Tuesday, October 3rd 2023
Google Introduces Chromebook Plus Lineup: Better Performance and AI Capabilities
Today, Google announced its next generation of Chromebook devices, called the Chromebook Plus, said to improve upon the legacy set by Chromebooks over a decade ago. Starting at an enticing price point of $399, this new breed of Chromebooks integrates powerful AI capabilities and a range of built-in Google apps. Notably, it features tools like the Google Photos Magic Eraser and web-based Adobe Photoshop, positioning itself as a dynamic tool for productivity and creative exploration. In collaboration with hardware manufacturers such as Acer, ASUS, HP, and Lenovo, Google is launching a lineup of eight Chromebook Plus devices on the launch date, with more possibly coming in the future.
Each model boasts improved hardware configurations over the regular Chromebook, including processors like the Intel Core i3 12th Gen or the AMD Ryzen 3 7000 series, a minimum of 8 GB RAM, and 128 GB storage. Users are also in for a visual treat with a 1080p IPS display, ensuring crisp visuals for entertainment and work. And for the modern remote workforce, video conferencing gets a substantial upgrade. Every Chromebook Plus comes equipped with a 1080p camera and utilizes AI enhancements to elevate video call clarity, with compatibility spanning various platforms, including Google Meet, Zoom, and Microsoft Teams. Set to be available from October 8, 2023, in the US and October 9 in Canada and Europe, the Chromebook Plus is positioning itself as the go-to device for many users. On the other hand, the AI features are slated for arrival in 2024, when companies ensure their software is compatible.
Below you can see the upcoming models.
Each model boasts improved hardware configurations over the regular Chromebook, including processors like the Intel Core i3 12th Gen or the AMD Ryzen 3 7000 series, a minimum of 8 GB RAM, and 128 GB storage. Users are also in for a visual treat with a 1080p IPS display, ensuring crisp visuals for entertainment and work. And for the modern remote workforce, video conferencing gets a substantial upgrade. Every Chromebook Plus comes equipped with a 1080p camera and utilizes AI enhancements to elevate video call clarity, with compatibility spanning various platforms, including Google Meet, Zoom, and Microsoft Teams. Set to be available from October 8, 2023, in the US and October 9 in Canada and Europe, the Chromebook Plus is positioning itself as the go-to device for many users. On the other hand, the AI features are slated for arrival in 2024, when companies ensure their software is compatible.
10 Comments on Google Introduces Chromebook Plus Lineup: Better Performance and AI Capabilities
it's a glorified thin client, what capabilities does it need, to connect to our future overlords, that it didn't already have?
¿why the f would i pay 400 (TO START, those "premium models" are a joke) for a locked down web-only device that's essentially a modern dumb terminal or netbook?
¿am i missing something?, i feel like mugatu in zoolander with the crazy pills.
i'd rather buy a fully fledged 400usd notebook
Then when it comes to "Modern Apps", basically every one is a "Web App", ie, each app wants its own Chrome browser framework "internally" for a limited fixed task vs Windows PC's where for half the stuff you need apps for mobile devices, you're more likely to just look up the website in one web browser then pin the tab of commonly used stuff (end result = a lot more shared memory within one application). Now throw in uBlock+, maybe NoScript too onto the laptop and memory usage drops quite a bit whilst for Chromebooks, well we can't possibly have ad blockers on our Advertising Agency (Google) designed netbooks...
The 2x biggest Android / Chromebook features have always been 1. Better battery life due to ARM chips, and 2. Low cost (like those EEE-PC netbooks used to be before "ultra-portable" got converted into "premium"), but the newest x86 based "Chromebook Plus's" that 'enjoy' a significant price bump don't benefit from that. Whilst I agree with you over the crap-ton of unwanted bloat laptops come with make them worse "out of the box", for light weight users doing simple lightweight web browsing, there isn't that much difference between an 8GB ChromeBook vs an 8GB laptop with your own fresh W10 install + debloat script + uBlock. They will both aggressively swap the hell out of multiple heavy applications running at once anyway, the laptop may be less smooth for educational software but more functional overall for everything else (especially advert-less Youtube and retaining your sanity whilst web browsing...)