Quirky in methods each good and unhealthy

It’s been a couple of years since Samsung took a crack at making a premium Chromebook. In 2020, the corporate released the first Galaxy Chromebook, a $999 laptop computer with a stunning 4K OLED display screen that hardly lasted 5 hours away from a charger. The corporate fastened some points with its 2021 mannequin, which had a extra pedestrian display screen and a thicker design whereas costing $300 much less — a good compromise on condition that battery life was considerably higher.

Since then, Google has additionally launched the Chromebook Plus initiative, which goals to standardize Chromebook specs to present folks a extra constant expertise. And now, Samsung has launched its first entry to that lineup: the Galaxy Chromebook Plus. It’s a bit totally different than many of the different laptops in that area, although, with a big 15.6-inch OLED display screen and a design that’s extraordinarily skinny and lightweight for its measurement. It jogs my memory slightly little bit of the 15-inch MacBook Air, although its look is unmistakably Samsung. The Galaxy Chromebook Plus additionally has extra of Google’s AI capabilities baked into it than any Chromebook up to now, due to a brand new “Fast Insert” key that grants quick entry to Gemini.

Lastly, it’s one of the vital costly Chromebook Plus choices on the market at $699. That places it immediately in competitors with Acer’s Chromebook Spin Plus 714, my present favourite within the premium Chromebook area. And whereas it’s refreshingly totally different from the Acer and Lenovo fashions I normally use, there are a couple of quirks right here it’s best to find out about.

{Hardware} and design: Not your typical Chromebook

First, although, the great things. The Galaxy Chromebook Plus’ 1080p, 15.6-inch display screen is crisp and brilliant, with glorious viewing angles. Considerably surprisingly, although, it doesn’t have a touchscreen. Numerous Chromebooks do, because it makes interacting with some Android apps simpler. However as soon as I received used to the truth that poking the display screen did nothing, I didn’t actually miss it. Samsung says it’s the one Chromebook Plus with an AMOLED show, and whereas I wouldn’t thoughts a better decision, I do know that might result in worse battery life. All advised, I feel Samsung made the correct alternative to not go for 4K, particularly contemplating that a pc this skinny doesn’t have as a lot room for an even bigger battery.

Talking of: this laptop computer is significantly skinny. It’s lower than half an inch thick (0.46 inches to be exact) and weighs solely 2.58 kilos. That’s basically the identical thickness because the 13- and 15-inch MacBook Air, and the Galaxy Chromebook Plus is lighter than each. It’s well-suited to going wherever with out being an excessive amount of of a burden, not one thing you get typically on a laptop computer with a big display screen. Regardless of its thin-and-light design, Samsung didn’t skimp on ports right here: it has HDMI, two USB-C ports (one in every of which you’ll want for charging), a microSDXC slot (that I want was normal microSD), a headphone jack and an old-school USB-A port.

As a part of the Chromebook Plus line, this laptop computer exceeds the minimal spec necessities. It pairs an Intel Core 3 100U processor launched earlier this yr with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage. That’s greater than sufficient energy for a Chromebook at the moment, and I had no qualms with its efficiency throughout the board.

Whereas the Galaxy Chromebook Plus is kind of svelte, its 15.6-inch display screen makes transporting it slightly awkward. Because of its 16:9 side ratio, the laptop computer has critical surfboard vibes – it’s simply very vast, and it’s a good slot in my bag. Moreover, the 16:9 side ratio makes the display screen really feel smaller than it truly is. The 1080p panel defaults to a scaled decision that works out to 1,600 x 900, virtually 100 fewer vertical pixels than my 14-inch MacBook Professional. I’ve been yelling into the void for years now that the 16:9 side ratio is simply not excellent for contemporary computing, given the verticality of mainly each web page. I’d be a lot happier with a smaller panel that provided extra vertical pixels, however that’s simply me.

I’ve combined emotions in regards to the keyboard and trackpad. Because the Galaxy Chromebook Plus is so skinny, the keys don’t really feel fairly as snug as these on most different Chromebooks I exploit, to say nothing of my MacBook Professional. However, they’re not unhealthy in any respect; nothing just like the horrible butterfly keyboards on the MacBooks of the prior decade. They’ve much less journey and are slightly clickier than I’d like however nonetheless straightforward sufficient to acclimate to.

My actual challenge is that Samsung selected to incorporate a quantity pad on the keyboard. This could be my very own private quirk, however I usually can’t stand quantity pads as a result of I’d a lot slightly have my arms centered under the show. I at all times really feel barely off-kilter and unbalanced utilizing a laptop computer with a quantity pad, and it led to me making way more typos than I normally do. I’m positive if it was my solely pc, I’d modify and get used to it — however I don’t suppose I’d ever actually prefer it. For me, the tradeoff simply isn’t well worth the quantity pad. I additionally discovered myself activating the trackpad by grazing it with the facet of my palms whereas typing extra typically than I’d like. I ultimately acclimated to learn how to sort comfortably and keep away from the touchpad, however between that and the quantity pad I discovered the Galaxy Chromebook Plus’s typing expertise isn’t nearly as good as another Chromebooks I’ve used.

Maybe probably the most notable factor in regards to the keyboard, although, is the brand new Fast Insert key that goes the place the normal search secret is. (Chromebooks have at all times had this as a substitute of a caps lock key.) Fast Insert pulls up a small menu related in measurement to what you see when you right-click one thing. Nevertheless it offers contextual ideas based mostly on what you’re doing slightly than displaying the identical choices each time. Within the very Google Doc the place I wrote this assessment, it urged numerous emoji (which might positively be helpful when utilizing a chat app), hyperlinks to some Google Drive recordsdata it thought had been related and a “assist me write” immediate utilizing Google Gemini. The menu additionally reveals fast hyperlinks to your Recordsdata folder, Google Drive, searching historical past and some different doubtlessly useful choices.

Samsung moved the normal launcher key to the underside row, nestled between Fn and Alt. That key nonetheless brings up the app launcher and a standard search subject for issues in your pc; it’s also possible to simply search Google from right here. The trickiest factor about this placement is that some shortcuts I used to be used to now require me to make use of the launcher in a brand new spot as a substitute of Fast Insert. It’s a little bit of a studying curve, and the advantage of Fast Insert doesn’t fairly outweigh having to retrain my mind on new shortcuts. Hopefully the Fast Insert will get smarter and extra helpful over time, however proper now it’s principally a shortcut to grabbing emoji rapidly. I’ve zero curiosity in having Google’s AI assist me write something, so for now its utility is restricted.

ChromeOS and Gemini

That’s the great and unhealthy of the {hardware}, however that’s solely a part of the equation. By now, the same old caveats of ChromeOS are well-known: it’s nonetheless a primarily web-based system, however Android functions can prolong its options. There are additionally loads of net apps which might be properly optimized for ChromeOS, and Google Docs has a complete offline mode at this level. And if in case you have a latest Android telephone, ChromeOS has a fairly sturdy characteristic set once you pair it to your Chromebook, together with shared notifications and streaming of some apps on to your laptop computer.

Google has additionally added quite a lot of sensible and helpful options to ChromeOS during the last yr or in order that make it extra helpful. For instance, clicking the date within the taskbar brings up your full Google calendar and something within the Duties app, making it a fast place to see what you’ve got deliberate for the day with out having to dive into the total Calendar or Duties expertise. There’s additionally a brand new “focus” mode for once you wish to sit down and focus. It activates Do Not Disturb, units a timer and allows you to decide a YouTube Music playlist or some “focus sounds” like ambient or classical music, and even the sounds of nature. It’s a small factor, however there are quite a lot of considerate instruments like that now in ChromeOS that make it really feel like far more than only a browser.

Naturally, AI is an even bigger a part of ChromeOS than ever. Along with the “assist me write” instruments and ideas that present up once you faucet the Fast Insert key, Gemini is a click on away with an app shortcut within the toolbar by default. There are additionally a couple of frivolous AI options thrown in, like a wallpaper generator with eight totally different classes to select from (panorama, surreal, dreamscape, basic artwork and so forth). When you decide one, you’ll get a couple of extra fields you possibly can edit to get a handful of AI creations you possibly can set as your wallpaper. You don’t get full inventive management right here; usually there are two issues you possibly can edit in every immediate. They’re hit and miss, however I did just like the “basic artwork” avant-garde seaside scene I created.

There’s additionally a beta check of the “assist me learn” characteristic that’ll summarize paperwork, PDFs and net pages. I made a PDF of this assessment from Google Docs and had the AI summarize it, which it did with no errors but in addition with little or no element. I requested it questions in regards to the content material of the doc and it answered them precisely, as properly. And the Magic Editor constructed into Google Photographs on Pixel telephones can be out there on Chromebook Plus fashions, letting you alter the fact of your snapshots to your coronary heart’s content material. None of these items is crucial to me, but it surely’s clearly the best way we’re headed, prefer it or not. One good factor is that Google features a full yr of its $20/month Google One with AI plan to Chromebook Plus patrons, this Samsung mannequin included. That will get you 2TB of Drive storage and entry to Gemini Superior, Gemini in Google Docs and Gmail, in addition to a couple of different AI perks. I don’t suppose it’s crucial at this level, however attending to strive it for a full yr is a fairly good provide.

Lastly, there’s the ever-present query of battery life. I’m getting between six and a half and eight hours off the charger, relying on what I’m doing; as standard, video calls actually put a damage on issues. That’s not unhealthy, but it surely’s nonetheless fairly removed from the 13 hours Samsung claims. I don’t know what I’d need to do to return near that mark. In the future, with concentrated use, I burned by two-thirds of the battery in lower than 4 hours. That’s fairly widespread for mainly all Chromebooks I’ve examined in recent times, and my guess is that with Intel silicon we’re not going to see issues enhance in any significant method.

Wrap-up

Regardless of some misgivings, I really loved my time with the Galaxy Chromebook Plus. I in all probability wouldn’t decide it as my very own private pc, as a result of the quantity pad I received’t use merely makes issues too awkward. However there’s additionally quite a bit to love right here – it’s a lot lighter and thinner than different Chromebooks I normally use that it’s a delight to journey with, even though its width is a bit cumbersome. And whereas I want there was extra vertical display screen decision, I did get pleasure from having such a big show mixed in a really moveable gadget.

For the proper of purchaser, the Galaxy Chromebook Plus could be simply what you’re on the lookout for (particularly if the concept of a quantity pad on the keyboard excites you). For me, although, the marginally extra boring however dependable Acer Chromebook Spin 714 Plus stays my favourite premium Chromebook. However Samsung has put ahead a stable effort right here, and I hope they proceed on this path with future Chromebooks – Acer and Lenovo may use the competitors.