If you want the best Chromebook, Samsung Galaxy Chromebook is our Reader’s Choice award winner for 2020.
Foldable 2-in-1 Chromebooks have been around for years but there’s never been one quite like the Samsung Galaxy Chromebook.
Now, 2020 brought a number of great devices in the Chromebook segment so this one didn’t win by a landslide like some other recipients of the Android Headlines’ Reader’s Choice Award. In fact, it tied with our own pick.
But we’re happy to award Samsung, with 46.2% of the vote on Twitter, with the award as a strong contender and one-of-a-kind device in this category. And it really shouldn’t come as any surprise that it won.
Samsung Galaxy Chromebook is exactly what its name implies. It’s a top-tier, top-performance Chromebook built around the same design tenets as Samsung’s other Galaxy-branded flagships. And that means it has top specs, ships in a gorgeous aesthetic, and comes with its own iteration of the S Pen. All in a foldable, tablet-mode-ready design that’s made of metal and ready to handle all but the toughest scenarios that life might throw its way.
The design, an S Pen, and the screen all already set this Chromebook apart
The Samsung Galaxy Chromebook design all starts with its all-metal build. But that description doesn’t begin to scratch the surface for this gadget. Samsung also designed this Chromebook to be the slimmest around at just 9.9mm thin and 2.2lbs. And that’s despite the fact that it packs an in-frame-housed S Pen stylus, a 360-degree hinge for tablet mode, and all the ports you could want starting from just $999. Or just under $550 with an eligible trade-in.
The screen, conversely, is an AMOLED 4K panel measuring at 13.3-inches. And that makes this the highest quality display in the segment, bar none. You won’t find any deeper black tones or better contrast from any other Chromebook.
What’s more, the high-accuracy built-in stylus is active. Just like the stylus in the Note series from Samsung. So it’s pressure-sensitive and works across all use case scenarios. Whether that’s drawing or art projects, handwriting, or work and productivity. And, speaking of productivity, this Chromebook ships with a fingerprint reader as a standard inclusion.
The standard backlit extra-comfortable keyboard, dual side-mounted frame speakers, oversized trackpad, and slim bezels are just icing on the cake. As are the two USB-C ports for 5Gbps data transfers and 4K display output, as well as 45W fast charging. Samsung added even more with the microSD card slot to extend the storage up to 512GB where needed. Not that most users will need more than the 256GB storage that’s already built-in.
Conversely, that all comes in a stunning Fiesta Red or more stately Mercury Gray too. Which is a step in the right direction on personalization for the entire category.
This Chromebook handily wins a 2020 Reader’s Choice Award on performance too
Now, this is a Chromebook so the underlying OS is already weighted for performance. But Samsung Galaxy Chromebook goes further than that too. Especially since it has 8GB of memory, coupled with the above-mentioned storage.
The memory here joins that SSD to help drive the latest version of Chrome OS with up to 8-years worth of updates over its lifecycle. That’s 2 more years than most Chromebooks will see. And just behind that, Samsung packed in Intel’s 10th Gen Core i5-10210U chipset. So this Chromebook won’t get hung up, no matter the workload you throw at it.
Bluetooth 4.2 is included for rock-solid local connections aside from the USB ports. And Wi-Fi 6 support is built right in too. So those who have the next-gen networking ready to go at work or at home will have the fastest Wi-Fi around.
If you want the best, Samsung Galaxy Chromebook has it
Samsung saw the premium directional shift for Chrome OS happening and met that challenge with the Samsung Galaxy Chromebook. As one of the top OEMs for the devices with its Chromebook Plus and Pro models, it was an obvious direction for the company to take.
Among its top features, Samsung Galaxy Chromebook stands out as the first Chromebook to use an AMOLED panel. Let alone an AMOLED 4K panel. It also delivered next-gen networking, a stylus, a top-tier camera both inside and out, and a design that’ll make just about anybody envious. Couple that with outstanding performance, a fingerprint reader, backlit keyboard, and more, and what you get is the best Chromebook around.
Put simply, Samsung did an amazing job with this Chromebook. So it really shouldn’t come as a surprise to see this device take AH Reader’s Choice Award for the top Chromebook in 2020.