Chromebooks exploded in reputation lately, particularly after the pandemic pushed distant staff and college students to buy laptops to facilitate a brand new work-from-home way of life.
Are you able to blame ‘em? The PR engine behind them offered Chromebooks as inexpensive, safe, Chrome ecosystem-friendly machines with — er — “wonderful battery life.” Uh huh, certain Jan! Let’s play three truths and a lie. Can you notice the BS?
In accordance with a report from Canalys (opens in new tab), the demand for Chromebooks skyrocketed to epic proportions in 2020. For instance, demand for Lenovo Chromebooks, such because the ultra-popular Chromebook Duet, elevated by a whopping 1,766%.
Nevertheless, as 2022 crept by, the demand for Chromebooks took nosedive. In accordance with IDC knowledge, gross sales plummeted 48% — the pandemonium from the pandemic started to taper off. Extra staff and college students are returning again to the workplace and classroom, so the necessity for budget-friendly {hardware} plummeted.
However I additionally surprise if persons are beginning to really feel disillusioned after realizing Chromebooks aren’t what they’re cracked as much as be. Scroll all the way down to the benefits part of any “Professionals and Cons of Chromebooks” article on the web, and also you’ll discover the laughable “Chromebooks have nice battery life” declare.
Bullcrap! We’ve reviewed numerous Chromebooks and that is the largest lie ever instructed. Stick round to search out out why.
Chromebooks have lengthy battery life — the largest lie ever instructed
I don’t know who originated this untruth, however whoever it’s, they’ve been mendacity via their tooth. Certain, there are a number of long-lasting Chromebooks, however I wouldn’t go so far as saying that it’s an plain attribute of ChromeOS methods. Personally, nearly each Chromebook I reviewed delivered mediocre battery life outcomes.
Chromebooks that hit Laptop computer Magazine’s desk should undergo our battery testing, which entails steady internet browsing over Wi-Fi at 150 nits of brightness till the laptop computer runs out of juice. We’ve recorded the common runtime out of all of the Chromebooks we’ve reviewed: it’s solely 9 hours and 49 minutes. Is that terrible? No, not essentially, however it’s not monumental sufficient to assert that Chromebooks have “nice battery life.”
The years 2020 and 2021, sure through the peak of the pandemic and world lockdowns, had been notably uneventful for Chromebook runtimes. I noticed battery runtimes as little as 5 hours.
Let’s take Samsung’s fleet of Chromebooks, for instance. The South Korea-based tech large makes sensational telephones (I nonetheless love my Samsung Galaxy S22 Extremely), however it can not — for the lifetime of it — make power-efficient ChromeOS methods. Working example: In 2020, Samsung launched the Samsung Galaxy Chromebook. How lengthy did it final? A dismal 5 hours and 56 minutes. Yikes! Its 2021 successor, the Galaxy Chromebook 2, solely lasted 8 hours and 16 minutes.
For higher perspective, let me provide you with a rundown of Chromebooks’ runtime efficiency lately.
Chromebooks in 2020
In 2020, we reviewed about 16 Chromebooks. Practically 70% of them delivered runtimes across the 9-hour mark or decrease. On the plus facet, there have been a number of exceptions to the rule. For instance, the Acer Chromebook Spin 713 and the Google Pixelbook Go (opens in new tab) shocked us with runtimes that surpassed 11 hours, which is fairly rattling good.
It’s too dangerous that Google shuttered the Pixelbook sequence (for the foreseeable future a minimum of). This was fairly shocking as a result of Google is, in fact, most aware of ChromeOS. Wouldn’t it need its foot within the Chromebook market too?
Luckily, Acer remains to be a serious participant within the Chromebook area. As you learn on, you’ll perceive why they’re one of many few OEMs who can doubtlessly flip my present bitter perspective on ChromeOS laptops and their so-so battery runtimes.
Chromebooks in 2021
In 2021, a worldwide chip scarcity threw a wrench in laptop computer OEMs’ plans, making it harder for them to safe the required parts for manufacturing and distribution. Regardless of these setbacks, this yr was admittedly higher than the final, due to Acer launching Chromebooks that hovered across the 10-hour mark:
Asus did effectively, too, with the Chromebook CX9 and Chromebook C423NA each delivering 10-hour battery life.
Sadly, there have been additionally some flops that dragged the common down:
Funnily sufficient, though the Flex 5 Chromebook (7 hours and 25 minutes) was our worst energy-efficient Chromebook of 2021, Lenovo turned issues round by rolling out the ultra-popular Lenovo Chromebook Duet (opens in new tab), which lasted a whopping 12 hours and 46 minutes on a single cost. Total, battery runtimes different 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 eight minutes on a single cost. (Now that, girls and gents, is lengthy battery life!)
On the opposite, 40% of the Chromebooks we reviewed in 2022 fell beneath the 9-hour runtime. Notable losers embody the Acer Chromebook Spin 714 (7 hours and 25 minutes) and the HP Elite Dragonfly Chromebook (9 hours and 14 minutes). Conversely, the subsequent finest Chromebook after the Acer Chromebook 514 is the Lenovo Duet 5 Chromebook, which lasted 13 hours and 13 minutes.
Nonetheless, with such inconsistent runtimes all through latest years, I don’t really feel comfy labeling Chromebooks as power-efficient machines simply but. Let’s see how Chromebooks fare in 2023 and 2024 earlier than I think about consuming my phrases.
Are Chromebooks’ battery life wanting up for 2023?
In case you had been to ask The Verge whether or not Chromebook battery runtimes are shaping as much as be higher this yr, the reply is a powerful no, particularly if the $1,000 HP Dragonfly Professional Chromebook is the exemplar of what we will anticipate from ChromeOS methods in 2023.
“I stated this in 2020 after I reviewed the OLED Samsung Galaxy Chromebook, and I’ll say it once more right here: outdoors of gaming and workstations, a battery lifetime of lower than 5 hours just isn’t acceptable on a $1,000 system,” Monica Chin from The Verge stated, giving the Dragonfly Professional Chromebook a tongue lashing for its poor battery life.
When we reviewed the Dragonfly Professional Chromebook, it lasted solely 9 hours and 17 minutes, which is barely beneath the common runtime of a Chromebook (9 hours and 45 minutes). The Verge, nevertheless, recorded an abysmal battery runtime of two and a half hours, including that the Dragonfly Professional Chromebook would must be charged two or 3 times a day. I perceive that we recorded a greater runtime than The Verge, however even 9 hours doesn’t minimize it anymore. I wish to see 10 hours or extra on Chromebooks constantly earlier than we will declare they’re battery life champs.
The query is, why do most Chromebooks stumble in the case of battery life? My guess is that their chips are merely not energy environment friendly 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 computer processor that isn’t designed to be a efficiency beast per se, however satirically, it’s meant to be vitality environment friendly. Intel must step it up in the case of energy effectivity. To place it into perspective, why would I drop $1,000 on the Dragonfly Professional Chromebook with piss-poor battery life after they can 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 concerning the battery runtimes of their thirteenth Gen Intel CPU-packed overview models this yr, (e.g., the Samsung Galaxy Ebook Professional 3 Professional 360 delivered lower than 8 hours of battery life), I’m not feeling notably optimistic concerning the subsequent crop of Chromebooks which can be set to run current-gen Intel processors. Likelihood is excessive that energy effectivity will proceed to be unnoteworthy for Chromebooks in 2023. I do hope I’m improper!
Backside line
To be truthful, there are many benefits to proudly owning a Chromebook which can be truly true. For instance, Chromebooks are safer, sport a cleaner, lighter OS, they usually’re inexpensive (save for a number of expensive choices just like the aforementioned Dragonfly Professional Chromebook).
Nevertheless, the “nice battery life” declare is garbage. CDW, for instance, compiled a “Prime Professionals and Cons of Chromebooks” listing and stated Chromebooks have “excellent” battery life, including that “it isn’t remarkable for a Chromebook to have 18 hours of battery life.” Haha! The jokes write themselves. I’ll wager my backside greenback that nobody can present me a Chromebook that may final 18 hours on the Laptop computer Magazine battery take a look at.
Chromebooks require much less highly effective {hardware} as a result of they’re extra reliant on the cloud, however nonetheless, a lot of them nonetheless handle to solely ship 9 hours or much less.
On the plus facet, if you wish to seize a number of diamonds within the tough, search for the Acer Chromebook 514 (opens in new tab). This dangerous boy broke a Chromebook file, lasting over 14 hours on a single cost. Lenovo makes good energy-efficient Chromebooks, too, just like the Lenovo Duet 5 Chromebook (opens in new tab). Apparently, neither the Chromebook 514 nor the Duet 5 Chromebook run on Intel.
Don’t overlook to take a look at our laptops with one of the best battery life web page in addition to our related web page for long-lasting Chromebooks.
