Samsung’s first Chromebook with an Intel Core M processor and a convertible tablet-style design is just about ready to go. Amazon, B&H, and Newegg are all taking orders (or pre-orders) for the Samsung Chromebook Pro for $550.

The laptop looks virtually identical to the $450 Samsung Chromebook Plus that launched earlier this year, but while the Plus has an ARM-based processor from Rockchip, the Chromebook Pro has an Intel Core M3-6Y30 Skylake processor which should offer better performance… for some tasks.

One of the key selling points for convertible Chromebooks is their support for Android apps, which are optimized for touchscreen displays. But Android-on-Chrome OS is still a beta feature, and there have been some recent supports suggesting that Android apps currently run better on Chromebooks that have ARM processors than on those with Intel chips.

That said, if you’re more interested in running Chrome OS itself and/or Ubuntu or another Linux-based operating system, the Samsung Chromebook Pro is a pretty nice looking machine.

The $550 laptop features a 12.3 inch, 2400 x 1600 pixel touchscreen display with pen support, 4GB of RAM, and 32GB of eMMC storage.

It measures 11.1″ x 8.7″ x 0.5″ and weighs about 2.4 pounds.

The notebook isn’t just competing with Samsung’s ARM-powered model though. Earlier this year Asus launched the Chromebook Flip C302, which features a Core M3 Skylake CPU, 4GB of RAM, and 64GB of storage.

You can pick up an Asus Chromebook Flip C302 for $499, making it cheaper than the Samsung Chromebook Pro. But at 2.7 pounds, the Asus model is a bit heavier. And it has a lower-resolution 12.5 inch, 1920 x 1080 pixel display.

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3 replies on “Samsung Chromebook Pro launches for $550”

  1. So when will Chromebooks be able to run Android apps natively? I bought an Asus Chromebook C302, but it didn’t come with Google Play preinstalled. Even after I installed Google Play from the Beta Channel, I still couldn’t install Android apps like Firefox, Skype or Angry Birds. I got a message saying they would be installed ‘soon’. That’s the same message I got last year, trying to install Android apps on my old 2012 Samsung chromebook. Android apps for ChromeOS are not ready for prime time, so I returned the C302 for a refund.

    This article says the Samsung Chromebook Pro ‘supports’ Android apps, then it says “But Android-on-Chrome OS is still a beta feature”. It appears that Android apps are not ready for prime time on the Samsung Chromebook Pro either.

  2. dual boot chrome os + gallium os on x86 chromebooks. gallium os is based on xubuntu (ubuntu + xfce de). use chrx script to partition & install gallium. good support on reddit.

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