By Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge
Google announced a big change to Chromebooks that could help them last a few years longer. Starting in 2024, ChromeOS devices will be eligible to receive automatic security updates for 10 years after their release. Chromebooks released in 2021 or later will all receive the updates; those who own older products will have the option to turn them on.
The company currently guarantees eight years of automatic updates to Chromebooks. That period, however, begins at the time when the company certifies a Chromebook, not when it’s actually in the owner’s hands. Because of the time it takes schools and businesses to purchase, receive, set up, and deploy new fleets of computers, they commonly end up getting four to five years of use out of them in…