Quick Summary
Lenovo, Google and MediaTek have partnered for the most powerful Chromebook Plus model yet.
The Lenovo Chromebook Plus 14 has a dedicated 50 TOPS NPU making it powerful enough for exclusive new AI features.
I’ve been an advocate of the MacBook Pro since buying an M2 Pro model a couple of years ago, but Google and Lenovo has just given me some food for thought.
Having briefly played with they collaborative new Chromebook Plus model, I’m lamenting Apple’s relatively slow rollout of genuinely useful AI features – especially in comparison with the new features arriving with the Lenovo Chromebook Plus 14.
In power terms, Apple’s silicon offers everything I need and is a heck of a lot beefier than even the best Chromebooks, but the first Chromebook Plus model to sport MediaTek Kompanio Ultra processing really takes the AI and Gemini game up several notches. And the new tools aren’t just gimmicks or for show, they’re genuinely useful.
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(Image credit: Rik Henderson / Future)
New AI features for Chromebook Plus
Smart Grouping, for example, is exclusive to the Lenovo, needing its dedicated 50 TOPS Neural Processing Unit (NPU) to provide the power. It looks at all the tabs and apps you have open on your desktop and automatically groups them into a sensible order – even creating a virtual desktop that you can call up separately.
This is the sort of unclutter feature I really need for work and personal computer use – intelligently separating both, in fact.
Another exclusive new feature is on device AI image editing in the Gallery. You can therefore remove backgrounds, make stickers from objects and a whole lot more, without having to open a new app. It’s fairly basic stuff, but ideal for quick and fun edits.
(Image credit: Rik Henderson / Future)
And these are just a couple of the exclusives to this laptop – there are other new Gemini and AI enhancements rolling out now.
Select to Search & Text Capture is hugely useful. An extension on the Circle to Search functionality on Samsung, Google’s own and many other of the best Android phones, it allows you to select an area of your screen through touch or pad to find similar items or details on. In addition, you can now capture text in an image, such as date and time details on an invite, which can be automatically added to your calendar.
On top of this, NotebookLLM now comes pre-installed on this and every other new Chromebook Plus, and you even get a whole year of the Google AI Pro Plan thrown in, to give you access to all these great new features.
(Image credit: Rik Henderson / Future)
Lenovo Chromebook Plus 14: key specifications
But back to the Lenovo Chromebook Plus 14 specifically, it also looks the real deal. It’s solid enough to feel premium, but also light enough (at just over 1kg) to sling in a bag.
You can spec an OLED touchscreen and up to 256GB of storage, which seems reasonable, while up to 16GB of RAM should keep things flowing nicely.
I didn’t get to play much with the Dolby Atmos-certified sound system, but considering it’s made up of four speakers – two bass drivers, two tweeters – it has the potential to deliver a decent audio experience.
(Image credit: Rik Henderson / Future)
It was also impossible to truly test the battery life during my demo session, but I was assured that it’s capable of running up to 17 hours on a single charge. That’s the amount Google claims based on its average usage tests – it’ll be less if you’re a power user who streams a lot of video, I expect.
Of course, it’s not really the nuts and bolts that would make me swap in my MacBook Pro, it’s the amount of useful AI wizardry, and in that I’m tempted. Especially considering the Lenovo Chromebook Plus 14 starts at just £599 / $649 (a fraction of the price of my Apple machine).
I obviously need to play with one more, but I’ve certainly seen enough so far to know that there’s still a healthy future for Chromebooks.
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