This is deliberate. Google has resisted creating a mass-market Chromebook, because such a device would threaten their relationship with OEMs who license ChromeO

This is deliberate. Google has resisted creating a mass-market Chromebook, because such a device would threaten their relationship with OEMs who license ChromeOS. OEMs like HP would obviously be uncomfortable if their OS vendor were also a hardware competitor. So Google targets niche devices which OEMs have no interest in creating, precisely because they won't sell well. But these high-end "halo" devices still have a role in shifting perception of what a Chromebook can be; and Google simply eats the loss. Or at least they used to.