It’s a bit behind in the CPU department, though, and it might become too sluggish for comfortable use as Chrome OS continues to progress. While there’s no dedicated HDMI output, the double USB-C ports (one of which is for the charger) offer ample flexibility. Contrast seems good as well, with black text standing out nicely against a white background. Right now, the Samsung Chromebook Plus V2 retails for $499. Aesthetically, the Chromebook Plus V2 is also rather old-school, fitting better with the first couple of Chromebook generations than the newer machines arriving soon. The Chromebook Plus V2 isn’t bad looking, but it’s also rather boring in its dark gray color scheme. RAM is the most common type of memory found in computer systems, smartphones, … There’s just no compelling reason to choose the Chromebook Plus V2 over its closest competitors. We found that to be a little finicky, sometimes responding to a light tap as if we were pressing and holding, giving us extraneous right-clicks when we least needed them. Nevertheless, we can’t give the Chromebook Plus V2 very high marks, particularly compared with the Chromebook Pro and Chromebook x2. Getting one lets you have a graphics tablet and a laptop in one device without having to spend more than a thousand bucks to get both separately and another hundred dollars for an operating system. It’s not actually slow, mind you, it’s just that with too many tabs and apps open, you’ll start noticing some annoying delays that make you want to limit how you use the 2-in-1. The power of the pen The Chromebook Plus V2 utilizes a typical island keyboard with black chiclet keys and white lettering. And compared to the Chromebook x2’s tablet portion that’s only 0.33 inches thin and 1.62 pounds, the Chromebook Plus V2 makes for a chunky slate indeed. Read honest and unbiased product reviews from our users. Does it have any standout features that give it an edge? Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Samsung Chromebook Plus V2, 2-in-1, 4GB RAM, 32GB eMMC, 13MP Camera, Chrome OS, 12.2", 16:10 Aspect Ratio, Light Titan (XE520QAB-K01US) at Amazon.com. The Plus V2 is a 360-degree 2-in-1, meaning that the display flips all the way around to work as a slightly thick tablet. The Google Pixelbook is another good option, albeit a more expensive one. And in our video test that plays an Avengers trailer until the battery runs out, the Plus V2 ran for just under nine hours compared to the Chromebook Pro’s almost 10 hours. It’s very convenient to have if you work in the design industry. It’s around 0.70 inches thick, which isn’t nearly as svelte as the Chromebook Pro’s 0.55 inches, and it’s a relatively heavy 2.93 pounds compared to its sibling’s 2.38 pounds. Samsung Chromebook Plus v2 laptop. Samsung Chromebook Plus V2 *lower scores are better. Plus: Two speaker deals you won't want to miss. A 1.5 GHz Celeron 3965Y, 4 GB of RAM and 32 GB of flash storage cover the essentials. Nestled into the right side of the Chromebook Plus is a small stylus — roughly the size of a coffee stirrer — which gives you finer control over the touchscreen. But if you mostly work in Chrome, then you’ll find the Chromebook Plus V2 to be an all-day productivity machine. If this were a Windows 10 machine, then we’d be thoroughly unimpressed with the exchange, but this is Chrome OS. The keys have a pleasant and soft snappiness to them, but they’re a bit shallow and do bottom out. Samsung jacked up the weight in this second gen plus to 3lbs, making it significantly less comfortable to hold in tablet mode and less competitive for travel to an ipad pro/similar tablet device. Again, the HP Chromebook x2 is a far more fetch notebook, as is the very expensive Google Pixelbook. It’s a better-looking 360-degree convertible 2-in-1 with class-leading build quality, and it’s in another dimension when it comes to performance. That’s not bad for an extra half inch of screen real estate. It was responsive, however, and it was fine for taking quick screen snippets and jotting down short notes. That’s a little better than half as well as the Chromebook x2’s 75.1. Lastly, the laptop’s two cameras (both front and rear facing) give you plenty of options if you want to use the machine for video conferencing or to take photos. The rounded corners and slim construction of the Chromebook Plus V2 immediately distinguish it in a field dominated by chunky, utilitarian machines. The Samsung Chromebook Plus V2 is down to $300 (Update: Sold out) That's $200 off the regular price of this versatile two-in-one. Samsung is one of the more successful Chromebook makers, with a popular line of Chrome OS notebooks including one of our favorites, the Chromebook Pro. Compared to a Windows 10 notebook, the Asus ZenBook S with a Core i7-8550U that scored 72.1, the Chromebook Plus V2 shows off its budget nature. The upscale features of the Samsung Chromebook Plus V2 may make it too much for younger children, but more responsible users — particularly those who need graphics and higher-end performance — may find it just right for $400. The Chromebook Plus V2 sits in a weird place in today’s Chromebook market. Of course, there’s the usual 2×2 MU-MIMO 802.11ac Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.0 radios, and a 3.5mm combo audio jack. The Samsung Chromebook Plus (V2) is incredibly lightweight at just under 3 pounds. I’m a technology journalist covering personal tech for Forbes. Stay on top of your projects with the built-in pen, two cameras and full Google experience right at your fingertips. The Chromebook Plus V2 looks a lot like its more premium sibling, the Chromebook Pro, but it doesn’t boast quite the same level of material quality. Sponsored by NordVPN. Full HD touch screen. (A data plan will cost extra.). Try it out and get 75% off a three-year plan for a limited time! Get more done anywhere, anytime, with the lightweight 2-in-1 Chromebook Plus (V2). The 12.2-inch laptop (1,920 by 1,080 pixel resolution) is designed with a 360-degree wraparound touchscreen, so you can use the device either in laptop mode or as a tablet. Read honest and unbiased product reviews from our users. Regarding its size, the Chromebook Plus V2 once again plants itself in “good but not great” territory. The bezels are rather large at the top and bottom, making the notebook’s overall dimensions larger even though it sports a slightly smaller display. You may opt-out by. On our web browsing benchmark, the Chromebook Plus V2 managed around seven and a half hours, a good but not great result that’s around two hours less than the HP. Asphalt 8, for example, was playable but somewhat choppy at times. The two small speakers on the bottom of the 2-in-1 are good enough for the occasional YouTube video, with decent mids and highs and the usual complete lack of bass. With a built-in stylus and a 360-degree wraparound screen, Samsung raises the bar with its Chromebook Plus V2 (I specifically tested the 521QAB). No. The one-year warranty is the industry standard. There’s a new wave of more innovative and higher-end Chromebooks coming soon, putting the Chromebook Plus V2 in an unenviable competitive position. The Microsoft Surface Pro is just one among many, and you’ll pay for the privilege of a faster and more robust detachable tablet at $800 for a Core m3 processor, 4GB of RAM, and a faster 128GB PCIe solid-state drive (SSD). Upgrade your lifestyleDigital Trends helps readers keep tabs on the fast-paced world of tech with all the latest news, fun product reviews, insightful editorials, and one-of-a-kind sneak peeks.Digital Trends may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site. It swipes and multitouches without complaint, which is something we can’t quite say about the touch display. It’s not backlit, which seems to be a theme among Chromebooks — neither the similar keyboard on the Chromebook Pro nor the superior version on the Chromebook x2 are backlit — and it’s also a little cramped. The V2 was just 7 percent below the average score on the similarly high-end JetStream 1.1 benchmark, though it still managed to beat out all challengers save the HP Chromebook x2. At 2.9 pounds and 18 millimeters thick, the Plus V2 is thinner than either of the 11.6-inch laptops in this roundup and weighs the same. Both of those notebooks use a much faster Intel Core m3 processor, the Samsung a 6th-gen version and the HP a 7th-gen. At just under 3 pounds, the Chromebook Plus (V2) is incredibly lightweight—just slip it into your bag and take it anywhere. Gaming will reduce that score, of course, as will running too many apps that stress the CPU. Audio, courtesy of two small speakers on the underside of the front of the laptop, isn’t a strong point, but the bright screen is nice. That gives it four modes in total, including clamshell, multimedia, tent, and tablet, and the Chromebook Plus V2’s hinge is up to the task. That is too much. Read honest and unbiased product reviews from our users. Try it out and get 75% off a three-year plan for a limited time! Two webcams. It’s plenty solid, but you can spend just a little more money for something like the HP Chromebook x2 and enjoy a more granite-like solidity. The Samsung Chromebook Plus brings style and utility to the category with a clean, eye-catching design, gorgeous 2400 x 1600 display, and embedded stylus. We weren’t that surprised, then, when the Chromebook Plus V2 proved itself to be an all-day performer away from a plug. Audio quality is just average, though. The Samsung pen worked well, though. The same goes for the HP Chromebook x2, which is also faster, longer-lasting, better-built and only $100 more. The effect isn’t significant, and so Netflix is still enjoyable on the Chromebook Plus V2, but it’s something to keep in mind. Samsung Chromebook Plus V2 Review Lightweight (V2), 12.2″, 4GB RAM, 32GB eMMC (XE520QAB-K01US) Up for anything. You get two USB-C ports supporting data, display, and charging, along with a USB-A 3.0 port for legacy devices and a microSD slot for storage expansion. In both cases, these slightly premium Chromebooks are significantly faster than the Plus V2. That’s a … Detailed Review of Samsung Chromebook Plus v2. It’s the usual small Samsung affair that slides into a slot on the side of the notebook, and we tended to find it slightly less than natural compared to the larger pens provided by the Pixelbook and the Chromebook x2. Samsung Chromebook Plus (V2), 12.2", 4GB RAM, 64GB eMMC (XE520QAB-K03US) Up for anything. And with a pretty good battery life paired with a great display, the Samsung Chromebook Plus is a great chromebook capable of much more than entry level chromebooks. For users who value style as much as performance, it’s a good choice that doesn’t cost much more than lower-end devices. Only a handful of notebooks are as good or better. Built-in LTE modem. As far as colors go, the display is clearly in the upper echelon for such an affordable notebook. One area where Samsung’s pseudo-budget Chromebook stands out in a positive sense is in its connectivity. All rights reserved. RAM (Memory) RAM (Random Access Memory) is a type of computer memory that can be accessed randomly, any byte of memory can be accessed without touching the preceding bytes that allows information to be stored and accessed quickly from random locations. The only major weakness of the Chromebook Plus V2 is its battery. ). We looked at the $500 Chromebook Plus V2, a 2-in-1 that comes equipped with a 12.2-inch IPS display, a Celeron 3965Y, 4GB of RAM, and 32GB of eMMC storage. With a built-in stylus and a 360-degree wraparound screen, Samsung raises the bar with its. Anytime. For the Samsung Chromebook versions of Pro and v2, this feature is what brings the significant difference between despite having other characteristics constant. But we ran the Android version of Geekbench 4 and scored 2,107 in the single-core and 3,646 in the multi-core tests. And cross more off your list without slowing down with a powerful … The relatively small keys have a pleasant if soft snappiness to them, but they’re a bit shallow and they do bottom out a tad too quickly. It’s not really a budget option at $500, and it’s not faster or particularly better-built than the typical Chromebook. Discover more product information on Chromebook. Despite its low-end Celeron processor, the Chromebook Plus V2 performed well, beating the average scores on two of the three benchmark tests I ran. For users who value style as much as performance, it’s a good choice that doesn’t cost much more than lower-end devices. The screen and stylus are the standouts here, but the spacious keyboard — which stretches to the very edges of the chassis — is also impressive, particularly since the springy action allows for easier touch-typing. Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own. There are 39 watt-hours of battery capacity packed away inside the Chromebook Plus V2’s smaller chassis. The Samsung Chromebook Plus V2 (LTE) is priced at US $599.99 and the key features are a 360-degree hinge, an energy-efficient processor, great screen size for a Chromebook … At 5 hours and 45 minutes of run time, the system was by far the worst in this … To begin with, it scored a strong four and a half hours on our most demanding Basemark web benchmark test, right in line with the HP Chromebook x2’s excellent score. If (when) we see the price come down in the $425-$450 range, this discussion changes a bit. Other than its lackluster battery life, the Plus V2 lacks major negatives, as far as this class of notebook goes. These are the best cheap Chromebook deals for December 2020, Laptop buying guide: What to look for in 2020, and what to avoid, Save $140 on this HP Pavilion Laptop for the holidays, This Samsung HD monitor just got a $110 price cut at HP, Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, and Excel now run faster on Apple’s new M1 Macs, Save $40 on this Fire 8 Kids Edition at Amazon today, These are the best cheap iPad deals for December 2020, Very good display for productivity and media. Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Samsung Chromebook Plus V2, 2-in-1, 4GB RAM, 32GB eMMC, 13MP Camera, Chrome OS, 12.2", 16:10 Aspect Ratio, Light Titan (XE520QAB-K01US) (Renewed) at Amazon.com. All Rights Reserved, This is a BETA experience. Copyright ©2020 Designtechnica Corporation. Our only complaint is with gamma, which seems to be a bit low and thus video is brighter than it should be. Forbes and/or the author may earn a commission on sales made from links on this page. Sponsored by NordVPN. Read honest and unbiased product reviews from our users. That includes a 10 percent boost on the standard Speedometer 2.0 benchmark (which measures the responsiveness of web applications) and a 15 percent speed bump on the Kraken 1.1 benchmark, which measures performance on operations such as audio processing and image filtering. Chrome OS doesn’t support our usual benchmark suite, and so it’s hard to quantify its performance. The Chromebook Plus is a great middle ground between the entry-level models and the high-end. I had no complaints with the touchpad, either, which is similarly roomy. We also ran the Speedometer 2.0 web benchmark, and the Chromebook Plus V2 scored 43.19. Whether we’re running a bunch of tabs in Chrome or a few Android apps, the Chromebook Plus V2 feels sluggish in ways that slightly more expensive Chromebooks do not. That’s well behind the 3,441 and 6,685 scored by the Chromebook x2, but it’s also faster than the 1,559 and 4,884 managed by the Acer Chromebook 15‘s Pentium N4200. The Chromebook Plus V2 has a 12.2-inch IPS display in an unusual 16:10 aspect ratio at 1,920 x 1,200 resolution. That’s a significantly faster machine with a more productivity form-factor, and that makes it a more viable choice. We can’t test it with our colorimeter, but it appears as colorful and accurate as notebooks that cost twice as much or more. Plus, it easily folds over into tablet mode so you can quickly switch between typing and writing down ideas. And with some many more exciting Chromebook alternatives looming, the Chromebook Plus V2 is likely to be left behind. With too many tabs and apps open, you’ll start noticing some delays that make you want to limit how you use the 2-in-1. Do yourself a favor and spend the extra $100 on the Samsung Chromebook Pro or the HP Chromebook x2. USB Type-C and Type-A ports. Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Samsung XE520QAB-K02US Chromebook Plus V2, 2-in-1, Intel Core m3, 4GB RAM, 64GB eMMC, 13MP Camera, Chrome OS, 12.2", 16:10 Aspect Ratio, Light Titan at Amazon.com. That lineup includes a close cousin of the Pro, the Chromebook Plus, which was recently updated to utilize a faster Intel CPU compared to the previous version’s ARM processor. Sponsored by NordVPN. The Plus V2’s display is in the upper echelon for such an affordable notebook. We looked at the $500 Chromebook Plus V2, a 2-in-1 that comes equipped with a 12.2-inch IPS display, a Celeron 3965Y, 4GB of RAM, and 32GB of eMMC storage. Finally, note that for an extra $100, the device is available with an integrated LTE radio so you can use it anywhere your data plan reaches, Wi-Fi or no. Samsung Chromebook Plus V2 (LTE) 2-in-1 comes with built-in 4G SIM slot for LTE support and it works on CDMA networks too. That’s a common Chromebook configuration with a price point that straddles the fence between budget and premium territories. At 5 hours and 45 minutes of run time, the system was by far the worst in this roundup, dying more than two hours quicker than the next worst. Stay on top of your projects with the built-in pen, two cameras and full Google experience right at your fingertips. And it’s included, which is a plus compared to many Windows 2-in-1s like Microsoft’s Surface Pro. Try it out and get 75% off a three-year plan for a limited time! But, you’ll want external speakers or headphones for music or a better movie and TV show experience. Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Samsung Chromebook Plus V2 2-in-1 Laptop- 4GB RAM, 64GB eMMC, 13MP Camera, Chrome OS, 12.2", 16:10 Aspect Ratio- XE520QAB-K03US Light Titan at Amazon.com. Give the Chromebook Plus V2 immediately distinguish it in a weird place in today ’ s Surface.... 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