The Samsung Galaxy Chromebook 2 is a 2.7 pound convertible notebook with a 360-degree hinge, a touchscreen display, and an Intel Comet Lake processor. It’s also the first Chromebook to feature a QLED display using Samsung’s “quantum dot” technology to display more than a billion colors in vivid detail.
First announced during the Consumer Electronics Show in January, the Galaxy Chromebook 2 is now available from Best Buy and Samsung.com for $550 and up. For a limited time, you’ll also get a gift card for $30 off on Samsung accessories.
While the full HD QLED display is the laptop’s most unusual characteristic, the Galaxy Chromebook 2 also has a stereo 5 watt speakers that should offer louder volume then you’d typically get from a laptop this size, optional support for a USI digital pen (sold separately), a backlit keyboard, and an aluminum chassis that comes in a choice of red or gray colors.
The $549 starting price will get you a model with an Intel Celeron 5205U dual-core processor, 4GB of RAM, and 64GB of storage, or you can opt for a $699 version with a Core i3-10110U dual-core processor, 8GB of RAM, and 128GB of storage.
While both models are on the pricey side by Chromebook standards, they also pack faster processors and fancier displays than most lower-cost models, and they’re more affordable than the first-gen Samsung Galaxy Chromebook, which has a 4K OLED display, an Intel Core i5-10210U Comet Lake processor, and which sold for $999 when it first launched last year.
Here are the key specs for Samsung’s 2nd-gen Galaxy Chromebook:
| Galaxy Chromebook 2 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Dimensions | 12” x 8” x .55” | |
| Weight | 2.71 pounds | |
| OS | Chrome OS | |
| Display | 13.3” QLED FHD Touchscreen Panel | |
| CPU | Intel® Core™ i3-10110U | Intel® Celeron® 5205U |
| Graphics | Intel® UHD Graphics | |
| Memory | 8GB | 4GB |
| Storage | 128GB | 64GB |
| WLAN | Wi-Fi 6 (Gig+), 802.11 ax 2×2 | |
| Camera / Mic | 720P HD (1MP) | |
| Audio | Stereo Speakers (Max 5Wx 2) with Smart AMP | |
| Pen | USI Pen support (sold separately) | |
| Security | Trusted Platform Module (TPM) | |
| Keyboard | Backlit | |
| Material | A/D Aluminum | |
| Ports | 2 USB-C | MicroSD-Multi-media Card Reader | Headphone Out/Mic-In Combo | |
| Battery | 45.5Wh (Typical) | |
| Price | $699 | $549 |
This article was originally published February 16, 2021 and last updated March 1, 2021.
Samsung should change it’s slogan to “When AMD is sold out, we will always be in-stock with a 14nm Intel product!”
At $550 for a Celeron and $700 for a Core i3 I wouldn’t consider these to be a steal, not at all using the Surface Laptop Go with Core i5 at $550 and the basic MacBook Air at $1000, eve if it’s an Intel based model as reference points. Unless the QLED display technology is really some next gen awesomeness. I’m probably the only person annoyed by it being of a 16:9 aspect ratio but other than that it still has the wrong resolution. 1080p is blurry, regardless of however you scale it.
I wouldn’t pay over $400 for a laptop with a dual core Celeron and only 4gb of RAM.
Brad, I think you got the prices reversed on the specs table
It looks like a really nice laptop, with really great features. I’m intrigued by their concept of value here. The idea of “very high-end everything, except CPU” is something you don’t see often from laptops.
I wonder how much interest there really is for a really expensive low-end low/mid-range Chromebook? I guess there are probably a decent amount of people out there that will sacrifice some CPU power for a better overall experience.
Whoops, you’re right, I fixed that. Chrome OS isn’t a very resource-intensive operating system unless you start to push the limits with things like Linux apps, so I think this strategy of entry-level CPU and premium design and display makes a lot more sense for this type of device than for a Windows PC.
Only Samsung really knows if it’s a strategy that pays off though.
Indeed. Chromebooks seem like the only segment that could pull off this formula.
Oddly enough, it looks like Samsung’s Galaxy Chromebook with a 10th gen i5, 256gb storage, and a 4K display is on sale at Best Buy right now for $699.
So at least for now, this i3-powered $699 model doesn’t seems like a tough sell.