Samsung’s Galaxy Chromebook 2 looks set to improve battery life and the price of its predecessor, according to leaked Samsung slides (via 9to5Google). The former Galaxy Chromebook was a beautifully designed 2-in-1 that still faltered due to its battery life and high price of $ 999. If you can believe these slides, next year may include some Chromebooks that you can hope for .
The most important change is the battery life. Slides shared by delicious WalkingCat says Samsung is betting on more than 12 hours of battery life on this new model. That’s a lot more than the mighty 4 hours and 20 minutes (and the 8 hours Samsung promised) we observed in our review of this year’s model.
Samsung’s slides also note that the Galaxy Chromebook 2 will be the first Chromebook with a QLED screen or quantum dot LED screen. The company’s previous Chromebook used a 4K AMOLED, a choice that seemed to damage the device’s battery life. Switching to QLED would match the change Samsung made to its non-Chrome OS laptops in 2020.
The old Galaxy Chromebook relied on an Intel 10th generation Core i5 that was more than capable of handling the tasks that Samsung imagined customers would use the device for, but this new Galaxy Chromebook 2 is reportedly switching to a 10th generation Core i3. It’s not necessarily a step down for browser – based work in Chrome OS, but it’s interesting considering the availability of 11. generation Intel processors in 2021.
All of these changes may have played a role in the price of $ 699 (probably entry-level), the latest notable treat from the WalkingCats leak. The original Galaxy Chromebook was set up as something “premium” for “professionals”, and at least from the renderings we’ve seen, the Galaxy Chromebook 2 maintains the sleek design.
The cheaper price of the Galaxy Chromebook 2 puts it closer to the real advanced Chromebooks than to the real laptops from Apple and others. Switching to another processor and relying on a monitor it already sources for its other laptops can help improve sales, especially when combined with a lower price point.
We will have to wait until the promised launch date of February 2021 from the slide to know for sure. But CES 2021 is just around the corner, and with it comes the possibility of some clarity about Samsung’s Chromebook roadmap for next year and beyond.