For quite a long time, Chromebooks have catered to users on a budget or students looking for devices requiring mostly online access at cheap rates. Google is keen on changing this trend and it also wants to grab a pie of the premium laptop segment. It has now made a new certification named Chromebook Plus for PC makers. To qualify as a Chromebook Plus device, the spec has to be impressive. The device should have a 1080p webcam, FHD screen, 128GB of storage along with 8GB of RAM. It should have an AMD Ryzen 7000/ Intel Core CPU.
Not much has been said by Google on battery requirements for the Chromebook Plus devices. However, regular Chromebooks need to have a minimum of 10 hours of battery life and so these models may score a little better on that regard.
The Chromebook Plus branding can be compared with Intel’s Evo program. Chromebooks with the Plus certification will come with some AI-powered features. Already some PC brands have unveiled their first Chromebook Plus models. These are:
- Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5i Chromebook Plus 14
- Lenovo IdeaPad Gaming ChromeBook Plus 16
- Acer Chromebook Plus 515 and 514
- HP Chromebook Plus x360 14
The pricing is somewhat higher than the regular Chromebooks but still competitive for Windows-based premium laptops or Macintosh ones.
