Samsung Galaxy Chromebook Plus Review: Premium, but worth the price?
With its premium metal design, OLED display, and powerful performance, the Samsung Galaxy Chromebook Plus dispels the stereotype of a cheap laptop for studying.
The Samsung Galaxy Chromebook Plus is Samsung's attempt to reposition Chromebooks in the premium segment, targeting users who demand a sophisticated, powerful device for work rather than just a basic learning tool. The product boasts a luxurious metal design, an OLED screen, and superior specifications compared to many competitors, but it comes with a hefty price tag.
Premium design: When Chromebooks take on the look of Windows laptops.
At first glance, the Samsung Galaxy Chromebook Plus is easily recognizable as a member of Samsung's Galaxy laptop family. It boasts a minimalist design language, with clean lines and thin bezels, creating a professional and modern look.
The most notable feature is its size and weight. Weighing only 1.17kg and measuring 11.8mm thick, it's one of the thinnest and lightest 15.6-inch laptops on the market. This makes it easy to carry around without feeling heavy. Despite its slim and light design, the laptop still feels sturdy thanks to its metal casing, although the screen is slightly curved due to the lack of an outer glass protective layer.
15.6-inch OLED screens: Advantages and disadvantages that not everyone sees.
Samsung equipped the Galaxy Chromebook Plus with a large OLED screen, delivering exceptional contrast and vibrant colors, far superior to traditional LCD screens. The movie-watching experience on this device is particularly impressive, with deep blacks thanks to self-illuminating pixel technology.
However, this screen also has a few points to note. Due to the pixel structure of the OLED panel, when displaying text or content with many fine details, the image may not be as sharp as some high-resolution LCD screens. The screen surface is made of plastic instead of glass, partly to reduce weight and cost, but also reduces the premium feel to the touch.
Keyboard and touchpad experience
The Galaxy Chromebook Plus keyboard has shallow key travel, typical of thin and light laptops. Even so, it still provides a good, high-quality, and fairly quiet typing experience, complete with backlighting for working in low-light conditions. The inclusion of a numeric keypad might slightly shift the typing position for some users, but this effect isn't too noticeable.
The touchpad is made of textured glass, providing a smooth feel. However, the mechanical click mechanism produces a rather "clicky" sound and feels somewhat flimsy, a minor drawback compared to the overall premium design of the device.
Performance and Gaming Capabilities: Is Steam on a Chromebook Enough?
With an Intel Core i5 processor, 8GB of RAM, and a 256GB SSD, the Galaxy Chromebook Plus is one of the most powerful Chromebooks currently available. This configuration is more than capable of smoothly handling everyday tasks and Android applications.
One notable feature is the ability to run Steam, opening up greater entertainment potential. However, it's worth noting that the power-efficient U-series processor with integrated Intel Xe graphics isn't powerful enough to play demanding games like Cyberpunk 2077. Lighter games like Skyrim Special Edition can run after adjusting the graphics settings.
Regarding the AI features integrated into Google Gemini, they primarily require an internet connection and aren't a strong enough reason to upgrade, as these functions essentially operate as a smart search window.
Battery life and other features
The laptop's battery life is decent, lasting around 8 hours of mixed use or 14 hours of continuous video playback. However, this figure isn't particularly outstanding when compared to newer Windows laptops using Intel Ultra or Qualcomm Snapdragon chips, which also boast excellent battery life.
In terms of connectivity, the device is quite well-equipped with an HDMI port, a microSD card slot, two USB-C ports, and one USB-A port. The external speakers produce rather weak and thin sound. Conversely, the 1080p webcam is a plus, providing sharp and realistic images for video calls.
Conclude
The Samsung Galaxy Chromebook Plus is an attractive option for those who appreciate the simplicity of the ChromeOS operating system but desire a device with a professional, premium design. It truly stands out in terms of appearance, slimness, lightness, and OLED screen quality.
However, the biggest question remains whether it's worth spending a large sum of money on a Chromebook, given the limitations of its app ecosystem compared to Windows. If you value minimalism, security, and don't require specialized software, this is a laptop that can effectively meet your work and entertainment needs in a stylish way.