A higher-end processor also helps decode 1080p or higher-resolution video, or run Native Client apps and games, or just render browser content at 2560x1700.
> Wasn't the point of "fully living in the cloud" that you wouldn't need a powerful client?
No, the point was that you could seamlessly move between different clients in the event of hardware failure, being away from your primary device unavoidably, etc.
> Wasn't "thin client" the dream?
"Thin client" may have been someone's dream, but it certainly hasn't been Google's rich clould-based apps vision.
> No, the point was that you could seamlessly move between different clients
One word. Dropbox.
I work on three computers every day. Documents, Preferences etc all sync immediately. And how does living in the cloud help me when there is network failure ?
>> No, the point was that you could seamlessly move between different clients
>One word. Dropbox.
Yes, Dropbox is an example of using the cloud to make it easy to move between client machines.
> I work on three computers every day. Documents, Preferences etc all sync immediately. And how does living in the cloud help me when there is network failure ?
Using Dropbox to provide immediate sync of document and preferences is living in the cloud.
And "living in the cloud" works fine in network failure, if you have a mechanism to operate offline when the network is unavailable and resync when the network is available -- whether that's because you use a desktop OS and local apps with synchronized cloud storage or webapps with offline functionality, the latter of which is a feature Google pushed very hard for years on.
> "Unlike previous Chromebook versions, the Pixel is aimed at power users who fully live in the cloud."
> I thought that was always the point
Supporting users who "fully live in the cloud" has always been the point of ChromeOS (and, therefore, Chromebook).
The idea that those users would include "power users" has always been a Google goal, but hasn't been the focus of the design of previous Chromebook devices.
I always thought that power users use native local apps and casual users live in the cloud. Hence the emphasis on making Chromebooks as cheap as possible.
> I always thought that power users use native local apps and casual users live in the cloud.
Allowing native apps that run locally to be delivered via the web has been a long-term Chrome (browser and OS) goal (hence Native Client), and, from a broader perspective, enable browser-based apps (whether "native" and running locally, running in the cloud, or a mixture of cloud and local components) has always been the overarching Chrome goal.
IOW, making it so that all users, including power users, can live in the cloud has been a long-term, strategic focus of Google. The Chrome Pixel release is an indication that Google thinks that that vision is ready, if not for prime time, at least for early adopters.
I thought that was always the point.