The Samsung Galaxy Chromebook is Beautiful, Fast, and Expensive

An anonymous reader shares a report: The Samsung Galaxy Chromebook is one of the nicest pieces of laptop hardware I've touched in a very long time. Not since Google's 2017 Pixelbook has there been a ChromeOS device this good looking, this powerful, or -- here's the rub -- this expensive. Available sometime in the first quarter, the Galaxy Chromebook starts at $999 and could go much higher if you fully upgrade its RAM and storage. The central conceit of this laptop is that there really is demand for a high-end Chromebook, and while that may be more true in 2020 than it was in 2017, it's not a sure thing. Chrome OS still has a nagging inability to do some of the things you'd want a device that costs more than a thousand dollars to do: run full desktop apps, easily edit photos and video, or play more premium games.

Despite those limitations, Google and Samsung are looking for ways to get Chromebooks to escape the classroom and start appearing in boardrooms. The Galaxy Chromebook could be part of a revitalized effort to do just that. Running down the specs of the Galaxy Chromebook is like hitting a laundry list of the things you might want in a top-tier Windows ultrabook. It has a 13.3-inch 4K AMOLED display and an Intel 10th-gen Core-i5 Processor. There's a fingerprint sensor for unlocking, two USB-C ports, and expandable storage via microSD. The screen rotates 360-degrees and there's an included S-Pen stylus that can be stored in a silo on the device itself. It's built out of aluminum instead of plastic, has a large trackpad, and is less than 10mm thick.

tablet / phone os is the issue look at windows 8

[Joe_Dragon]

tablet / phone os is the issue look at windows 8.

Even if they add stuff to make it more desktop like. Then you just end up with the next windows 8. 2 UI's stapled on top of each other.

Comment removed

[account_deleted]

Comment removed based on user account deletion

Re:

[thereddaikon]

ChromeOS is not a desktop OS. iPad OS is more capable and its not even a desktop OS.

Comment removed

[account_deleted]

Comment removed based on user account deletion

needs to run the right apps, not geneic clones

[Somervillain]

"Happily runs" is not good enough. it needs to run the applications I need to run. "A" photo editor doesn't matter. If it doesn't run Lightroom Classic, it's not really viable for a photo enthusiast. Adobe is trying to get the multi-platform Lightroom CC to be a viable product, but it's still missing too many key features for serious photographers (can't store RAW files as DNGs is my current deal-breaker...so all edits are done in a sidecar file). If you just want basic cropping and white balance adjus

Re:

[ArchieBunker]

ChromeOS was not designed to replace a desktop OS.

Re:

[JustAnotherOldGuy]

ChromeOS was not designed to replace a desktop OS.

That's good, because there's no way it comes close to doing that.

And lacks

[DarkRookie2]

A decent OS. OR at least one I can run my games on.

Re:

[bogaboga]

A decent OS. OR at least one I can run my games on.

If I were Google, I'd author a capable RAD/IDE for Chromebook OS that builds "internet ready" apps out of the box. Think Visual Studio, Delphi, Lazarus or any other tool(s) that enable one to code applications that satisfy one's business logic. I'd also make sure Chrome OS comes with a built in web server.

But because Google hasn't seen the potential for [ad] money yet, it will not happen anytime soon.

Re:

[account_deleted]

Comment removed based on user account deletion

Re:

[LynnwoodRooster]

"built in"?
You can install

Those two are diametrically opposed. I think that is what the GP was talking about.

Re:

[zenbi]

Their Android Studio IDE can now be installed on Chrome OS [android.com] just as easily as the more traditional OS environments. That is if you are developing Android applications and not web applications. But it was based off of IntelliJ_IDEA [wikipedia.org], a more generic IDE.

Seems out of context

[Virtucon]

Chrome OS devices were supposed to be low cost, attainable. This isn't that.

Re:

[Aighearach]

This is people who have gold-plated propellers on their beanie cap just so they can ROFLCOPTER in style.

Re:

[tlhIngan]

Chrome OS devices were supposed to be low cost, attainable. This isn't that.

Exactly. They were limited locked down devices that could be kept secure relatively easily. I like them because you can do your banking on them knowing the browser isn't compromised (in locked down mode)

The other problem is well, it's dead in 5 y ears. Chrome OS devices are only supported for 5 years - something like 2 years for features and 3 years after that for security updates, and then... nothing. You have to enable developer m

Chromebook is a decent streaming device

[140Mandak262Jamuna]

Cheap chromebook, wireless keyboard, makes for a decent streaming device with a full keyboard. You can unplug and take with you on vacations.

Next tier ones are good for casual browsing that needs full keyboard without sacrificing screen real estate. Anything more is a waste of money.

Chrome OS not ready for use

[celeb8]

I have a Samsung Chromebook, they're terrible. Android apps sometimes work, sometimes don't. Troubleshooting is almost impossible because Google documentation on Chrome OS is also terrible. Considering Google may just drop any project or leave it unusable at any time (Nexus phone drivers looking at you) I'm not making the mistake of trusting them to someday fix the OS a second time.

Re:

[Aighearach]

According to the summary, if you'd just superglue a gold bar to the screen then it would be more valuable.

Re:

[burningcpu]

If you want a good laugh, check out Google's deployment of Stadia, the console-less gaming platform that still requires one to purchase $130 in hardware, $10 a month subscription for anything higher than 1080p, and full retail price games. The reviews for the system have a theme very reminiscent of my thoughts following purchase of the original Nexus tablet, which I had to return twice for warranty service, and was made unusable following an update, about a year later. I had been a fan-boy of Google but did

Stadia is an CONSOLE with all of the down sides

[Joe_Dragon]

Stadia is an CONSOLE with all of the down sides.

full retail price games + an live like fee + hardware you need to buy and the game ARE PORTS.

Re:

[burningcpu]

I completely agree, Joe! Thanks for pointing out the porting part and that Stadia really is a console, as I think that clarification is important. It is much more like a console than Google wants to admit.

Followed by a post saying Chrome has stalled

[Registered Coward v2]

Chrome OS Has Stalled Out

https://developers.slashdot.org/story/20/01/06/1626227/chrome-os-has-stalled-out

Nice hardware hobbled by a not ready for prime time operating environment. 1K+ to run Android apps? that'll get you into the "boardroom?" I doubt it.

Is this a joke?

[bjwest]

One thousand dollars starting price for what amounts to a WAN semi-smart terminal? This has to be a leak of Samsung's April Fools prank, right? No way in hell the target audience of Chromebooks (collage students and people just needing an internet device) will be able to afford this, and with a 13 inch screen, I'd never buy it for a Linux laptop either. Come on Samsung, you're premium in the market, but not THAT premium.

Re:

[jellomizer]

Have you priced dumb terminals back in the 1980's?
You could get an 8088 IBM PC XT with monitor at nearly the same price.

While this can explain the rise of the IBM XT in businesses, it also shows there was value in the dumb terminals as well. Primarily in its simplicity of setup, hook it up to a serial port or modem. Crisp 80 column displays, no dealing with updates or training outside the software being used.

A high end chrome book while seeming like a waste as you can get a full PC, being that it isn't a wi

Re:

[Aighearach]

In 1987 I got free dumb terminal that the computer store threw out.

It worked OK with a 300 baud external modem, but it gave me an early appreciation for software keyboard buffers.

Re:

[Aighearach]

Come on Samsung, you're premium in the market, but not THAT premium.

It's just bling for kpop stars who don't really know how to computer, but they need to instagram and they have to check their photos on a bigger screen than the phone before they publish.

In Korea, they are that premium.

Re:

[burningcpu]

Hey bud - it might have been one of those mental substitution errors that get all of us, but if not, FYI that college refers to the institution of higher education. I wouldn't mention it but people tend to judge harshly about that particular substitution, fairly or not. I'd want someone to tell me. Sorry if this post was unnecessary.

Re:

[bjwest]

It's been a while, so I'll repeat what I've said in the past. I'm not writing a dissertation, report, paper or anything of major importance. I wrote a comment on the Internet and didn't see any red squiggly underlines (and at times even ignore those), so I hit submit. I think anyone could get the gist of what I was saying just by the context. No one likes a grammar nazi so move on and forget about it.

Re:

[burningcpu]

Hmm. Sorry, I didn't mean to make you feel vulnerable. Cheer up, buttercup!

The usual thing

[nospam007]

Beautiful, Fast, Inexpensive, pick 2.

For the last time

[JustAnotherOldGuy]

"It's built out of aluminum instead of plastic, has a large trackpad, and is less than 10mm thick."

For the last time, we don't really give a shit how thick it is, as long as it doesn't try to model IBM Thinkpads, which were approximately a foot thick.

But really, stop counting millimeters. NO ONE CARES.

We care about shit like replaceable batteries, headphone jacks, and a price tag that doesn't make people throw up. For $1000 I want it to come pretty fully loaded, not as some drek frame with holes drilled in