Chromebooks

The rise of AMD-powered Chromebooks has arrived, with Acer’s new Chromebook Spin 514 being one of the first big launches. After a brief spin with it last year, I’ve been using the Spin 514 with its AMD Ryzen 5 5000 series processor for the past few weeks. Here’s what you should know.

The HP Dragonfly Pro Chromebook might be the next “flagship” for the platform, and at CES 2023, we had the pleasure of checking it out in person.

The selection of Chromebooks has evolved over the years, but has always been built on the back of one core market – affordable laptops. Coming later this year, the Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 3i is the latest affordable Chromebook from the company, and it might just be one of the most exciting machines on 2023’s ChromeOS roadmap so far.

With Google pushing gaming Chromebooks so heavily, more manufacturers are breaking ground with some of the best-performing and heavily equipped Chromebooks we’ve ever seen. The Vibe CX34 – announced at CES 2023 from ASUS – is one of those, boasting a gorgeous display, attractive chassis, and internals that would make you question the idea of ChromeOS entirely.

This time last year, HP undoubtedly announced the flagship ChromeOS device. At CES 2023, the HP Dragonfly Pro Chromebook is taking things a step further.

While it’s up to the market to prove (or disprove) Google’s belief that Android Tablets are the “future of computing,” the other big obstacle comes from within the company. Chromebooks can very much compete for that mantle, with Android and ChromeOS once again converging in functionality and use case. 

If one thing became clear about the Google Pixel lineup in 2022, it was that Google is pushing hard to create a proper ecosystem of hardware. In 2023, that will include a folding phone and the Pixel Tablet, but one thing missing from the equation is a new Pixelbook. 

The Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 3i Chromebook is the first new Chromebook we’re hearing about ahead of CES 2023, and it looks like it will be a killer offer in the budget market with an affordable price, but lots of premium features.

Chromebooks have certainly made their mark for those who need productivity on the go without all the prowess of an energy-sucking laptop. It seems though, that the tables have turned, and the era of gaming Chromebooks is here, starting with the impressive Lenovo i5 Gaming Chromebook.

One of the first “gaming” ChromeOS devices, the Acer Chromebook 516 GE is the definitive device for cloud gaming, even if that’s an oxymoron.

After Android apps and the cloud, Steam is the third way you can play games on ChromeOS. Steam is now entering beta and supporting several more Chromebooks.

Chromebooks are no longer just a category within the broader laptop form factor. ChromeOS-powered devices span from affordable to midrange and premium, as well as traditional notebooks, convertibles, and tablets. Google now wants to make cloud gaming Chromebooks happen in a rather bold (and literal) play.

This week the Framework Chromebook was announced as the first modular ChromeOS laptop. The ideas behind Framework are ambitious, to say the least, but how will this Chromebook version differ from the Windows option, and what about modules? In a Q&A on Hacker News, Framework’s founder has answered some of the community’s biggest questions around this new device.

Google and Framework are working together on a modular Chromebook that can be upgraded with various components over time and is set for early December availability with pre-orders opening today.

While there are more and more premium Chrome OS devices, the category very much excels at the cheaper end of the market. When buying those Chromebooks next year, you might notice that it will be running an “Intel Processor” instead of Pentium or Celeron.

ChromeOS has long looked to Google’s own hardware as its trendsetter, an example of “the best” the platform had to offer. But in 2022, Google is mostly absent from its own platform. The last Pixelbook was the “Go” model released in 2019, which was mostly underwhelming. Now, though, HP has reinvigorated that flame with the Elite Dragonfly Chromebook – a Pixelbook reborn.