Lenovo has unveiled its new Chromebook Plus, the world’s first Chromebook powered by MediaTek Kompanio Ultra processor and exclusive Google AI features for hybrid AI functionality, aimed at professionals, students and creators.
With hybrid work ingrained in UK working culture now, those who work from anywhere are becoming more demanding of the equipment they use, including laptops – wanting premium products with performance to match.
With the advances in technology – especially AI – even greater demands are being put on equipment.
Manufacturers are responding to customers’ needs, with Lenovo the latest to launch premium products with its Lenovo Chromebook Plus (14”, 10), which, according to the company, sets a new standard for Chromebooks in many categories, including 50 TOPS for supercharged performance, the capability to handle AI features on device and via cloud and quad speakers and Dolby Atmos.
Exclusive features
The Lenovo Chromebook Plus (14”, 10) is the first Chromebook with a MediaTek Kompanio Ultra processor, the flagship CPU with Arm Immortalis-G925 MC11 GPU and MediaTek NPU 890. A combination of power efficiency and AI capability, the Lenovo Chromebook Plus with Gemini unlocks new ways of working, creating and organising, taking on Google’s newest AI features with ease, including exclusive on-device functionalities like Smart grouping, which lets user organise tabs, documents and apps by category, and on device image editing in Gallery app to unleash creativity without the need for internet connectivity.
Built for professionals, the Lenovo Chromebook Plus (14”, 10) has Gemini built into the shelf. Features like Select to search with Lens helps users to quickly find anything on their screen without switching tabs or windows, and text capture uses optical character recognition to identify and add dates and text to Calendar and Docs from any documents, emails or photos. Also, an upgraded version of Help Me Read simplifies jargon-filled text and lets users ask follow-up questions to help remember and learn.
Premium throughout
As mentioned, users want a premium product, and Lenovo has sought to deliver this. For instance, it has Dolby Atmos and quad speakers, including two dedicated down-firing woofers. The Chromebook Plus complements the immersive three-dimensional audio experience with a 14-inch, 2K OLED display rated at 100% DCI-P3 colour gamut. The display is ideal for showing vibrant content, gaming on top Android titles, and for professionals looking to perfect their photos on the go.
Beyond multimedia, the Chromebook Plus (14”, 10) embraces a minimalist design with clean lines highlighted by an aluminium chassis, features a backlit keyboard with a large touchpad for easy scrolling, supports two external 4K displays, comes with a 5MP webcam with physical privacy shutter and an optional fingerprint reader for quick protected logins.
All-day AI productivity
For users on the move, this product will tick the boxes required. For instance, it is light – weighing just 1.17kg – has up to 17 hours of battery life and up to 16GB of memory and up to 256GB of internal storage. It also has a fanless design that makes it quieter than rivals – ideal for editing in quiet spaces – and superior connectivity with Wi-Fi 7 for lag-free video streaming or conference calls whether the user may be.
With Chrome Enterprise Upgrade and the cloud-based Google Admin console, IT administrators can manage and enrol their fleet of ChromeOS devices and policies, easily setting up user settings, deploying apps, extensions, networks, security protocols and more.
Built-in AI for educators and administrators
For educators, the Chromebook Plus can be available with Google’s Chrome Education Upgrade, which lets schools and IT administrators manage their ChromeOS environment to best meet their individual needs. With the Chrome Education Upgrade, managers can assess hundreds of Chromebooks in seconds, deploy new devices, manage batch updates, control data access, protect from security threats and more all from a cloud-based Google Admin console.
Freedom demands
The laptop has been designed so users can do more, faster. “Our society has embraced the freedom of hybrid and remote work, but that freedom demands the workforce and their devices to be productive regardless of location and to do more in less time,” said Benny Zhang, executive director and general manager of Chromebooks in Lenovo’s Intelligent Devices Group.
Benny adds that the Chromebook Plus (14”, 10) delivers the most powerful AI capabilities ever on a Chromebook, as at the time of release. “Whether you are an executive needing AI performance through the day, an artist wishing to create outside the studio, or an everyday user looking to browse, learn or play, this premium device is your perfect everyday companion,” he says.
