NOW THAT CHROME OS users can get the millions of apps in Google’s Play Store, tech firms are developing entirely new kinds of devices for the platform. After months of speculation, rumors, and delays—which may have had something to do with the Note 7 battery scandal—Samsung announced the new Chromebook Plus and Chromebook Pro today at CES.
The Plus and Pro are two flavors of one device, but it’s hard to say what kind of device that is. Both feature full-size keyboards and trackpads, super-high-res 12.3-inch screens, and Micro SD card slots. Both offer 4 gigs of ram and 32 gigs of internal storage. They weigh a little less than 2.5 pounds. That makes them a bit like laptops, right? Well, yes, except for the pen that slides out of a slot on the right. It looks exactly like the Note 5’s old stylus. And the touchscreen. And the 360-degree hinge. And the accelerometer and gyroscope that help the device understand its position in space.
So what you’ve got here is a tweener, a hybrid device like Apple’s iPad Pro and Microsoft’s Surface Pro. The combination of Chrome OS and Android apps provide the Chromebook Plus and Pro with the software to work both ways.
The only real difference between the two is the processor and the price. Put simply, the Plus uses a mobile chip and the Pro features laptop-grade Intel silicon. The Plus costs $449 and hits stores in February. The Pro arrives this spring and will cost… well, Samsung didn’t say, but expect to pay more than $449. For most people, the cheaper model will be plenty.
Chromebooks have made huge inroads in schools and are increasingly popular enterprise devices, but Google and its partners are setting their sights on the Best Buy-going, coach-flying, netbook-owning masses. Samsung’s Chromebooks are designed to do all the mobile, touch-first things people are used to, along with the desk-focused work everyone must do eventually.
Samsung’s new devices aren’t the first at CES, and probably won’t be the last. Acer’s new Chromebook 11 N7 is basically indestructible. Asus updated its Chromebook Flip with USB-C ports and a 360-degree hinge like Samsung’s. But Samsung offers the best peek yet at what a new generation of Chromebook might look like. It’s a little more upscale, a little more expensive, and a lot more like a combination of the phone you love and the laptop you need.
- Wired