The world of Chromebooks has its MacBook Air.
Lenovo’s newest Chromebook Plus 14 is an Arm-based thin-and-light with good specs, wonderful battery life, an excellent keyboard, all-around strong construct, and a unbelievable OLED display screen. However the perfect half is that its vibrant and punchy 14-inch panel comes commonplace on the bottom $649 configuration or as a touchscreen for $749.
That’s cheaper than each the OLED-equipped Samsung Galaxy Chromebook Plus and Acer Chromebook Plus Spin with an IPS display screen. It’s additionally sooner than both with extra RAM.
The brand new Chromebook Plus 14 may very well be a go-to laptop computer for nearly anybody — should you’re okay dwelling with ChromeOS within the first place, in fact.
The Lenovo Chromebook Plus 14 begins at $649 with a MediaTek Kompanio Extremely 910 processor, 128GB of storage, 12GB of RAM, and that wonderful OLED. Our overview config prices $100 extra, however it appears worthwhile for double the storage, 16GB of RAM, a touchscreen, and a fingerprint reader. It simply weighs barely extra, at 2.78 kilos as a substitute of the bottom mannequin’s 2.58 kilos. It’s pretty skinny at 0.62 inches, and for ports it’s bought two USB-C, one USB-A, and a 3.5mm audio jack. The USB-C ports can help you use as much as two exterior 4K displays in tandem with the built-in show, although they’re a gradual 5Gbps.
- Display screen: A
- Webcam: C
- Mic: C
- Keyboard: A
- Touchpad: C
- Port choice: C
- Audio system: B
- Variety of ugly stickers to take away: 2
{Hardware}-wise, this laptop computer is almost faultless, particularly for the value. You get an excellent high quality 1920 x 1200 / 60Hz OLED, which isn’t a standout by way of decision and refresh charge, however the colour and distinction definitely are. There’s loads of RAM in comparison with most different Chromebooks, and the keyboard feels simply as nice as a lot pricier Lenovo notebooks. The audio system are additionally fairly good, rendering a full sound for music and podcasts, and so they can get fairly loud. My solely small hangups have been with the webcam, which seems effective except for a greenish tint, and the loud, cheap-sounding click on of the mechanical trackpad.
The Chromebook Plus 14’s efficiency is spectacular, particularly because it’s a totally silent, fanless design like a MacBook Air. The 8-core MediaTek processor paired with 16GB of RAM is highly effective sufficient to simply deal with operating many Chrome tabs throughout a pair desktops. I uploaded a number of paperwork to NotebookLM within the background, permitting it to generate some audio overviews, and by no means bothered to cease utilizing any of my open tabs or Android apps. The Lenovo didn’t break a sweat. I did handle to get the MediaTek chip to decelerate a little bit, however solely a pair instances. One was an unintended mini torture check — spamming Ctrl+Shift+T a number of too many instances to reopen a bunch of Chrome tabs and Recordsdata app home windows.
System
Lenovo Chromebook Plus 14 / MediaTek Kompanio Extremely 910 8C / 16GB / 256GB
Samsung Galaxy Chromebook Plus / Intel Core 3 100U 6C / 8GB / 256GB
Acer Chromebook Plus Spin 714 / Intel Core Extremely 5 115U 8C / 8GB / 256GB
Microsoft Floor Laptop computer 13-inch / Snapdragon X Plus 8C / 16GB / 512GB
Acer Swift 14 AI / Intel Core Extremely 7 258V 8C / 32GB / 1TB
MacBook Air 13-inch M4 / 10C / 10C / 16GB / 512GB
Geekbench 6 CPU Single244818601549243726093775Geekbench 6 CPU Multi754856935493114271069014899Geekbench 6 GPU (Vulkan)1799587855392N/AN/AN/APrice (as examined)$749$699.99$799$999.99$1,299.99$1,199
Frankly, Chromebooks are mature sufficient as of late that you must anticipate greater than sufficient efficiency for on a regular basis multitasking — and the brand new Lenovo delivers. You are able to do virtually something in an internet browser as of late, and the power to run each Android and Linux apps can fill in plenty of the remaining gaps. However some gaps stay.
Zoom — whether or not within the browser, the Android app, or the “Zoom for Chromebook” progressive internet app — was a buggy mess. The Linux model of Slack didn’t work, since Slack doesn’t have a model of its Linux app compiled for Arm chips. I can get by effective utilizing Slack in a browser, although I a lot favor it as a standalone app. So take into accout this laptop computer’s structure might complicate issues should you’re planning to make use of Linux apps.
It’s a little bit boring-looking, however its seems are satisfactory — save for the annoying Chromebook Plus branding.
The trackpad isn’t outsized like on another laptops, however it doesn’t really feel too small.
The USB-C ports are nothing particular by way of pace.
However not less than you get one on either side for extra handy charging.
Unoptimized apps can scale back battery life, however the Lenovo’s 60Wh cell and power-sipping chip make it a battery champ regardless. On a lightweight day operating Chrome tabs, progressive internet apps, and the Android model of Spotify, I may simply use the Chromebook Plus 14 from the beginning of my workday round 8AM to deep into the night. I as soon as began my day with 77 p.c battery, used it for round 9 hours with minimal standby time, and crossed 5PM with about 20 p.c nonetheless left within the tank. You possibly can most likely get a number of days out of this factor should you’re cautious.
1/5This keyboard is superb, as we should always anticipate from Lenovo.
This battery life, mixed with the Lenovo’s total efficiency and wonderful display screen, makes it a simple advice. An x86 Chromebook can have higher Linux compatibility, if that’s necessary to you, and it’s doable a future Snapdragon X-equipped Chromebook might shake up this house even additional. However the truth that you may get the touchscreen model for $749, a cheaper price than different, slower flagship Chromebook Plus fashions, makes this Lenovo the perfect Chromebook providing. It’s not a two-in-one convertible just like the Acer Chromebook Plus Spin 714, however it’s extra highly effective and has a nicer display screen. Samsung’s Galaxy Chromebook Plus additionally has a pleasant OLED just like the Lenovo, however in my testing I discovered its 16:9 side ratio display screen irksome (these ought to have stayed useless on laptops in 2021), and its quantity pad makes the keyboard really feel cramped.
1/3The Samsung Galaxy Chromebook Plus additionally has a stunning, sizable OLED. However it’s an outdated 16:9 side ratio.
The Lenovo Chromebook Plus 14 appears like a correct successor to Google’s previous Pixelbook, with an excellent display screen and borderline-overkill specs that would really final the entire 10 years of promised software program updates. It’s particularly interesting if you’d like an inexpensive, largely hassle-free laptop computer — with the power to choose in to some problem if you wish to tinker with Linux. That is the brand new king of Chromebooks, and total only a rattling good laptop.
2025 Lenovo Chromebook Plus 14 (as reviewed)
- Show: 14-inch (1920 x 1200) 60Hz OLED touchscreen
- CPU: MediaTek Kompanio Extremely 910
- RAM: 16GB LPDDR5X
- Storage: 256GB UFS 4.0
- Webcam: 5-megapixel fastened focus, with privateness shutter
- Connectivity: Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.4
- Ports: 2x USB-C 5Gbps with DisplayPort 1.4 and PD 3.0, 1x USB-A 5Gnps, 3.5mm combo audio jack
- Weight: 2.78 kilos
- Dimensions: 12.37 x 8.63 x 0.62 inches
- Battery: 60Wh
- Value: $749
Pictures by Antonio G. Di Benedetto / The Verge
