I've had various Apple Macbooks for the past 10+ years and I'm currently a 1st year grad student. The majority of my work has been internet based for at least the past 3 years, so I decided why not do some research and see if I can get by using something other than a Macbook and save myself $600+. I've had this guy for 2 weeks and here are the pros and cons I've come across so far:
PROS:
-light, portable, SUPER easy to use, SIMPLICITY IS KEY...just log in to your google account and you're ready to go
-if you have your life through google apps (photos, drive, gmail, play[music]), you are good to go on any computer and will basically never have to worry about backing up your life (as long as you have internet...but I mean realistically, who doesn't have internet these days?...)
-I haven't tried dropping it or pouring water on it yet (don't plan to test out that feature), but the overall security of that protection is peace of mind
-turns on and off super QUICK and when you open the laptop, you're connected to WiFi before you can even check if you're connected
-screen brightness exceeded my expectations, the matte screen might give a little glare from a window or something but it's not nearly as bad as Macbook's glass screens
-larger (and blue!) text on the keyboard is a nice touch
-battery life is pretty good...I mean if you're opening up tabs upon tabs surfing the web, anything is going to die quick, but this little guy fully charges up FAST you'll never skip a beat
-side speakers are nice and i think they're pretty loud for the size of this guy
-a normal HDMI outlet is GENIUS...now I don't hafta worry about having an adapter from my Macbook to an HDMI---also connecting to a TV is seamless and the picture quality is nice
-netflix and hulu are great and doesn't completely drain my battery after a couple shows like it did on my Macbook
CONS:
-smaller overall keyboard size takes some getting used to
-trackpad also took some getting used to...I kept finding my fingers didn't smoothly slide over it like it does on Macbooks and it's smaller than I'm used to
-overall less keys on the keyboard so some of your normal functions won't work, or you'll need to google certain shortcuts, but I still like the simplicity
-keyboard is NOT backlit
-loading multiple tabs is slow...not dreadfully slow, but it definitely lags, and if you do open up multiple tabs, go get a drink or a snack because it takes a hot second for everything to be fully loaded
-typing is louder than on Apple devices
-if you need something offline, you better make sure it's set to work in offline mode or else you're SOL
-not really iPhone compatible...it'll charge it, but it constantly asks me to allow the Chromebook to access my phone...idk how many times I can click Allow for it to stop asking me
-no iTunes...that's what google Play is for...I'm still working on what I plan to do with this issue but for me, iTunes is not life
-I haven't tried it out yet, but I've read you can't use an external optical drive to watch movies or burn disks...it just doesn't do that...and TBH, if you needed to burn a CD or something, a Chromebook shouldn't be your first option
-Google Docs, Drive, Cal, Play all take some getting used to, but once you're set up, you're good
-little storage...but your stuff is saved to your Drive. if you did wants more internal storage, you can always get an SD card or external HD
Overall, I really do like this little guy and can't believe how freaking budget friendly it is! And the best part is, if I ever need a new one, I can just go get one, log into google, and it's like I never left. No stress and completely worth your $200. If you're on the fence about it, my only suggestion is to make sure you're completely ready to make the switch to ALL google (photos and music were my main concerns) and you'll be fine. Go for it!! :)
| Standing screen display size | 16 Inches |
|---|---|
| Screen Resolution | 1600 x 768 pixels |
| Max Screen Resolution | 1600 x 768 Pixels |
| Processor | 4.4 GHz ryzen_7_5800h |
| RAM | DDR4 |
| Hard Drive | 1 TB SSD |
| Graphics Coprocessor | AMD Radeon Graphics |
| Chipset Brand | AMD |
| Card Description | Integrated |
| Wireless Type | 802.11ax |
| Number of USB 2.0 Ports | 1 |
| Number of USB 3.0 Ports | 2 |
