Chromebooks can do AI. Did you already know that? If you didn’t, you’re making someone in Google’s marketing department very sad. The Chromebook staff has been pushing Google Gemini AI powers, significantly on the extra succesful Chromebook Plus label, for a 12 months and alter. The new Lenovo Chromebook Plus 14, with a MediaTek processor boasting 50 TOPS, is an effective instance.
Google used the upcoming Lenovo design to showcase Gemini’s newest tips at a press occasion final week. But I’ve to admit that I discovered the laptop computer itself, significantly its worth proposition, extra instantly gripping than the most recent makes an attempt to promote me a subscription that’ll write my emails for me.
The Chromebook Plus 14 combines a stable and light-weight construct, a 14-inch OLED display (touchscreen non-compulsory), beneficiant reminiscence (12GB or 16GB), and that MediaTek processor. “MediaTek” normally signifies a extra funds choice, similar to Lenovo’s own Surface-style Chromebook tablets. But on this case it’s the Kompanio Ultra, an 8-core, 3-nanometer design that has extra in frequent with the Snapdragon X collection in current Windows laptops than the repurposed cellphone boards usually related to the model.
Michael Crider/Foundry
And this chip is the explanation that this specific Chromebook Plus was so closely featured. It’s packing a Neural Processing Unit (NPU) that permits extra highly effective, environment friendly native processing for AI duties, on the similar 50 Terra Operations Per Second (TOPS) score as lots of the finest laptop computer CPUs available on the market. Google says that that is the primary Chromebook Plus to get its newest AI capabilities, which the Chromebook Plus 14 can deal with 32 p.c sooner and 44 p.c extra effectively…than fashions with out an NPU. A little bit of a weighted comparability, that.
Throw within the glorious effectivity of an Arm structure, which is inherently less limiting on Chrome OS than on Windows (heck, it is likely to be even higher for operating Android video games from the Play Store), and you’ve got the makings of a wonderful choice on the upper finish of the Chromebook spectrum. MediaTek has highlighted this chip’s capacity to carry out in Minecraft particularly.
Michael Crider/Foundry
Other charms of the Chromebook Plus 14 embrace Dolby-certified audio system (that are certainly fairly good, letting me clearly hear music and speech in a crowded demo room), a fingerprint scanner, a 2.5-pound (1.13 kg) weight, and the “longest battery life on a Chromebook Plus [laptop].” A extra exact quantity for that longevity is 17 hours, however precisely what you’ll be doing in these 17 hours will in fact make it differ (particularly on one thing so web-dependent).
Using the brand new laptop computer briefly on the occasion, I discovered it to be interesting in a variety of alternative ways. The keyboard specifically is very good for a Chromebook, if not fairly as much as the requirements of Lenovo’s ThinkPad line. It’s fanless, skinny, and light-weight for a 14-inch mannequin, in all probability helped alongside by a polycarbonate case backside that reminds me of the Pixelbook Go in a great way (relaxation in peace, Google-produced laptops). Like different current Lenovo mid-range designs, the 5-megapixel webcam will get somewhat lip above it that capabilities as a useful lifting edge, and features a {hardware} shutter for privateness.
Michael Crider/Foundry
Oh, yet one more comfortable design alternative: A USB-C port on each side of the laptop computer. Would I be immodest if I claimed that somebody at Lenovo is listening to my whiny complaints on the topic? Yes, I’d, however I’m going to say it anyway.
Perhaps most spectacular is the beginning worth for this design, $649. That’s low sufficient that it’s inside putting distance of an improve for extra conventionally “affordable” Chromebooks, or price contemplating versus a dearer Windows laptop computer with comparable specs. That base mannequin will get 12GB of RAM (low for a Windows laptop computer, however larger than the 8GB crucial for the Chromebook Plus designation), and sadly lacks a contact improve for that very fairly OLED display. An upgraded mannequin will get 16GB of RAM, 256GB of storage — I assume 128GB for the bottom mannequin, however haven’t seen that confirmed — and the lacking touchscreen. How a lot you’ll be paying for these bonuses, I don’t know.
New AI powers for Chromebook Plus
So what precisely will you have the ability to do with all these AI powers enabled by the flowery new chip inside? Here’s a fast listing. Some of those might be unique to the brand new Lenovo mannequin, a minimum of to begin, however will presumably develop to extra Chromebook Plus fashions because the Kompanio Ultra chip proliferates throughout new and up to date fashions.
Select to go looking with Google Lens: This is basically a desktop/laptop computer model of Circle to Search, as seen on current Android telephones.
Text seize: It’s a extra highly effective model of optical character recognition (OCR) constructed into the identical device. More structured knowledge, like an expense report, could be exported to a Google Sheets spreadsheet if the device acknowledges it. Ditto for occasions and Google Calendar.
Image technology in Quick Insert: Google is increasing its generative AI choices enabled by the Quick Insert button, which replaced the search/Caps Lock button on the most recent Chromebook Plus designs. Now you should use the identical contextual device to insert Gemini’s AI-created photographs, anyplace within the interface, and throughout any web-connected device. You’ll have 4 photographs to select from while you invoke the device…however I couldn’t get it to work within the demo.
Image enhancing (unique to Lenovo Chromebook Plus 14): Chromebook Plus fashions are getting extra highly effective picture enhancing instruments within the primary gallery app, powered by Gemini AI.
Help Me Read, Simplify: Chromebook Plus fashions will get a contextual choice to sum up a collection of textual content or a web page utilizing the Gemini LLM. This is completely different from “Summarize,” and at the moment in an experimental mode. I get the impression that that is meant for youngsters or others who need to learn as little as potential for a considerable amount of information.
Smart Grouping (unique to Lenovo Chromebook Plus 14): This is the one which’s most fascinating to me, an “AI” skeptic. Using this new perform you’ll be able to create a brand new Smart Group for no matter you’re taking a look at, and Gemini will create a brand new “desk” (Chrome OS’s time period for digital desktops) with all of the related information you at the moment have open. This works throughout Chrome browser tabs, apps, and anything you occur to have open.
I can see how this could be extraordinarily helpful for anybody who tends to let their tab bar replenish, simply a few seconds provides you with a targeted, streamlined interface for a single activity and tons of data. That’s the intention, anyway — I get the sensation that, like digital desktops themselves, I would bounce off this characteristic until it proves to be extraordinarily dependable.
Google remains to be utilizing consumers of latest Chromebooks, and particularly those who qualify for Chromebook Plus options, as a testing floor for the expensive $20-a-month Google AI Pro plan, which comes with 2 terabytes of cloud storage. In addition to a 12 months of free entry with a brand new Plus gadget buy, Google will now throw in entry to the Veo 3 video generator and flagship NotebookLM large language model throughout that 12 months.
Google claims that is price $240 for the 12 months. You can use it to generate “up to 20 podcasts daily.” Having seen plenty of AI slop on YouTube attempting to go off a NotebookLM “podcast,” through which two AI-generated voices speak to one another with painful approximations of human dialogue and vocal tics, I can’t think about a extra painful solution to try to take in info. But maybe I’m simply getting previous. And bitter.
Chromebook’s future in query with out Chrome
Before I left the occasion, I cornered John Malentis, Google’s VP of Chrome OS Product Management to ask just a few questions. I used to be glad to listen to that lecturers, and to a lesser diploma dad and mom, can flip off entry to textual content and picture technology powers in Chrome OS with administration instruments. That’ll make it tougher — if removed from not possible — for youths to get Google to do their homework. More promising was the information that Google’s dwell translation of video and audio is rolling out to extra training gadgets later this 12 months.
I additionally requested Malentis if he had any touch upon the way forward for Chrome OS, within the theoretical occasion {that a} judicial department of a big authorities pressured Google to promote or in any other case divest itself of the Chrome browser. I totally anticipated him to be unable to touch upon this, and he fulfilled my expectation. Exactly what the way forward for Chrome OS appears like when and if the United States determines that Google must get rid of Chrome stays essentially the most fascinating, and regarding, variable for Chromebooks within the close to future.