Lenovo guarantees 17 hours of battery life on its ...

For years now, most Chromebooks have run some number of Intel or AMD processor. The occasional machine used a MediaTek chip, however they had been typically underpowered and low-cost units that had been onerous to suggest. ARM-based processors have labored tremendously effectively for Apple on the Mac, they usually’re being utilized in increasingly more Home windows PCs as effectively. 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 be promising as much as 17 hours of battery life. I’ll consider that declare once I see it; mediocre at greatest battery life has plagued almost each Chromebook I’ve used in recent times. However switching to ARM might 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 smooth than Lenovo’s extra utilitarian (and awkwardly-named) IdeaPad Flex 5i Chromebook Plus. It weighs solely 2.58 kilos (a few 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, both. The 14-inch OLED panel will be outfitted with a touchscreen and has a 1,920 x 1,200 decision. The decision is comparatively modest, however completely according to what you’d anticipate for the value.

There are a couple 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 larger decision than most different Chromebooks, and there’s additionally a fingerprint reader for safe logins.

All informed, this Chromebook is on the costlier facet in comparison with many different choices. However if you examine its specs and design with different Chromebooks on this worth vary, Lenovo’s newest comes out wanting fairly good. In fact, we’ll want to verify the MediaTek chip is highly effective sufficient and in addition see what battery life is like, however Lenovo’s monitor document is powerful sufficient that I’m wanting ahead to seeing if we’ve got 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 latest AI tips right here. First are two which are at present unique to Lenovo’s Chromebook Plus 14: Sensible Grouping and AI picture enhancing within the Chromebook’s Gallery app. Google has been teasing Sensible Grouping for some time now; it’ll have a look at your open tabs and paperwork and ask if you wish to manage them right into a separate digital desk. And the Gallery app now has some AI-powered enhancing options like eradicating backgrounds or turning your photos into stickers.

Past these are a bunch of AI options which are coming to all Chromebook Plus laptops, a lot of which is able to really feel acquainted for those who’ve paid consideration to what Google has launched to different platforms in current months. For instance, now you can long-press the launcher and choose an space of the display to run a search. As regular, the default instance is buying — 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 primarily based on what it reads. Or highlighting a picture of a recipe can pull the entire objects 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 photos into anyplace your textual content cursor is pointing — it’s not simply restricted to Google apps. Lastly, Google’s “assist me learn” instrument has a brand new “simplify” choice that may take advanced language (assume scientific explanations) and put it in plain language to make it simpler to know.

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’ll be able to find all the exact details here). On condition that this can be a $20 per thirty days plan, it’s a strong further worth — on the very least for the storage, for those who’re not all that focused on Gemini.

As for Lenovo’s new {hardware}, I’m wanting ahead to making an attempt 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 obtainable at Greatest Purchase and on Lenovo’s site to order as of as we speak. (Be aware that, at the least for now, solely the costlier model of the Chromebook Plus 14, with a touchscreen at 16GB of RAM, is obtainable at Greatest Purchase.)