Mobile Technology

Samsung unveils Android-ready, stylus-sporting convertible Chromebooks

Samsung unveils Android-ready, stylus-sporting convertible Chromebooks
Alanna Cotton, Samsung America vice president of product marketing, unveils the Chromebook Pro and Plus at CES 2017
Alanna Cotton, Samsung America vice president of product marketing, unveils the Chromebook Pro and Plus at CES 2017
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Alanna Cotton, Samsung America vice president of product marketing, unveils the Chromebook Pro and Plus at CES 2017
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Alanna Cotton, Samsung America vice president of product marketing, unveils the Chromebook Pro and Plus at CES 2017
Samsung's new convertible Chromebooks support Android apps and stylus input
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Samsung's new convertible Chromebooks support Android apps and stylus input
Samsung laptops and Chromebook unveiled at CES 2017
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Samsung laptops and Chromebook unveiled at CES 2017
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At today's CES press event, Samsung unveiled Chromebook Plus and Chromebook Pro. Both have 2-in-1 tablet/laptop builds and an included stylus. They are also Samsung's first Chromebooks designed for compatibility with Android mobile apps.

Convertible Chromebooks – with 360-degree hinges and touchscreens – are now fairly common, but ones that support active stylus input are rare. Both of Samsung's latest offerings ship with pressure sensitive styluses and built-in side storage. The stylus works with the preinstalled apps Google Keep and Samsung ArtCanvas for note-taking and drawing, respectively.

Samsung's new convertible Chromebooks support Android apps and stylus input
Samsung's new convertible Chromebooks support Android apps and stylus input

Like other Chromebooks from Asus, Acer and Google, Samsung's newest Chromebooks will be compatible with the Google Play store and Android mobile apps. This dramatically widens the breadth of content and possibilities for the Chromebook experience.

With 12.3-inch 2,400 x 1,600 Quad HD displays, these also stand out from other Chromebooks for their high resolution. Other characteristics include a highly portable size (280.8 x 221.6 x 12.9 ~ 13.9 mm), 4 GB of RAM, 32 GB of storage, two USB-C ports, microSD card slot and up to eight hours of battery life.

The processor is the main differentiating point between the Plus and Pro models. While the Plus has an OP1 Chromebook-specific chipset (ARM-based), the Pro has an Intel Core m3 processor with Intel HD Graphics 515.

Samsung Chromebook Plus will be available in February starting at US$449. Samsung has said the Chromebook Pro will be available later this spring, but has yet to release its price.

Samsung laptops and Chromebook unveiled at CES 2017
Samsung laptops and Chromebook unveiled at CES 2017

Source: Samsung

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2 comments
2 comments
zr2s10
I'd love to see one running W10, but even this would be a big improvement over my Note 10.1. And thankfully Chrome books can now run Android apps, they're much more useful now!
HerrDrPantagruel
Samsung has not introduced a new high end Note tablet in about 3 years. Perhaps this indicates a shift to Chrome+Android. One reason this could make sense is that they don't have to worry about updating the OS, this has been a problem for Samsung always lagging on the latest v of android. Honestly for a business/productivity/pen tablet this looks more attractive than a pure android or iOS device. Still would rather have a Surface Pro with Win 10 but this is more of a cheaper simpler alternative. Also - if this is like the Note stylus (sure looks like one) that is pretty great, they use Wacom technology and no battery (and not all of Samsungs Windows tablets do.) Chrome+Android could really challenge Windows certainly on the low end, student, school, grandparent markets. But it will take some good hardware to get it going.