That’s not all although: The Galaxy Chromebook Plus is the primary laptop computer to incorporate Google’s new Fast Insert Key, a bodily key that occupies the house that used to carry the launcher key. Urgent it offers you speedy entry to shortcuts for emoji, GIFs, the clipboard, and up to date hyperlinks and paperwork. It’s additionally built-in with Google Drive to allow you to seek for something, and you may ask Gemini AI that will help you write instantly from the pop-up menu.
It’s a superb addition, although it’s one thing you’ll must consciously keep in mind to make use of if you happen to’ve used Chromebooks for some time. I largely ended up utilizing it as a GIF or emoji key, but it surely’s additionally a good way to shortly entry shopping historical past. Given my job, it’s exhausting to evaluate the usefulness of getting an AI writing assistant out there at a keypress, although I may see it being helpful for college students or professionals engaged on shows or emails.
{Photograph}: Daniel Thorp-Lancaster
An enormous characteristic Samsung promotes with the Galaxy Chromebook Plus is its battery life, claiming as much as 13 hours on a cost. I did not attain that quantity in regular use, however I continuously clocked 9 to 11 hours relying on what I used to be doing. Samsung despatched me a assessment unit with a European charging brick, so I can’t converse to its fast-charging capabilities. Nevertheless, my Anker charger managed to high it again up in round 1.5 hours.
The one main weak spot of the Galaxy Chromebook Plus? It is one shared by many different Chromebooks: middling audio system. They’re each downward-firing and sound fairly skinny it doesn’t matter what you’re listening to. It’s a sacrifice I’m OK with given the general thickness of the laptop computer, but it surely’s price noting if that’s a deal-breaker in your laptop computer selection. Deliver a good pair of wi-fi headphones, earbuds, or pc audio system if you happen to care about sound high quality.
The Samsung Galaxy Chromebook Plus is a novel choice within the Chromebook house proper now. Regardless of its thin-and-light design, Samsung took the time to dial in an expertise with only a few sacrifices. For $700, it is a superb purchase for anybody who needs a premium clamshell Chromebook you may take anyplace with little fuss. Notably, there’s no touchscreen, and the clamshell design gained’t be for everybody. In case you want a 2-in-1 design or pen-and-ink capabilities, you will get a equally premium expertise across the similar value with the Acer Chromebook Plus Spin 714.
