> 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.
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.