It's possible they are selling the hardware at a loss but my experience is the opposite case. If you compare specs of laptops generally a chromebook laptop seem

It's possible they are selling the hardware at a loss but my experience is the opposite case. If you compare specs of laptops generally a chromebook laptop seems to cost more than a windows laptop of similar capabilities. I think the reason chromebooks cost more not less is because they sell fewer of them. You can buy a cheaper low end windows laptop and install any old os, usually.