Google Introduces New Chromebook Plus Category

Google announced this morning that it has teamed up with hardware manufacturers to launch Chromebook Plus, a more premium category of Chromebooks with a standardized set of premium features. The first selection of Chromebook Plus devices from Acer, Asus, HP, and Lenovo will launch next week on October 8.

“All Chromebook Plus laptops offer faster processors, and double the memory and storage, giving you the power to get more done, easily. All Chromebook Plus laptops also come with a Full HD IPS display — which means you get a full 1080p HD experience when watching streaming content, crisp, clear viewing for reading, creating content or editing photos and videos. Finally, there’s a 1080p+ webcam with temporal noise reduction for smoother, more lifelike video calls,” explained John Maletis Vice President, ChromeOS Product, Engineering and UX.

In practice, all models will come with a minimum of 8GB of RAM, 128GB of storage, a 13th gen Intel Core i3/AMD Ryzen 3 7000 series CPU, and a 1080p camera with temporal noise reduction. Prices will start at $399, which isn’t bad for a Chromebook with such specs.

On the software front, Google promised a better Chrome OS experience with access to AI-powered features in various apps: Customers can expect support for Magic Eraser in Google Photos, as well as background noise cancellation and background blur in video conferencing apps such as Google Meet, Zoom, or Microsoft Teams. Google also says that Chromebook Plus devices are optimized for third-party creative apps such as the web version of Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Express, and LumaFusion.

In the coming weeks, a selection of existing Chromebooks that meet the minimum Chromebook Plus specs will also be eligible for a software update that will enable new Chromebook Plus features. Google also said that new generative AI features are coming in 2024, including the ability to summarize text from a web page and create text and images with the assistance of AI.

In the US, the first Chromebook Plus devices will be available to pre-order Best Buy, Amazon, Walmart, and Target starting October 8, 2023. Availability in Europe and Canada will start a day later. Lastly, Chromebook Plus devices will come with a free 3-month subscription for Photoshop on the Web, 3 months of GeForce NOW’s priority tier, and a couple of other perks.