There’s half of the internet talking about the Chromebooks advantages, while other half are busy criticizing the darling from Google. However, the honest answers come from one of the people in between those two halves. I’ve used a Chromebook(only once) but I won’t be biased because I really wish good for all of us.
Now let’s take an in-depth look and decide if Chromebooks are really worth your money or not.
Things that can’t be done on Chromebook
Chromebooks are made for the specifical and minimal purpose, and if you’re the one with non-minimal work then it’s not worth for you. Chromebooks aren’t designed to perform every task you throw at it, so forget running full blown apps that you could run on Windows or Mac OS. Despite its cramped up system Chromebooks can be used to design website and compile some basic web applications.
Shifting focus to another area where Chromebooks are inferior is the media creation. Of course, you could always find minimized apps for basic video and image editing from Chrome store, however, the Chromebooks aren’t the best bet for full blown apps like Adobe Illustrator or Adobe Premiere. Editing RAW images are cumbersome in Chromebook, until unless you decide to install Linux onto your Chromebook, which by the way will take you some time to learn.
Gaming is another department where Chromebooks are really fragile. If you’re a student and like to game on your machine then you really shouldn’t be looking for Chromebook. Forget games like Witcher 3 or Fallout, neither of those Triple-A titles can be played on the Chromebook. The two reasons behind this are — AAA titles aren’t made for Chrome OS and Chromebooks really have minimal disk space limiting its memory power. However, the Chrome Store is filled up with really good web games to kill your time. For now, developers are targeting Windows OS which uses Direct X and supports AMD and Nvidia GPUs powered by window drivers. Don’t expect to change it soon since there are a vast number of people who game on Windows PC, and it’s the only OS where developers see the money.
For remaining people
The aforementioned things should make you clear that Chromebooks aren’t for all and they aren’t designed to perform intensive tasks. If you are looking to perform one then we recommend you to opt in for other major OS. Chromebooks were designed to perform the basic task, and most importantly they do it very well.
Chrome OS is wholly built for the web, so you can basically perform and run any web based application like Facebook, YouTube, Netflix and the expansive number of websites you type in the address bar. Believe it or not high-end Chromebooks sometimes even outscore MacBook Airs and Windows PCs in terms of web browsing, and adding butter to the top Chromebooks now support Android apps which shall open the door for a colossal number of apps.
In case you’re wondering, the main reason behind efficient browsing is that Chrome OS are made to be light and consume fewer resources resulting in more efficient and lag free browsing than that of MacBook Air and other Window PCs.
You’re also provided with the majority of applications and features from Google and it can sync your G-Mail account, your contacts, and all of your Google data for better user experience — that’s how Chromebooks work. Once you sign into the Chromebook, the Chrome OS handles all of your Google data related to the email.
The security aspect is not a worrying factor for the Chromebook, however, one should be checking once in a while into the data that they’re sharing with Google and other extensive services. But you don’t have to worry about viruses or any other critical security aspects — Chrome OS handles it like a champ and Google is really confident about it.
Updates is also a major area to consider while purchasing Chromebook as Chrome OS is updated monthly. The update process is smooth and runs in the background so you won’t notice it. Interestingly, every time you go through Verified Boot checks Chrome OS makes sure that nothing has changed in the OS and if it has been interfered or poked than it starts from the previously verified copy. Such process keeps away any viruses or malware for the peace of your mind. The Chrome OS also presents you with an option to clear your OS and download a fresh copy if in case anything goes wrong.
Such mentioned features entice me to try the Chromebook as a daily driver and I believe it’ll also prove to be a great laptop for most of the folks out there. If you’re avid users of laptop for basic tasks and don’t expect the Chromebook to perform the task it was not intended to, then the Chromebook will be your favorite.
