Samsung Announces Galaxy Chromebook Convertible: A "Project Athena" Chromebook

[btarunr]

Samsung today announced the Galaxy Chromebook, a premium Google ChromeOS 2-in-1 device that converts between a conventional notebook and a tablet with a stylus. This is the first time Samsung is bringing its Android-focused Galaxy brand over to its Chromebook family. The $999 price-tag may look like a tall ask for a Chromebook, until you look at some of its specs. The star attraction is the 13.3-inch AMOLED touchscreen with 4K UHD resolution. Samsung developed the Galaxy Chromebook in close coordination with Intel as part of its ambitious "Project Athena" initiative of developing next-generation portable computing devices that defy conventions on performance and battery-life.

Under the hood is an Intel Core i5-10210U "Comet Lake" processor with 8 GB of LPDDR3-2133 memory, a 256 GB NVMe SSD, UFS + microSDXC card slot, and 802.11ax + Bluetooth connectivity (at this price we'd have expected at least 4G cellular modem). It dumps type-A USB ports and instead features a couple of type-C ports, one of which doubles up as a power input. The 4K UHD display is pulled by integrated Intel UHD 630 graphics. A 47.9 Wh battery powers the thing, with Samsung claiming 8h 20m of run-time. Measuring 30 cm x 20.32 cm x 0.99 cm (closed), the Galaxy Chromebook weighs 1.03 kg. The included S-Pen stylus slots into the body. The Galaxy Chromebook is available in two color options, red and gray, both priced at $999.



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[jeremyshaw]

13.3" 4K AMOLED wasted on Comet Lake and Chrome OS.

 

[btarunr]

13.3" 4K AMOLED wasted on Comet Lake and Chrome OS.

Agreed. Imagine this thing with a Ryzen 7 4800U, LPDDR4-4266, and Windows.

 

[Deleted member 67555]

I'd pay as much as $199 for one these...No chrome book is worth more than $199 and there is absolutely no reason to have these specs...

 

[notb]

Agreed. Imagine this thing with a Ryzen 7 4800U, LPDDR4-4266, and Windows.

Yeah, I can imagine that. It's called "a laptop with Windows". We have hundreds of them, including some 4800U models announced.

I'd pay as much as $199 for one these...No chrome book is worth more than $199 and there is absolutely no reason to have these specs...

Expensive chromebooks sell pretty well and are perfectly capable machines. The fact that you don't know a scenario to use them doesn't mean someone else doesn't.

 

[btarunr]

Yeah, I can imagine that. It's called "a laptop with Windows". We have hundreds of them, including some 4800U models announced.

How many with a 13.3-inch 4K AMOLED touchscreen?

 

[notb]

How many with a 13.3-inch 4K AMOLED touchscreen?

Pretty much appropriate to how often it makes sense.

Windows resolution scaling doesn't work very well with a lot of software and this kind of density will mean 200% scaling for most users.
That's why most people choose 13" screens with 1080p (Dell XPS 13: 1920x1200).

Chrome OS scales perfectly (just like Android).
You can set a more usable resolution in the RDP/VNC client (which is how most people use Chromebooks for work).