Users spot awkward detail in staff's laptops at Google's IO event

Google's latest I/O event gave fans and the wider tech world a glimpse of what's to come for the industry titan, yet one awkward detail has grabbed far more attention than the company would have liked with two staff laptops going viral on social media.

Performance is everything in the tech world, and using the best gadgets available to you at any one time can be the real difference maker when it comes to achieving success and making innovative moves.

More than anything though companies encourage their workers to use their own products, as that can help optimise workflows, point out any areas that need improvement, or even cybersecurity flaws.

Steve Jobs might not have been keen to allow his children to use Apple products like iPads, yet the same seemingly can't be said for Google employees, as one post on Reddit spots a rather embarrassing detail during the company's biggest event of the year.

Shared on the r/google subreddit, a post by u/No-Guest6596 highlights two 'disguised' MacBook laptops at the recent Google I/O event, with Google-themed stickers placed on the rear to seemingly obscure the fact it's a competitor's device.

Many already view MacBooks as the gold standard when it comes to laptops, yet it might still feel a little jarring to see Google outwardly neglect their own laptops — or even a Windows OS system that would theoretically be better tuned for Google's software.

According to various comments, however, it seems like this isn't exactly a surprise, as MacBooks appear to be the laptop of choice for pretty much everyone in the tech industry, regardless of allegiances.

"I work for Google. We all use MacBooks," explained the top comment, adding that "probably 85% of the fleet is MacBook Airs and Pros."

Another questioned whether Google is "supposed to use Chromebooks to showcase," noting that the company doesn't "have any products in this price range."

In addition, things might not necessarily be as hostile between Google and Apple as it would be between the latter and Microsoft, for example, especially as the two companies recently forged an AI-based partnership following the issues Apple has faced with it's Siri relaunch.

"I don't think Google really intends to compete with Apple, vice versa," a third commenter speculated. "That's why Google's tech range isn't all that great (IMO), it's profitable but there's no intention to really be competitive as opposed to visible and developmental."

One even revealed that Google advertises stickers on MacBooks in its own shop, showing that they're not exactly as secretive as you might expect when it comes to using other products.