The Galaxy Chromebook 2 is 2.71 kilos, which is marginally heavier than the unique, however the place you may actually discover the distinction is the thickness. It’s simply greater than half an inch to the earlier mannequin’s crazy-thin one-third-inch top.
It’s nonetheless lighter than most Chromebooks, nevertheless it’s positively extra noticeable in your bag and more durable to carry in pill mode than the unique. Thankfully, you can nonetheless use it as a pill. This new Chromebook 2 retains the two-in-one design.
There are two variations obtainable, the $700 one I examined incorporates a 10th-generation Intel Core i3 processor, eight gigabytes of RAM, and a 128-gigabyte strong state drive. There’s additionally a slightly less powerful Galaxy Chromebook 2 for $550 that makes use of a 10th-generation Intel Celeron processor and has solely four gigabytes of RAM and a 64-GB SSD.
I discover Intel Core i3 chips to be the candy spot for Chromebooks. They provide sufficient energy that you do not have to consider what number of Chrome tabs or apps you might have open, and they preserve the value down in comparison with fashions with Core i5 and even i7 chips.
The Celeron model will seemingly be high quality however much less snappy. More worrying is the paltry four gigabytes of RAM—I recommend upgrading to eight gigs in case you can afford it. It’s a extra future-proof funding. It’s not like web sites are going to be gobbling up any much less RAM tomorrow.
As for ports, there are two USB-C connectors, a Micro SD card slot, and a headphone jack.
Beefier Battery
Now, the million-dollar query: How’s the battery life? The authentic Galaxy Chromebook managed a mere 6.5 hours in our normal battery drain check (enjoying a looped 1080p video at 75 % brightness). I’m glad to report that model 2 almost doubles that consequence, managing 12 hours, 24 minutes.
