Until yesterday virtually all Chromebooks had two things in common: low-end specs and equally low prices. Most sell for around $200 and are available from virtually every manufacturer, and the relative success of these Google Chrome OS laptops in the post-netbook portable space has relied on price. Now Google has announced a new concept for a Chromebook: give it high-end specs and charge $999.

Is it reasonable to assume in 2015 that a user could be perfectly content using cloud storage and web-based apps to accomplish daily tasks? In many cases, yes. But asking $1k on the strength of better hardware is going to be a difficult sell for a Chromebook. The specs are impressive, beginning with a very high resolution 2560×1700 touchscreen, and like the new MacBook this is also sporting USB Type-C connectivity (with the same 5Gbps speed as the Apple implementation).

The pricing for this device continues a disturbing trend, coming just days after Apple’s announcement of a Core M MacBook for $1299. In appearance the Pixel seems to borrow rather heavily from the MacBook Air design with a silver finish, glass trackpad, and backlit island-style black keyboard. If the build quality and screen are top notch then Google may have some justification for the price, but with the limitation of just 32GB of local storage (an additional 1TB cloud storage is offered at no cost for 3 years) and an OS that can only run applications from Google’s Chrome store, the price does seem high.

Specs from Google below:
    • 12.85″ multi touch display, 2560 x 1700 (239 ppi), 400 nit brightness, 178° viewing angle
    • Intel® Core™ i5 processor @ 2.2GHz, 8GB memory or Intel® Core™ i7 processor @ 2.4GHz, 16GB memory
    • Intel® HD Graphics 5500, supports 4K video output over DisplayPort or HDMI with optional Type-C video adapter cable
    • 32GB or 64GB of flash storage Backlit keyboard, fully clickable etched-glass trackpad
    • 720P HD wide angle camera with blue glass
    • 2x USB Type-C (up to 5Gbps data, 4K display out with optional HDMI or DisplayPort™ adapter, 60W charging)
    • 2x USB 3.0
    • SD card reader
    • Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 7260 2×2, Bluetooth 4.0
    • High power stereo speakers, built-in microphone, headphone/mic combo jack
    • Universal Type-C USB Charger, 60W
    • Up to 12 hours of battery life
    • Dimensions: 11.7” x 8.8” x 0.6”, 3.3lbs

If you’re ready for the $999 Chromebook experience the Pixel is available now from Google’s online store.