This is the biggest lie told about Chromebooks

Chromebooks exploded in recognition lately, particularly after the pandemic driven far flung staff and scholars to buy laptops to facilitate a brand new work-from-home way of life. 

Are you able to blame ‘em? The PR engine at the back of them offered Chromebooks as reasonably priced, safe, Chrome ecosystem-friendly machines with — er — “very good battery existence.” Uh huh, certain Jan! Let’s play three truths and a lie. Are you able to spot the BS?

In keeping with a (*14*)file from Canalys (opens in new tab), the call for for Chromebooks skyrocketed to epic proportions in 2020. For instance, call for for Lenovo Chromebooks, such because the ultra-popular Chromebook Duet, larger by way of a whopping 1,766%.

Then again, as 2022 crept by way of, the call for for Chromebooks took nosedive. In keeping with IDC knowledge, gross sales plummeted 48% — the pandemonium from the pandemic started to taper off. Extra staff and scholars are returning again to the place of job and school room, so the will for budget-friendly {hardware} plummeted.

However I additionally wonder whether individuals are beginning to really feel disappointed after figuring out Chromebooks aren’t what they’re cracked as much as be. Scroll right down to the benefits segment of any “Execs and Cons of Chromebooks” article on the web, and also you’ll to find the laughable “Chromebooks have nice battery existence” declare.

Bullcrap! We’ve reviewed numerous Chromebooks and that is the largest lie ever advised. Stick round to determine why. 

Chromebooks have lengthy battery existence — the largest lie ever advised 

I don’t know who originated this untruth, however whoever it’s, they’ve been mendacity thru their tooth. Certain, there are a couple of long-lasting Chromebooks, however I wouldn’t move so far as announcing that it’s an plain feature of ChromeOS techniques. In my view, virtually each Chromebook I reviewed delivered mediocre battery existence effects.

Chromebooks that hit ’s table will have to undergo our battery trying out, which comes to steady internet browsing over Wi-Fi at 150 nits of brightness till the laptop runs out of juice. We’ve recorded the typical runtime out of the entire Chromebooks we’ve reviewed: it’s handiest 9 hours and 49 mins. Is that terrible? No, no longer essentially, nevertheless it’s no longer huge sufficient to assert that Chromebooks have “nice battery existence.”

The years 2020 and 2021, sure all over the peak of the pandemic and world lockdowns, had been in particular uneventful for Chromebook runtimes. I noticed battery runtimes as little as five hours.

Let’s take Samsung’s fleet of Chromebooks, as an example. The South Korea-based tech large makes sensational telephones (I nonetheless love my Samsung Galaxy S22 Extremely), nevertheless it can’t — for the lifetime of it — make power-efficient ChromeOS techniques. Living proof: In 2020, Samsung introduced the Samsung Galaxy Chromebook. How lengthy did it final? A gloomy 5 hours and 56 mins. Yikes! Its 2021 successor, the Galaxy Chromebook 2, handiest lasted 8 hours and 16 mins. 

For higher standpoint, let me provide you with a rundown of Chromebooks’ runtime efficiency lately.

Chromebooks in 2020

In 2020, we reviewed about 16 Chromebooks. Just about 70% of them delivered runtimes across the 9-hour mark or decrease. At the plus aspect, there have been a couple of exceptions to the guideline. For instance, the Acer Chromebook Spin 713 and the Google Pixelbook Cross (opens in new tab) shocked us with runtimes that surpassed 11 hours, which is lovely rattling just right.

It’s too unhealthy that Google shuttered the Pixelbook collection (for the foreseeable long term no less than). This used to be slightly unexpected as a result of Google is, after all, maximum acquainted with ChromeOS. Wouldn’t it need its foot within the Chromebook marketplace too? 

Thankfully, Acer remains to be a significant participant within the Chromebook area. As you learn on, you’ll perceive why they’re one of the few OEMs who can probably turn my latest bitter standpoint on ChromeOS laptops and their so-so battery runtimes.

Chromebooks in 2021

In 2021, an international chip scarcity threw a wrench in laptop OEMs’ plans, making it harder for them to safe the important elements for manufacturing and distribution. In spite of those setbacks, this yr used to be admittedly higher than the final, because of Acer launching Chromebooks that hovered across the 10-hour mark:

Asus did neatly, too, with the Chromebook CX9 and Chromebook C423NA each turning in 10-hour battery existence.

Sadly, there have been additionally some flops that dragged the typical down:

Funnily sufficient, despite the fact that the Flex 5 Chromebook (7 hours and 25 mins) used to be our worst energy-efficient Chromebook of 2021, Lenovo became issues round by way of rolling out the ultra-popular (*3*)Lenovo Chromebook Duet (opens in new tab), which lasted a whopping 12 hours and 46 mins on a unmarried price. Total, battery runtimes various wildly in 2021.

Chromebooks in 2022

Runtimes had been nonetheless over the store in 2022. On one hand, we had been blessed with the record-breaking Acer Chromebook 514, which lasted for a whopping 14 hours and 8 mins on a unmarried price. (Now that, girls and gents, is lengthy battery existence!)

At the different, 40% of the Chromebooks we reviewed in 2022 fell under the 9-hour runtime. Notable losers come with the Acer Chromebook Spin 714 (7 hours and 25 mins) and the HP Elite Dragonfly Chromebook (9 hours and 14 mins). Conversely, the following best possible Chromebook after the Acer Chromebook 514 is the Lenovo Duet 5 Chromebook, which lasted 13 hours and 13 mins.

Nonetheless, with such inconsistent runtimes all over contemporary years, I don’t really feel relaxed labeling Chromebooks as power-efficient machines simply but. Let’s see how Chromebooks fare in 2023 and 2024 ahead of I imagine consuming my phrases.

Are Chromebooks’ battery existence having a look up for 2023? 

In case you had been to invite whether or not Chromebook battery runtimes are shaping as much as be higher this yr, the solution is a powerful no, particularly if the $1,000 HP Dragonfly Professional Chromebook is the exemplar of what we will be able to be expecting from ChromeOS techniques in 2023.

“I stated this in 2020 once I reviewed the OLED Samsung Galaxy Chromebook, and I’ll say it once more right here: out of doors of gaming and workstations, a battery lifetime of lower than five hours isn’t appropriate on a $1,000 instrument,” Monica Chin from stated, giving the Dragonfly Professional Chromebook a tongue lashing for its deficient battery existence.

When we reviewed the Dragonfly Professional Chromebook, it lasted handiest 9 hours and 17 mins, which is fairly under the typical runtime of a Chromebook (9 hours and 45 mins). , then again, recorded an abysmal battery runtime of two and a part hours, including that the Dragonfly Professional Chromebook would want to be charged two or three instances an afternoon. I needless to say we recorded a greater runtime than , however even 9 hours doesn’t minimize it anymore. I wish to see 10 hours or extra on Chromebooks persistently ahead of we will be able to declare they’re battery existence champs.

The query is, why do maximum Chromebooks stumble in terms of battery existence? My bet is that their chips are merely no longer continual effective sufficient. For instance, the HP Dragonfly Professional Chromebook runs on a last-gen twelfth Gen Intel Core i5-1235U CPU, which is a mid-range laptop processor that isn’t designed to be a efficiency beast in step with se, however paradoxically, it’s intended to be calories effective. Intel must step it up in terms of continual potency. To place it into standpoint, why would I drop $1,000 at the Dragonfly Professional Chromebook with piss-poor battery existence when they may be able to get an M2 MacBook Air, which has a 15-hour runtime and higher efficiency? (As of this writing, it’s on sale for $1,050 (opens in new tab)).

With my co-workers grumbling in regards to the battery runtimes in their thirteenth Gen Intel CPU-packed evaluation devices this yr, (e.g., the Samsung Galaxy Ebook Professional 3 Professional 360 delivered lower than 8 hours of battery existence), I’m no longer feeling in particular constructive in regards to the subsequent crop of Chromebooks which are set to run current-gen Intel processors. Chances are continual potency will proceed to be unnoteworthy for Chromebooks in 2023. I do hope I’m flawed!

Final analysis 

To be truthful, there are many benefits to proudly owning a Chromebook which are in reality true. For instance, Chromebooks are extra safe, game a cleaner, lighter OS, they usually’re reasonably priced (save for a couple of expensive choices just like the aforementioned Dragonfly Professional Chromebook).

Then again, the “nice battery existence” declare is garbage. CDW, as an example, compiled a “Most sensible Execs and Cons of Chromebooks” listing and stated Chromebooks have “exceptional” battery existence, including that “it isn’t remarkable for a Chromebook to have 18 hours of battery existence.” Haha! The jokes write themselves. I’ll guess my backside buck that no one can display me a Chromebook that may final 18 hours at the battery check.

Chromebooks require much less tough {hardware} as a result of they’re extra reliant at the cloud, however nonetheless, lots of them nonetheless organize to simply ship 9 hours or much less.

At the plus aspect, if you wish to take hold of a couple of diamonds within the tough, search for the (*1*)Acer Chromebook 514 (opens in new tab). This unhealthy boy broke a Chromebook list, lasting over 14 hours on a unmarried price. Lenovo makes just right energy-efficient Chromebooks, too, just like the (*2*)Lenovo Duet 5 Chromebook (opens in new tab). Apparently, neither the Chromebook 514 nor the Duet 5 Chromebook run on Intel.

Don’t disregard to take a look at our laptops with the most efficient battery existence web page in addition to our an identical web page for long-lasting Chromebooks.