It has been a while since I bought a Chromebook. My last Chromebook was a Thinkpad C-13 Chromebook with Ryzen 7 and 16gb ram. Before that was an Acer 714 spin with Intel 11th gen.
I like high end Chromebooks but over the years they have gotten more expensive but the hardware doesn't really match the cost.
This unit slaps right in the middle and on sale is low mid range at $399. Probably the lowest price you can get a decent Chromebook that doesn't suck. $300 is probably that bottom floor. From $300-$600 is the sweet spot for a ChromeBook.
This unit should will be supported until June 2033!! That is pretty decent software support. I don't know if the hardware will make it that long but it is nice to know I have that long.
The device itself is mostly hard plastic. It suffers from plastic creaks depending on how you pick it up and if it is open and lift from a corner it feels like you could break it if not careful. The unit is milspec and heavy. Feels like a tank but it is plastic and not any special plastic like Kevlar or similar. The display lid is wrapped in aluminum and feels very solid. The weak link is the 2 in 1 hinge is a bit wobbly. They have made it pretty stiff but it is so heavy it still wobbles.
Overall the build quality is okay. You aren't going to impress anyone with this Chromebook but it will impress you in how it works. I have said some harsh criticisms because I don't like to puff up something when it just isn't but I also praise when it deserves it.
I mean you can get some nice Windows laptops for $399. Nothing great but decent. I still think this is a better choice. Since Chrome OS is a modern OS designed to be used by low end hardware it performs better than a similarly spec Windows laptop. That being said Windows is far more popular. Some say it is more useful and in some ways I agree but with the ability to use a full Linux desktop the things you can do with a Chromebook are only limited by the hardware and if you have decent hardware then you don't have limitations other than Linux compatibility which can be a problem. The point is a Chromebook is more than just a mobile OS like an iPad. The other advantage is security. The entire OS is extremely secure by design using Linux as a base.
Performance. Bottom line if the performance isn't there than the device is a non starter and I am happy to say that while the Ryzen 3 won't win any awards it feels more than adequate for Chrome OS. Animations are smooth and fast. Using multiple tabs in chrome is fine and multi tasking seems fluid. As an added bonus the Ryzen chip on 6nm seems rather efficient even with screen brightness turned all the way up. I have to do more testing to see battery life but it is certainly better than Intel chips like 11th gen and 12th gen core i5 and i3 but those chips are faster except 11th gen.
Screen. Average at best. Color gamut is like 50% to 70% at best. brightness is 300nits max which is bare minimum for me to be acceptable and you have to turn the brightness up all the time. Resolution is 1080p. It is a touchscreen. It is IPS. But it does suffer from brightness changes at different angles. It is not a vibrant screen but it is okay.
The keyboard is backlit and feels really nice and accurate to type on. The keyboard is surprisingly good!
The trackpad is small and plastic but it works fine.
Plenty of ports and USB c on both sides of the laptop! USB a, HDMI, sd card, and 3.5mm headphone jack. Everything you should need is here and nicely positioned. Good design.
Speakers are bottom firing but decent sound and bass and louder than most Chromebooks I have owned. I just wish they placed the speakers on the top of the laptop deck or sides of the laptop instead of literally bottom firing?
If you don't want to spend a lot of money but want a decent experience I think this is the perfect mid range Chromebook. It has a decent processor and ram, ssd instead of emmc, decent speakers, decent screen and decent plastic build. I don't see any reason to spend more until some high end Meteor lake Chromebooks come in. Until then this is probably the best bang for your buck you can get.
I like this Chromebook. I think this would be perfect for high school and college students, businesses, and people who want a solid device but don't want to waste money.
I like high end Chromebooks but over the years they have gotten more expensive but the hardware doesn't really match the cost.
This unit slaps right in the middle and on sale is low mid range at $399. Probably the lowest price you can get a decent Chromebook that doesn't suck. $300 is probably that bottom floor. From $300-$600 is the sweet spot for a ChromeBook.
This unit should will be supported until June 2033!! That is pretty decent software support. I don't know if the hardware will make it that long but it is nice to know I have that long.
The device itself is mostly hard plastic. It suffers from plastic creaks depending on how you pick it up and if it is open and lift from a corner it feels like you could break it if not careful. The unit is milspec and heavy. Feels like a tank but it is plastic and not any special plastic like Kevlar or similar. The display lid is wrapped in aluminum and feels very solid. The weak link is the 2 in 1 hinge is a bit wobbly. They have made it pretty stiff but it is so heavy it still wobbles.
Overall the build quality is okay. You aren't going to impress anyone with this Chromebook but it will impress you in how it works. I have said some harsh criticisms because I don't like to puff up something when it just isn't but I also praise when it deserves it.
I mean you can get some nice Windows laptops for $399. Nothing great but decent. I still think this is a better choice. Since Chrome OS is a modern OS designed to be used by low end hardware it performs better than a similarly spec Windows laptop. That being said Windows is far more popular. Some say it is more useful and in some ways I agree but with the ability to use a full Linux desktop the things you can do with a Chromebook are only limited by the hardware and if you have decent hardware then you don't have limitations other than Linux compatibility which can be a problem. The point is a Chromebook is more than just a mobile OS like an iPad. The other advantage is security. The entire OS is extremely secure by design using Linux as a base.
Performance. Bottom line if the performance isn't there than the device is a non starter and I am happy to say that while the Ryzen 3 won't win any awards it feels more than adequate for Chrome OS. Animations are smooth and fast. Using multiple tabs in chrome is fine and multi tasking seems fluid. As an added bonus the Ryzen chip on 6nm seems rather efficient even with screen brightness turned all the way up. I have to do more testing to see battery life but it is certainly better than Intel chips like 11th gen and 12th gen core i5 and i3 but those chips are faster except 11th gen.
Screen. Average at best. Color gamut is like 50% to 70% at best. brightness is 300nits max which is bare minimum for me to be acceptable and you have to turn the brightness up all the time. Resolution is 1080p. It is a touchscreen. It is IPS. But it does suffer from brightness changes at different angles. It is not a vibrant screen but it is okay.
The keyboard is backlit and feels really nice and accurate to type on. The keyboard is surprisingly good!
The trackpad is small and plastic but it works fine.
Plenty of ports and USB c on both sides of the laptop! USB a, HDMI, sd card, and 3.5mm headphone jack. Everything you should need is here and nicely positioned. Good design.
Speakers are bottom firing but decent sound and bass and louder than most Chromebooks I have owned. I just wish they placed the speakers on the top of the laptop deck or sides of the laptop instead of literally bottom firing?
If you don't want to spend a lot of money but want a decent experience I think this is the perfect mid range Chromebook. It has a decent processor and ram, ssd instead of emmc, decent speakers, decent screen and decent plastic build. I don't see any reason to spend more until some high end Meteor lake Chromebooks come in. Until then this is probably the best bang for your buck you can get.
I like this Chromebook. I think this would be perfect for high school and college students, businesses, and people who want a solid device but don't want to waste money.
