Pros & Cons
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- Super slim and light
- Stunning AMOLED screen
- Snappy performance and class-leading battery life
- Useful port selection
- Productive keyboard with Quick Insert, Function keys
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- Expensive
- No webcam privacy shutter
- No touch screen
- Lackluster speakers and webcam
Samsung Galaxy Chromebook Plus Specs
| Boot Drive Capacity (as Tested) | 256 |
| Boot Drive Type | UFS (Universal Flash Storage) |
| Class | Chromebook |
| Dimensions (HWD) | 0.46 by 13.99 by 8.89 inches |
| Graphics Processor | Intel Graphics |
| Native Display Resolution | 1920 by 1080 |
| Operating System | Chrome OS |
| Panel Technology | OLED |
| Processor | Intel Core 3 100U |
| RAM (as Tested) | 8 |
| Screen Refresh Rate | 60 |
| Screen Size | 15.6 |
| Tested Battery Life (Hours:Minutes) | 16:20 |
| Variable Refresh Support | None |
| Weight | 2.58 |
| Wireless Networking | 802.11ax |
| Wireless Networking | Bluetooth 5.2 |
Samsung's Galaxy Chromebook Plus ($699.99) elevates Google's Chromebook Plus campaign to new heights. This 15.6-inch laptop boasts a stunning AMOLED screen and an equally dazzling metal design, measuring under half an inch thin and weighing just 2.6 pounds. It also debuts new G (for Google) and Quick Insert keys for a productivity boost. While it costs more than most Chromebooks—though less than the $999 deluxe models of years past—the Galaxy Chromebook Plus delivers in all aspects, particularly battery life, earning an Editors' Choice award for premium clamshell-design Chromebooks.
Design: A Big Screen, But Still Ultraportable
The specifications speak for themselves: Despite having a 15.6-inch display, the Galaxy Chromebook Plus qualifies as an ultraportable at only 2.6 pounds, making it lighter than many 14-inch laptops. It's also incredibly slim, at just 0.46 inch thick. The chassis (14 by 8.9 inches) is as compact as you would expect for its screen size. The 14-inch Asus Chromebook Plus CX34 is portly by comparison, measuring 0.73 by 12.9 by 8.4 inches and weighing 3.17 pounds.
(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)The build quality is impressive, with metal covering every surface. The lid is a shimmering Neptune Blue, while the rest of the chassis is black. Although the chassis and especially the lid have slightly more flex than I prefer, it's acceptable given the notebook's slim profile. The chassis itself feels sturdy enough to pick up one-handed.
One compromise with a design this thin is sound quality. The speakers embedded in the chassis barely get loud enough for personal listening and sound rather hollow, with no meaningful bass. The webcam over the display is also merely average. Despite a 1080p resolution, it doesn’t look sharp and shows noticeable grain. It also lacks a privacy shutter.
(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)The port selection is excellent, including two USB Type-C ports, one USB Type-A port, an HDMI monitor output, a 3.5mm audio jack, and a microSD card reader. The latter is useful for expanding the standard 256GB of storage. The power adapter can be plugged into either USB-C port.
(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)Given its price, it’s no surprise that this Chromebook boasts above-average processing power. While a six-core Intel Core 3 processor and 8GB of RAM may not stand out in the Windows world, this hardware performs exceptionally well with the more resource-efficient ChromeOS. I was able to open over a dozen browser tabs and several applications without any lag. Additionally, Samsung equips this Chromebook with 256GB of smartphone-style Universal Flash Storage (UFS), which offers significantly faster performance than the eMMC storage found in budget Chromebooks. I informally observed a cold start taking just a couple of seconds.
Samsung covers the Galaxy Chromebook Plus with a one-year warranty. You also get one year of Google AI Premium, with 2TB of cloud storage and Gemini Advanced AI features, which are available in many Google apps.
Using the Galaxy Chromebook Plus: Stunning Screen, New Keyboard
Undoubtedly, the 15.6-inch AMOLED screen will convince many buyers to spend the extra money for this Chromebook. Much like a high-end TV, it dazzles with vivid colors and brightness. From plain office documents to the latest Marvel trailers, this screen makes everything look its best. A screen like this can also appeal to content creators, who can now do photo editing on a Chromebook with the Adobe Photoshop web app and video editing with LumaFusion. The display's only drawback is its lack of touch support.
(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)Google’s new G and Quick Insert keys are a key (ahem) reason to consider this system. The Caps Lock key now houses Quick Insert, a feature older Chromebooks implement via Launcher+F. This handy pop-up overlay shows your browsing history, allowing you to copy links without switching windows, and access Google Drive. You can also search for emojis and GIFs and make use of Google AI for content generation. As someone who frequently switches between windows to transfer information, I found this menu immediately useful.
Another change to the Galaxy's keyboard is that the Launcher menu/search key has been moved to a bottom-row G key (occupying the spot held by the Windows key on a Windows laptop). This small adjustment makes it easier to transition from the Windows keyboards I use daily, as it performs many of the same functions. Additionally, I appreciated the inclusion of a Fn key and the F1 through F15 keys, which further bridge the gap with a Windows keyboard.
(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)The keyboard's black keycaps and crisp white backlighting, with four brightness levels, give it an upscale aesthetic. Although the key travel is shallow, the tactile feedback is engaging enough for extended typing sessions. I achieved 118 words per minute in the MonkeyType online typing test, which is as quickly as I can go on a laptop. Additionally, the Galaxy Chromebook Plus has an excellent touchpad, offering ample space and precise clicking.
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Testing the Samsung Galaxy Chromebook Plus: Core 3 Power
I'm testing Samsung's Chromebook Galaxy Plus in its sole available configuration, which includes an Intel Core 3 100U processor (six cores, up to 4.7GHz turbo), Intel integrated graphics, 8GB of RAM, 256GB of UFS storage, and Wi-Fi 6E with Bluetooth 5.3 wireless. At the time of review, it was discounted from $699.99 to $624.99 at Best Buy and through Samsung's store.
Whether on sale or not, the Galaxy is relatively pricey, especially when you consider that a 15.6-inch Chromebook Plus, such as the Acer Chromebook Plus 515 (we tested the 14-inch model), can be purchased for around $400. To justify the higher price, Samsung's premium design, screen, upgraded keyboard, and (as we’ll see momentarily) battery life need to rank high on your priority list.
Our comparison lineup includes two Acers—the Chromebook Plus 514 ($349.99 as tested) and the Chromebook Plus Spin 714 ($699.99 as tested) – along with the Asus Chromebook Plus CX34 ($499 as tested) and the HP Chromebook Plus x360 ($319.99 as tested). While these 14-inch models aren’t strictly comparable if you’re looking for a big screen, they will put Samsung’s performance in perspective since the hardware seen here is used in Chromebook Plus models of all sizes.
Productivity and General Performance Tests
Our ChromeOS productivity tests evaluate overall system performance with three multifunction benchmarks, one Android and two online. The first, PCMark for Android, performs assorted productivity operations in a smartphone-style window.
Basemark Web 3.0 and WebXPRT 4 run in the Chrome browser to rate a Chromebook's capability for web apps. Basemark combines low-level JavaScript calculations with CSS and WebGL content, while WebXPRT uses HTML5, JavaScript, and WebAssembly workloads to simulate tasks ranging from photo enhancement and OCR scans to sales graphs and online homework.
The Galaxy Chromebook Plus proved itself an able competitor, besting the Chromebook Plus 514 and the HP, which are equipped with previous-generation Core i3 processors. While it didn't catch the gaming-oriented Acer Chromebook Plus 516 GE (not charted here) atop our Chromebook charts, its Core 3 processor appears to be punching above its weight.
Component and Battery Tests
Two other Android benchmarks focus on the CPU and GPU, respectively. Primate Labs' Geekbench uses all available cores and threads to simulate real-world applications ranging from PDF rendering and speech recognition to machine learning, while GFXBench 5.0 stress-tests both low-level routines like texturing and high-level, game-like image rendering that exercises graphics and compute shaders. Geekbench delivers a numeric score, while GFXBench counts frames per second (fps).
Finally, to test a Chromebook's battery, we loop a 720p video file with screen brightness set at 50%, volume at 100%, and Wi-Fi and keyboard backlighting disabled until the system quits.
Samsung’s integrated Intel Graphics are well-equipped to handle tasks likely to be performed in ChromeOS. It tied for the best performance in GFXBench with the Chromebook Plus Spin 714.
The Galaxy Chromebook Plus did a superb job in our battery life test, lasting over 16 hours. You can head out without stressing about bringing along the AC adapter.