Chromebooks: what advantages and disadvantages are there over other computers?

We recently spoke in an article about what Chromebooks are and what their most outstanding models are. However, we barely scratch the issue of what its advantages and disadvantages are. Today we are going to put our hands in the mud and we are going to talk about the main strengths and weaknesses of these laptops signed by Google .

Index of contents

First of all: what is a Chromebook ?

We have already covered this in our other article on what a Chromebook is , so if you want to know it in more depth, read on. However, we are going to summarize very briefly what these laptops are.

A quick and concise definition could be:

Chromebooks are laptops with ultrabook-like features designed only for browsing and office work. They are made by different companies, but all have to have an agreement with Google in order to create and market them. There are models of all price ranges, but the most notable are the mid and low range, since with little power they achieve good performance.

Its main feature is that they have their own Operating System called Chrome OS , which makes it the third alternative on the market. This new platform makes it have differences inside and out. For example, we tend to be low on memory because everything is expected to be done in the cloud and we also lack classic buttons like the F1-F12, among other things.

However, what consequences can happen to us moving to a computer with Chrome OS ? Unlike buying another more powerful Windows / Mac laptop, here we will have more differences apart from the performance. For this reason, before buying a Chromebook you should know the advantages and disadvantages that may arise.

Some you will already see them coming, but there are others more hidden among their specifications and nooks and crannies.

Advantage

We all know that changing airs is difficult, after all we are animals of routines.

By switching to Chrome OS you will have to adapt to new schemes, new methodologies and other things, but it also means better adaptation to today.

While an older system has had to be renewed over the years, Chrome OS is a fairly new platform. It gives us a good amount of functionality and is designed for those users accustomed to the era of touch screens.

Its design is highly thought for current times and therefore we will list some of its greatest advantages below.

The low prices of most of its models

The first point that made Chromebooks attractive were their prices. It is true that today there is already a much larger team of teams, but they are still announcing new low-cost models.

This is achieved thanks to the assembly of equipment with low-performance components. Maybe the processor it carries is an Intel Celeron instead of an Intel Core , but the optimization of the equipment allows it to work properly.

In addition, since it is intended to be a computer for browsing and office automation, it does not require much more performance either. Of course, forget about playing any type of game because we will not have discrete graphics on any or almost any team.

Google security and support

Another section that can attract you a lot is the protective cloak of Saint Google . Being one of the giants of computing and technology should bring benefits, right?

Basically, being largely owned by Google , laptops are assured of good customer support. If you have any problems with the laptop, you will have a large number of experts ready to help you.

In addition, the Operating System has proven to receive quite a bit of support. If we compare it to how it was at the beginning, it is day and night. However, really, what matters most is that Google is always up to date with current problems.

For example, vulnerabilities that affected both Intel and AMD processors were recently discovered and Chromebooks were one of the first platforms to receive patches for this.

Its compatibility with Android applications (Google Play) and Linux

This feature is partially recent (at the time of writing) .

At first Chrome OS was a half desolate wasteland where we couldn't do much. We did not have access to Photoshop, Spotify and other great applications that have marked users. However, over the years applications have been adhering to the Chromebook campus.

At first they added Google Play and Android apps . Recently, in 2018, they implemented compatibility with applications designed for Linux.

With all these improvements, Chrome OS has become a much more versatile Operating System . It will do us well for almost any task that is not too heavy.

Wide selection of designs

Since about 2010, Chromebooks have been in circulation, so they have had many opportunities to grow. And it is that during these long almost 10 years, many companies have joined the Chrome OS car.

All the brands wanted their laptop model with this platform, because who knows, maybe one day it will become the standard and it is important to know about the trendy topic.

Thanks to this we have laptops with screens of 11.6 ″, 13 ″ and 15.6 ″ . Also, there are convertible models and classic models, to which we have to add those that have touch screens. But it doesn't end there. There are models that are tablets, with and without Google Assistant and a huge number of variables.

Whether your budget is large or tight, a Google Chromebook can be a good buy.

Google Assistant

We know that we have just talked about this topic, but now that you have it recently we have to discuss it a bit.

Although it is a fairly simple and intuitive system, it is a new system, after all. For this reason, we know that there will be a considerable number of people who, due to this fact, will not want to change their air. It is always difficult to enter an environment that you have never visited and have to adjust.

To solve this, Google has a series of tutorials to help us transfer our data from one computer to another and to learn how to be more efficient using Chromebooks .

Poor specs even in the high-end

A section that squeaks a bit are the specifications of the highest-end Chromebooks .

Google Pixelbook

If we do a little research on the Google Pixelbook , for example, it offers us a build with a 7th generation Intel Core i7 for just over € 1, 600. We know that Chrome OS works well with lower specifications, but so much inflation seems strange to us.

For that same price we can get ASUS ZenBook , LG Gram or msi Prestige laptops with 9th generation Intel Core i7 and even discrete graphics.

For this reason we believe that the most striking notebooks of the brand are the mid and low range. There they have a lot of competition that they can overcome with relative ease.

Poor performance for heavier tasks

We have already mentioned it several times throughout the article, but we believe that it is the weakest point of Chromebooks .

If you are just going to surf the Internet , watch YouTube and make presentations or text documents, a Chromebook is an excellent alternative. However, if you want to do anything else that asks for more than that, you will be in trouble.

In some models, you can play simple video games such as League of Legends or indie titles, but other tasks are totally banned. It is possible that even opening more Google Chrome tabs than you should affect you quite negatively.

For this reason, you must be clear about the use of your future laptop.

There is no support for some exclusive Windows / Mac applications

This is something Google has been working on for years. The inclusion of new application libraries has greatly benefited Chrome OS , but there are still things that cannot be achieved.

Applications like Spotify have already made the leap and are available on any Chromebook . However, we cannot say the same for other programs.

Some Windows programs are already compatible with the latest versions of Chrome OS . In some ways it may be a bit weird to use, but in most cases they work quite well. However, whenever we go from platform to platform we leave behind certain functionalities.

If you need or are very attached to a specific program to work, check before it works in Chrome OS . In the worst case, you will find an application that performs the same tasks.

There are no keyboards with distributions with the letter 'ñ'

This point is a little less relevant, but it will surely change the decision of a good handful of users.

The lack of distributions with the letter 'ñ' can be an impediment for many users. It has a simple solution like putting stickers on the keys, but it is a bit seedy and sometimes we lose backlight.

Luckily, some models that are sold internationally do have the Spanish QWERTY distribution. Not for nothing, you will have to buy them via Amazon or via the official website of the manufacturer of the Chromebook , for example Acer or ASUS .

Loss of interest from Google

Lately we have seen how the great Google has been taking more calm the production of Chromebooks . Due to poor sales of the Pixelbook and Pixel Slate , it seems that the company is not as enthusiastic as it was originally.

Although you should not fear, as they will continue to provide supports and security patches for a good while longer. On the other hand, the associated companies do not seem to have slowed down and every few months we can see an announcement of new models and styles.

The mid-range and low-end market remains a good niche for Google and its Chromebooks . However, we do not know if it is what the large multinational expected.

Final words on Chromebooks

Similar to the conclusion we reached in our base article, we believe Chromebooks are good pieces of engineering.

With their pluses and minuses, they get an acceptable experience and, above all, very cheap in most cases. Although it has negative points, we believe that the advantages far outweigh the disadvantages. On the other hand, most disadvantages have some kind of solution or learning method to overcome them.

Of course, remember that you will have to take a leap of faith and enter a totally new environment. If you are brave and adventurous enough, we recommend these laptops without hesitation. They may teach you a new way of understanding office automation, and they also have the features you already know about Google Chrome .

If you want to buy a portable device from Google , you can buy it from its official website.

And what do you think of Chromebook laptops? Would you buy any of them? Why? Share your ideas in the comment box.

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