Update: The Samsung Galaxy Chromebook landing page reported in this article has been taken down. A new page for the gadget has been uploaded that makes no mention of LTE connectivity. That suggests that the LTE connectivity shown on the page was in error and Samsung may not have plans for an LTE variant of this Chromebook.
The product page for Samsung’s highly-anticipated Galaxy Chromebook is now live and, surprisingly, includes LTE networking in its description. First spotted by About Chromebooks, there aren’t many other surprises in store aside from the firmer launch date found via an associated listing at Best Buy.
Now, the retail listing for the Samsung Galaxy Chromebook does not show any LTE connectivity. Instead, the focus is on other specs, including WiFi 6 compatibility and Bluetooth. Best Buy doesn’t show the exact version of Bluetooth either. As expected, the pricing is set at $999 and the gadget is available in both Mercury Gray and Fiesta Red.
There are two plausible implications to be taken from the lack of LTE in the retail listing. First, it’s possible that somebody at Samsung made an error and LTE won’t be included at all.
The second possibility, in terms of what’s likely, is based on previous Samsung Chrome OS devices. Specifically, that’s the Samsung Plus LTE. 4G mobile connectivity there only worked on Verizon’s network. So it’s plausible that Samsung has planned partnerships with an individual carrier or carriers to sell a mobile-connected version. The company would undoubtedly sell that with a different model designation while keeping the Galaxy branding.
This Samsung will be among the best Chrome OS devices around
Samsung announced its Galaxy Chromebook at CES 2020 back near mid-January. It handily won an Android Headlines “Best of CES” award at the time. And that wasn’t without reason. Not only does the Samsung Galaxy Chromebook embody everything that makes other Galaxy-branded devices great. That includes an S Pen stylus. It comes with bleeding-edge connectivity as noted above and an array of top-of-the-line specs.
The 13.3-inch 2-in-1 convertible Chromebook packs in a 10th Gen Intel Core i5, just for starters. That’s backed up by up to 16GB of RAM. Samsung packs up to a full 1TB SSD drive into the frame alongside that. The display itself is a 4K panel and built on Samsung’s AMOLED technology — an industry first for Chromebooks. Under the hood, an Intel Project Athena-tested battery provides over 9-hours of real-world use.
Samsung ensured the exterior is well equipped too, well beyond this Chromebook’s backlit keyboard. It has incorporated a fingerprint scanner, as well as a “UFS/MicroSD Combo” port and two 2-watt speakers. The front webcam only holds a 1-megapixel rating. But Samsung keyboard-mounted an 8-megapixel “rear camera” for better world-facing shots and video.
The all-aluminum build weighs in at just 2.29 lb and measures just 9.9mm thin.
The Samsung Galaxy Chromebook now has a firm launch date
Samsung has set up the Galaxy Chromebook to be an amazing device, even if it doesn’t ship with LTE. And it should easily be among the very best Chrome OS computers available when it lands. Fortunately, there may also be a firmer launch date thanks to the listing over at the Best Buy site.
The model variation listed at Best Buy is “XE930QCA-K02US” and comes with SKU designation “6398119” specifically. That pins it as the 8GB version of the device at $999, as opposed to the 16GB version mentioned above. It also only boasts 256GB of storage. But Best Buy gives a release date of April 6 of this year.
Now, that date may be a placeholder rather than an official arrival timeline. Best Buy’s purchase button simply says the gadget is “Coming Soon” rather than providing details. Samsung’s own site doesn’t show a launch date and simply has a “Sign Up” button to get notified when the Chromebook, and other Samsung technology, lands.