can run the Linux versions in Crostini.

[u/Eleison23]

Not for your use case. You say that "most" of your work is cloud-based, but Google Chromebooks expect that to move towards "all".

Chromebooks are the ultimate "thin client". All processing power and other resources are dedicated to giving a great local experience through their GUI. Chromebooks are intended to offload processing to the network and the servers.

As a data scientist, what you do sometimes (I imagine) is grab a small data subset and crunch numbers locally, or test some code on a sample test database/dataset. And that requires a "developer strength" notebook or workstation. You'll never find those resources allocated to Chromebooks. That's completely by design.

You'll notice that development for Google, or by Google, is also cloud-based. You've got golang and GCP-based projects, and AppScript for even the consumer-oriented Sheets scripts. And there's no need to run those locally, compile them locally, or use a local powerful IDE, where you've got a local "code respository" and you occasionally push/pull from federated repos. Chromebook isn't doing that.

Chromebook, if you're going to be a developer, will be oriented toward developing mobile apps and PWAs for ChromeOS itself. And some work in Linux to validate compatibility for existing Linux apps, that they work seamlessly in Crostini, and so forth. So setting a Chromebook to "Developer Mode" won't mean you'll need to exploit or allocate local resources for local code development!

Again, all Chromebook resources and features are allocated for a good end-user experience with an edge device or "netbook". Personally, I loved to use it with my education-industry job of four years, because after using Red Hat, Ubuntu, and Windows 10, I realized that all the tools they were giving us, all the deployments we had, were oriented toward using a Thin Client and cloud-based computing resources, so it was completely painless for me to pick up a Chromebook and get to working, without distractions, without bogging down, without the baggage of backwards compatibility.

[u/bluen0te → u/Eleison23]

I've used Jupiter notebooks along with Julia and other data science tools just fine on my Chromebook. 16GB of memory is more than enough.

[u/BigBayesian]

I think that for cloud based workflows (which are a greater and greater proportion of workflows) it’s fine. I think for stuff you’ve gotta do locally it’s… not ideal. I suspect these trends will continue.

For a DS/DE, it’d really depend on what tools / infra has to be run locally. If you can sidestep local testing / execution, you’re probably fine. If you need local tools, then it’s probably annoying

[u/cgoldberg]

I'm a professional software developer and use a Chromebook as my main machine. Running Debian in the Linux Development Environment (Crostini) is awesome. I haven't felt limited at all.

[u/bluen0te → u/cgoldberg]

100% agree. I've used the pixelbook and the pixel book go as my main machines for the last several years. I just got the Lenovo Chromebook Plus 14. It has an incredible display, great battery life, biometric auth and yeah, Linux runs great with Crostini. You also have the benefit of being able to run Android apps.

[u/howdidigetheretoday]

My job description is like yours. I use my Chromebook exclusively. My company is a SaaS provider, so I practice what we preach.

[u/treedor]

Not until we get better hardware. The operating system is fine, but the hardware sucks. There hasn't been a good Chromebook released in years, so that's the biggest holdback I think.

[u/Conkreet908]

Everything is cloud based these days. The only issue I see is when you want to work with an Excel sheet with over 1000 row or some huge data base is where you are going to face issues

[u/LosYerevan → u/Conkreet908]

ChromeOS Flex if you need specific hardware requirements. Otherwise, you can get a Chromebox with 12th/13th gen i5/i7 processors and 32/64GB RAM. 1000 row excel sheets are no problem.

[u/TraditionBeginning41]

If it was not for the option of running Linux in a virtual machine then ChromeOS would be a little limiting at times. As a long time Linux user, the ability to add my favourite Linux apps into the mix is brilliant.

[u/c3l0d1r]

I would rather choose any Linux over ChromeOS. Google is Googleing, and privacy is not a joke.