The launch of the Samsung Galaxy Chromebook 2 QLED laptop in February had a significant impact on the first-gen Galaxy Chromebook’s price tag. Initially retailing for $999, the launch of a new, albeit less powerful, generation of hardware temporarily dropped the price of Samsung’s original Galaxy Chromebook to $699.
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Now, the 2020 Galaxy Chromebook with a 4K OLED display is getting another $300 price slash, just in time for back to school.
The Samsung Galaxy Chromebook, released April last year, is a premium 2-in-1 laptop that conveniently transforms from notebook to tablet or tent mode, pushing the premium Chromebook category to new heights.
However, the power of its internal hardware, its lightweight, and good battery life make it into a perfect education-aimed laptop. Factor in the new $300 price slash, and this little powerhouse becomes an affordable educational tool.
Design-wise, this laptop features a breathtaking, bright, and vibrant 13.3-inch 4K OLED display, surrounded by incredibly thin bezels on its sides and a slightly thicker bezel at the bottom of the screen.
Everything’s encased in a razor-thin and feather-light machined aluminum chassis that gives the Samsung Galaxy Chromebook its premium aesthetics and feel.
In terms of weight, the original Galaxy Chromebook weighs only 2.3 pounds, making it lighter than its competitors at the time, the MacBook Air 2020 and Dell XPS 13.
Incorporated into the laptop’s design is the strategically placed S-Pen slot on its edge, which is activated by a small rectangular button on the right side of the Galaxy Chromebook. Pressing the button reveals Samsung’s ingenuity in designing the S-Pen slot, as it pushes the S-Pen stylus out at the user’s request.
Students and other users who prefer to take notes with a pen will most likely benefit from this functionality. It allows quick access to the stylus while also making it incredibly difficult to lose the small pen.
And while Samsung Galaxy Chromebook stands out due to its design and portability, setting the standard other laptop manufacturers should take note of, the main star of the show is the Chromebook’s hardware.
Admittedly, it’s not a monster powerhouse of a machine that would run AAA gaming titles with ease, but it provides more than enough computing power for educational purposes.
It packs a 10th generation Intel Core i5-10210U quad-core CPU running at 1.6GHz with 4.2GHz max turbo frequency, backed up by 8BG of LPDDR3 RAM, and a 256GB of SSD storage, and Intel UHD graphics.
Not the strongest of configurations, especially on the current market, but it proved more than capable of juggling 20 Chrome tabs, which can be CPU and RAM-intensive.
It’s worth noting that four of those tabs played 1080p YouTube videos, which is quite an impressive feat for such a small, and now affordable laptop.
Unfortunately, the combination of power and small form factor has a singular downside – lower battery life of up to 8 hours. In contrast, the Galaxy Chromebook 2 offers up to 13 hours of battery use.
In fact, the price of the Galaxy Chromebook was initially slashed due to the release of the Galaxy Chromebook 2, which might seem like a logical new choice and a valuable hardware upgrade. However, that’s not the case.
The new Galaxy Chromebook 2 is aimed at an entirely different user market and its lower price tag of approx. $250 makes up for all the hardware downgrades. And while it does offer a significant advantage of a considerably longer battery life, the Galaxy Chromebook 2 is a budget-friendly option for consumers who are willing to pay a little more for a Samsung brand and its stunningly looking screens.
In conclusion, the original Samsung Galaxy Chromebook is a wise choice of portability, security, and versatility designed for those demanding upper-class specifications, enhanced performance, and glamourous design.
Paired with a new price drop, the Samsung Galaxy Chromebook is a solid value-for-money pickup for those looking to own one of the top-performing and best-looking Chromebooks out there.
