It's been a while since the South Korean manufacturer has updated its line of Chromebooks laptops, but finally, Samsung has revealed its new Chrome OS based Plus and Pro machines at CES this year.
Samsung Launches Chromebook Plus & Pro
According to Digital Trends, the new Samsung Chromebook Plus and Pro are the best of the South Korean manufacturer Chrombe OS laptop line. They both come fitted with a 360-degree hinge, a vibrant 12-inch 2,400 x 1,600 display and give access to the Google Play Store. They are the first Samsung Chromebooks built with Android app capabilities in mind, by working together with engineers at Google. That includes new context menus to help mobile and laptop users to bridge the gap between the two form factors, full accelerometer support and built-in stylus with the digitizer.
Among the key specs of the two new Chromebooks are included 32 GB eMMC storage capacity and 4 GB RAM memory. The only difference between the Chromebook Plus and the Chromebook is the processor, which is a 6th-gen Intel Core m3-6y30 in the Pro and an ARM hexacore chip of Samsung's own making called the OP1 in the Plus. Otherwise, the two new Samsung Chromebook laptops are completely identical.
Neither processor can be considered as the most powerful out there. However, according to tech experts, the Chromebook Pro seemed to offer plenty of processing power, speed, and overall performance. Generally speaking, an ARM processor is, perhaps, never be able to offer the best Chromebook experience one can have.
According to Engadget, with the Google Play Store and Android apps coming to the platform, for the South Korean tech giant it seemed like a perfect time to push Chrome OS. The Chromebook Plus and Chromebook Pro pushed by Samsung and Google are a pair of laptops that aim to offer a good Chrome OS experience.
A fully charged battery can offer around eight hours of laptop use. Chromebook Plus and Pro come with touchscreen functionality, in order to maximize the use of the Android apps. The Chromebook Plus will be the one to launch first, in February. On the Chromebook Plus, the Google Play Store will still be in beta, but it will come out of beta when the Pro launches later this spring, running with full Android Nougat support.
Chromebook Plus & Pro's Special Features
The laptops' screen is the first to support a stylus. Since Samsung has a lot of experience with the stylus, the South Korean company is leveraging this in its new Chromebooks. The stylus is basically identical to the one offered in recent years by Samsung on the Note series. Users will be able to write and use the stylus Galaxy Note style since there's a slot on the side of the computer to tuck the stylus in.
In order to a better note-taking experience, the Chromebook Plus, and Pro can both work as a tablet by flipping their screens all the way around. Both these Chromebooks are light enough to make the hybrid form factor workable and even a comfortable experience.
By using the company's machine learning data, the Google Keep app has been specially redesigned with handwriting in mind. The notes are available and searchable in the Keep mobile app for Android and iOS, as they sync back to the cloud.
Machine learning has also been used by Google to improve handwriting latency and recognition when writing notes. Based on the first few letters you start drawing, the Keep app is analyzing a huge sample of handwritten notes in order to be able to predict what you're most likely to be writing.
