Samsung Introduces the Chromebook Plus and Chromebook Pro, Designed for Google Play

At Google I/O 2016, the company announced that Google Play support would be officially extended to several Chrome OS devices. This move vastly extended the capabilities of Chrome OS machines, whose application availability was sorely lacking at the time. Now, Chrome OS has access to thousands of quality apps and games that already have established their presence on Android.

At CES 2017, Samsung announced a collaboration with Google to introduce the next generation of Chromebooks, explicitly designed with Google Play application support in mind. Meet the Samsung Chromebook Plus and the Samsung Chromebook Pro.

Both of these new Chromebooks sport a laptop form factor but with a 360-degree hinge. This allows the Chromebooks to be flipped and used as a tablet, which is more suited for Android applications. The devices feature a 12.3″ Quad HD 2400×1600 display with a 3:2 aspect ratio and Gorilla Glass 3 layered for protection.

The Chromebook Plus will be powered by an ARM microprocessor, though the exact model has not been specified, while the Chromebook Pro will be powered by an Intel Core m3 processor. Both devices will have 4 GBs of RAM, 32GBs of internal storage and will support 4K video output through either of the two USB Type-C ports on the device.

Flexibility is the key word on the new Chromebooks. You have a full-size keyboard and track pad for your conventional Chrome OS functionality. Then, using the 360-degree hinge and the touchscreen capabilities, you can use your device in tablet mode, tent mode, or stand mode. Furthermore, Samsung has equipped the Chromebooks with a built-in stylus embedded on the side of the device for storage and easy access. The pen has a 0.7mm tip and pressure sensitivity which opens up note taking and drawing capabilities.

The Chromebook Plus will be available in February across major retailers in the United States for $449. The Chromebook Pro will be made available later sometime during Spring 2017. Of course, both devices will ship with the Google Play Store pre-installed.