Lenovo guarantees 17 hours of battery life on its new Chromebook Plus 14

For years now, most Chromebooks have run some number of Intel or AMD processor. The occasional system used a MediaTek chip, however they have been usually underpowered and low-cost gadgets that have been arduous to advocate. ARM-based processors have labored tremendously nicely for Apple on the Mac, and so they’re being utilized in an increasing number of Home windows PCs as nicely. Now, Lenovo (makers of my favorite Chromebook) and Google are giving ARM an actual shot with the $649 Chromebook Plus 14.

The businesses say the MediaTek Kompanio Extremely 910 chip and its AI NPU can deal with as much as 50 TOPS — however extra intriguing to me, Lenovo can also be promising as much as 17 hours of battery life. I’ll consider that declare after I see it; mediocre at greatest battery life has plagued almost each Chromebook I’ve used in recent times. However switching to ARM may enhance on what Intel-powered Chromebooks have delivered, each when it comes to battery life and total efficiency.

Time for the nitty-gritty specs. Lenovo’s Chromebook Plus 14 is, as you’d anticipate, a 14-inch laptop computer that appears fairly much like a silver MacBook Professional. It’s definitely extra fashionable and modern than Lenovo’s extra utilitarian (and awkwardly-named) IdeaPad Flex 5i Chromebook Plus. It weighs solely 2.58 kilos (a couple of pound lower than the Flex 5i) and is simply over .62 inches thick. Along with the Kompanio Extremely 910 chip, Lenovo is together with both 12GB or 16GB of RAM and as much as 256GB of storage. Lenovo isn’t skimping on the display screen, both. The 14-inch OLED panel could be outfitted with a touchscreen and has a 1,920 x 1,200 decision. The decision is comparatively modest, however completely in keeping with what you’d anticipate for the worth.

There are a number of different good touches all through. Lenovo’s newest is the primary Chromebook with Dolby Atmos sound through a quad-speaker system that features two downward-firing woofers. Audio high quality on laptops has elevated considerably in recent times, so I’m wanting ahead to listening to what Lenovo can ship. The 5-megapixel webcam has a a lot greater decision than most different Chromebooks, and there’s additionally a fingerprint reader for safe logins.

All instructed, this Chromebook is on the dearer facet in comparison with many different choices. However whenever you examine its specs and design with different Chromebooks on this value vary, Lenovo’s newest comes out wanting fairly good. In fact, we’ll want to verify the MediaTek chip is highly effective sufficient and likewise see what battery life is like, however Lenovo’s observe file is robust sufficient that I’m wanting ahead to seeing if we’ve a brand new king of the Chromebooks.

New AI options

On condition that Google is relentlessly centered on including AI options in all places you flip, it’s no shock that there are a handful of recent AI tips right here. First are two which might be presently unique to Lenovo’s Chromebook Plus 14: Good Grouping and AI picture modifying within the Chromebook’s Gallery app. Google has been teasing Good Grouping for some time now; it’ll take a look at your open tabs and paperwork and ask if you wish to set up them right into a separate digital desk. And the Gallery app now has some AI-powered modifying options like eradicating backgrounds or turning your pictures into stickers.

Past these are a bunch of AI options which might be coming to all Chromebook Plus laptops, lots of which can really feel acquainted if you happen to’ve paid consideration to what Google has launched to different platforms in latest months. For instance, now you can long-press the launcher and choose an space of the display screen to run a search. As normal, the default instance is purchasing — see a pair of sneakers you need, spotlight it and let Google discover them for you. The mixing does look good, although, with a pop-over window exhibiting you outcomes so that you don’t have to go away the app you’re utilizing.

Equally, Textual content Seize analyzes textual content in a picture and suggests issues like calendar appointments based mostly on what it reads. Or highlighting a picture of a recipe can pull all the gadgets you want for it right into a Google Docs record.

The Fast Insert key, which was first launched final yr on Samsung’s Galaxy Chromebook Plus, can now be used to generate and insert AI pictures into wherever your textual content cursor is pointing — it’s not simply restricted to Google apps. Lastly, Google’s “assist me learn” device has a brand new “simplify” possibility that may take complicated language (suppose scientific explanations) and put it in plain language to make it simpler to grasp.

Anybody shopping for a Chromebook Plus this yr will get a strong perk that Google first launched final yr: a full 12 months of the Google One AI Professional plan, which incorporates 2TB of Google Drive storage and entry to extra superior Gemini options (you possibly can find all the exact details here). On condition that this can be a $20 per 30 days plan, it’s a strong further worth — on the very least for the storage, if you happen to’re not all that fascinated about Gemini.

As for Lenovo’s new {hardware}, I’m wanting ahead to attempting it quickly to see if the ARM structure can ship the large battery life and efficiency enhancements that the corporate is promising. However if you wish to throw down your money now, Lenovo’s Chromebook Plus 14 is accessible at Greatest Purchase and on Lenovo’s site to order as of in the present day. (Observe that, at the very least for now, solely the dearer model of the Chromebook Plus 14, with a touchscreen at 16GB of RAM, is accessible at Greatest Purchase.)