Samsung’s Galaxy Chromebook 2 seems like it will improve on the battery life and price of its predecessor, according to leaked Samsung slides (via 9to5Google). The previous Galaxy Chromebook was an attractively designed 2-in-1 that nonetheless faltered due to its battery life and high $999 price tag. If these slides are to be believed, then next year might hold some Chromebooks to be hopeful about.
The most important change is that battery life. The slides shared by leaker WalkingCat say Samsung is targeting 12-plus hours of battery life on this new model. That’s a lot more than the measly 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 the Galaxy Chromebook 2 will be the first Chromebook with a QLED, or quantum dot LED, screen. The company’s previous Chromebook used a 4K AMOLED, a choice which seemed to hurt the battery life of the device. Switching to QLED would match the change Samsung made in its non-Chrome OS laptops in 2020.
The old Galaxy Chromebook relied on an Intel 10th-gen Core i5 that was more than capable of handling the tasks Samsung imagined customers would use the device for, but this new Galaxy Chromebook 2 is supposedly switching to a 10th-gen Core i3. It isn’t necessarily a step down for browser-based work in Chrome OS, but it is interesting considering the availability of 11th-gen Intel processors in 2021.
All these changes may have played a role in the $699 (likely entry-level) price, the final notable tidbit from WalkingCat’s leak. The original Galaxy Chromebook was pitched as something “premium” for “professionals,” and at least from the renders we’ve seen, the Galaxy Chromebook 2 is maintaining that sleek design.
The Galaxy Chromebook 2’s cheaper price puts it closer to actual high-end Chromebooks than to proper laptops from Apple and others. Swapping to a different processor, and relying on a display it already sources for its other laptops, could help improve sales, especially when combined with a lower price point.
We’ll have to wait till that promised February 2021 launch date from the slide to know for sure. But CES 2021 is right around the corner, and with it comes the possibility of some clarity on Samsung’s Chromebook roadmap for next year and beyond.
