Google, you just make us so mad sometimes. In case you’ve just arrived on the planet Earth, there’s something you should know: printers are still some of the buggiest and hardest devices to use.
Google’s Cloud Print actually made that whole mess just a little easier to handle, and – in normal Google fashion – they’re now taking it way.
Apparently Cloud Print has been in beta for a decade, and that’s a long time. Lots of devices support Cloud Print, and for many, this is the only way to reliably (and wirelessly) print from mobiles and laptops.
In an update to a help centre article, Google has silently announced that they will be ceasing the Cloud Print service from December 31 2020. So yes, we have a little over a year to find a replacement.
In all honesty, I have purchased my last few printers to ensure Google Cloud Print capability because it was just that handy, especially for printing from ChromeOS and Android. Now with Google bringing native printing to Chrome, it seems Google wants to expose more of the world to the pain of suffering of installing and maintaining print drivers.
It seems this is just another example of nothing good lasts forever, and never get too invested in a Google Product or service. You just don’t know what they will pull next. I guess the Google graveyard just got another occupant.
