While this year, like every year at CES, spans a wide range of products, one of this year’s most exciting is likely to be the Samsung Chromebook Pro and Chromebook Plus as the Pro was a highly anticipated Chromebook model after having leaked numerous times over the last couple of months. While the Plus was a surprise, it’s the same in every way minus the processor. With today being the first official day of CES we were able to finally get some hands-on time with these laptops and get a much closer look at its overall design and what they offer. Samsung’s new Chromebook Pro and Chromebook Plus were designed in partnership with Google and offer up a sleek design with an all metal body and a decent set of hardware specifications, not the least of which is the Quad HD display at 12.3-inches.
Of course, the quality of the display and the size of it are just the tip of the iceberg in terms of its benefits, as the Chromebook Pro and Chromebook Plus are also convertible Chromebooks, with the display being able to rotate 360-degrees and offering touchscreen functionality, which, comes in extremely handy for when using Android apps as both Chromebooks support the Play Store out of the box. In addition to the rotating screen, though, which is also a feature you find on other laptops, one thing the Chromebook Pro and Plus have going for them that is a first for any Chromebook is the pen. It features a stylus that is not too unlike Samsung’s S Pen found in its Galaxy Note series devices, and adds a layer of productivity and functionality that makes these Chromebooks perfect for anyone who needs them for taking notes or drawing.
The Pro is even packed with an Intel Core m3 processor with Intel HD Graphics so it’s a little more powerful than your typical Chromebook (the Chromebook Plus features a slightly less powerful OP1 hexa-core CPU that was designed specifically for Chromebooks), but all that comes at a price as the Chromebook Pro is not the most inexpensive laptop either. Samsung hasn’t mentioned any specifics in terms of an actual price or release date yet for the Chromebook Pro, but it’s sure to be more expensive than the already costly $449 Chromebook Plus that launches next month, which is the nearly identical save for the CPU. If you’re interested in getting a closer look at the Chromebook Pro from Samsung, make sure to check out the gallery of images below.
