It's every parent's worst nightmare. My daughter comes to me the other morning
before school. She looks up at me, tears in her eyes, and she says, "Daddy,
the other kids have Chromebooks and they said, "I need a Chromebook, too." Yep.
Once again, I'm being forced to buy a Chromebook so another one of my cotang
kids can go to school, which is why I'm here with David because plot twist, I
also need a Chromebook for my kid. But I'm not that mad about it. I know they
sucked a few years ago, but surely they've gotten better now.
>> They definitely haven't all improved, but there's such a wide range of devices
available across an extreme range of pricing that I'm sure we can find
something that suits our needs. All we got to do is quit stalling in the
parking lot, bite the bullet, and go back to school shopping.
>> Yeah. >> Wait, are you actually excited to back to school shop?
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>> What do you know about Chromebooks, Linus? having not looked into them since
realistically the last time we covered them. Not that much, not even where they
are in the store. But I am armed with some guidelines. The school sent a list
of requirements for the specs and functionality, although they're pretty
low. I hope we're not going to see anything modern that doesn't meet those
requirements. And then as a, you know, tech literate parent, I obviously have
some of my own thoughts about what I might like to have with respect to, you
know, build quality, performance, battery life, um, something that's going
to give my kids a pretty decent experience.
Two more things, just a reminder, we are Canadian, so all the prices you see are
in Canadian dollars. We'll get a nice little exchange rate down there for you.
And just a reminder, I am an investor in Framework, so they make laptops. We're
shopping for laptops. Make it that what you will. Is this going to be a problem?
>> Uh, I think we should be fine. I see some of the models that I've been looking online, including the Asus CX34
that is on sale, which is pretty nice. >> Okay. And in terms of price range,
right, like I kind of imagine somewhere in the 300 to 400 Canadian price range.
>> That's about what I was hoping for. I was kind of capping out at $400 before
tax. >> And they do have cheaper options. So, I
mean, I guess I'm open to them if the look on your face says it all.
>> Garbage. I think the processor and the cheaper ones is going to be the deal
breaker for me. >> Well, they don't have the one you were eyeing on display, unfortunately, which
seems like it kind of defeats the purpose of a retail store, but
>> let's make the most of it and have a look at what's here on the shelf.
>> I did find one thing. It's not a touch screen, which isn't a requirement, but
definitely is a nice to have on a device like this. >> 100% agree. Moving up to the Lenovo Slim
314in. I'm sorry, Apple, I disagree. Having a touchcreen is really nice. With
that said, I don't know that I want to spend twice as much and end up with a
MediaTek processor. Admittedly, I haven't really looked into MediaTek's
performance in Chrome OS, but outside of their Ultra 910, they haven't been known
for their high performance design. So, I do have some concerns. With that said,
the bigger concern on this one is the keyboard. And I'm not even talking about
the flex. I'm talking about that bilingual Canadian keyboard enter key.
unacceptable. >> Hey, the HP X360 starts to feel a lot
more like a laptop. It's got the glass screen, the better keyboard layout, and
much better performance than some of our other contestants. The problem is is
that it's got a price tag to match that. >> Yeah, I don't know if I want to spend
$700, even Canadian ones, on a Chromebook, brother. And that processor
is better, but it's not great.
>> Wait, there's a different price in the cabinet than there is up top. That's a
reasonable price. I might actually want this one. >> Hold on. Is the UPC the same?
>> 4051. >> N 4051.
>> No. >> 31 3148. But it's still got the same
processor. N305. >> That's a completely different UPC format. Okay. Which pro? What is it?
Wait a second. This one says Chromebook and this one says Chromebook plus.
>> What is Chromebook Plus? >> I'm so glad you asked.
Chromebook plus is a set of minimum specifications across five categories
that in theory allows Google to guarantee a certain quality of
experience with perks like better performance and video conferencing as
well as more robust AI features. Uh
wait, do I even want AI features on my grade school kids laptop? I don't know.
But if you want a little more information about plus, you can check
out the video we'll have linked below. Back to you, Lionus and David.
Thanks, professor. As it turns out, the difference between these has nothing to
do with plus or not plus. It's actually that the top one is this year's model
and the one that's on special is last year's model. There's a couple of little
differences. The new one has a slightly brighter screen, more storage, and
actually a lower battery life rating. So, maybe we should find out if they
have any in stock. >> Let's do it. >> Kind of doesn't look like it. >> Doesn't look like they have much in
stock at all. >> It's back to school and we're really doing this last minute.
>> They apparently just use the website to check for stock, so we can do that ourselves. Sadly, they are out of stock.
Ooh, the only one is uh about an hour and a half drive away.
>> I love my kid, but not that much.
Unfortunately, mine's out of stock, too. But if I'm willing to give up the
touchcreen and the convertible hinge, I can actually get this one for $3.49 with
the same performance and still with an IPS display. >> The kid will never know you were
considering getting them a convertible. Don't watch this video, please.
>> I think I've made my choice. As much as I'd love to have last year's model at a
discount, they don't have it in stock. So, I'm going to go with this year's X360. Partially because I do like the
glass top screen for a device like this. Kids can be really rough with these
things. and the matte style touchcreens
not the most durable and partly just to end up with something different than
David who's going to go sight unseen with the Asus CX34 which we found in
stock at another retailer nearby. I hope I don't regret this. I guess if I do,
they have a return policy. >> Hey, how do you think you did, Lionus?
>> Honestly, I don't love this deal. I feel like this
was, you know, 40%. I just want to walk
away with something so that my back to school shopping is done. I mean, that's
kind of how they get you at retail. And then 60% wanting to see if there is any
benefit that I'm getting to getting the latest model versus the bang for the
buck one that you're picking up. Wait,
mine really doesn't have Chromebook Plus
branding. Oh, it's here.
Oh, what the heck? Anyway, David ended
up with the Asus CX34 for $3.99 Canadian
and I've got the HP X360 for 59 5.99
>> $6.99 it that much. >> Yeah, I don't leave that in.
>> I really don't feel like this is going to end up being the play. But one thing
that I guess I get is Google guarantees 10 years of updates on Chromebooks from
the release of a new model. meaning that I will get updates a little bit longer.
Even then, I got to say it kind of seems crazy that you'd spend this much on a
Chromebook when like referred MacBooks exist, which come to think of it, my kid
school requires Chromebooks. What's your excuse for cheaping out?
Let's get these unboxed. Mine's no great mystery since we saw it in the store,
but this will be our first hands-on with David's laptop.
You know what? This does not feel like
$300 less than the one I got. I think you're going to be pretty happy with
just the feel of it. Woo!
>> But you might have gotten bamboozled on the keyboard.
>> Sorry, my uh actually uh French Canadian
friend, but nobody likes the keyboards we have
to put up with because of you people. >> What do you mean you people?
And it is a little flexy, but if we're being real, mine's even
worse. Yikes. It's almost like they
introduced these machines at $6700
knowing that next year they're going to have to sell them for $3.99 to get rid
of them. And uh bake that into the build
quality. And while I know some of you will be
sitting there at home going, "Well, who really cares? No one's doing that to their laptop. Are you seeing the way
kids handle these things? Well, my laptop's on. Anyway, the reason I took
my laptop out was to also talk about how kids backpacks aren't always really
optimal for holding a laptop. That is, unless you get your kids the commuter
bag from ltstore.com. Yeah, I'm going to
one day they're going to find it.
I definitely like your charger better. This is a 45 watt charger. And yeah, it
has the bulky part right on the jack, which can cause interference issues a
little bit, but when you compare that to what my kid's going to have to carry
around, this is definitely the preferred one.
Although both are type-C HP, this didn't
have to be so big. >> Ooh, I do like the cable that keeps it
away from the wall, though. >> It's a trade-off. Definitely a
trade-off. Just like IO is a trade-off, man. You get two USB type A's, HDMI
type-C, and what about second type-C?
Meanwhile, one type A, type-C, type- C,
and that's it. We both got a headphone jack, though, so which makes sense
actually because that's part of the standard loadout. They need a mouse,
they need a pair of headphones, and that's so that they can sit and listen in class without disturbing the other
students. Enough of the outsides, though. I think it's time to power these
on. And uh >> is that a volume rocker? >> Oh yeah, power on the side and volume
rocker. That's because this one is a
convertible. >> Oo, you do have 180° hinge on this one,
which can actually be really nice for just I don't know. I used to walk around
on campus like this, but it's not
convertible. 1450
10 g. This is for my youngest, and I
didn't really consider that weight on her back would be a factor until I
picked it up and I went, "Man, that screen feels pretty heavy." But as it turns out, the weight difference between
these is only about 50 g, which I don't think is going to be a dealbreaker.
>> She's going to get swole. >> This is kind of wild. Your keyboard
flexes so much more than mine does, even though my chassis twists so much more
than yours does. Let's start with a quick and casual benchmark. Since most
of what these devices will be doing is using Chrome browser, it matters a lot
how well it performs in web browsers.
I think mine's loading a little faster. >> It's pretty close. >> Do you notice that?
>> Nope. I think it's just margin of error. I think yours was a little faster that
time. Both are perfectly suitably adequate, but there are nice to haves.
Like let's say you were watching video for instance. What are the speakers
like? We'll say this. Oh, wait. I was
going to say I don't think that my screen is that much brighter. It is.
>> Yes, but it's a big color temperature difference, too. I do notice that
there's a much warmer tone to the color on this one. I actually very much prefer
the ASUS. Oh, both of them do have
dedicated hardware buttons to hide the webcam. That's really nice to see,
especially for anything where kids are involved. Privacy is a major concern
there. I will say this, actually using the keyboards, I don't really notice the
differences in deck flex nearly as much as I might have thought.
Those speakers are poo poo.
It turns out poo comes in all kinds of flavors.
You know what? Conveniently, DMS is in the next room. Let's get him to choose.
Uh, come on over. I think you'll like this. >> What do you need?
>> I need you to be the judge.
>> Oh, here we go. Laptop speakers.
>> Okay. You know what? Let's do it blind. >> Sure.
>> So, uh, just go go like right like Yeah. Just just however you want. However,
>> face this way. >> Yeah. So, you can face this way. Just close your eyes. Close your eyes.
>> Okay. And then and then I'll I might move the laptops around or switch their
positions. You >> It feels very scientific. >> Yeah. You don't know you don't know
which one I'm going to put down on which side. And realistically, you don't even
know what laptops these are anyway. So >> that's true. I didn't even see the labels.
>> Yeah. So there's there's really no >> an ABX. Is there a third laptop?
>> There's no way for you to be biased. Uh oh. If you'd like. Yeah, I could I could
add a I could add a third device fairly easily.
>> A MacBook sitting in the other room. Uh, that would probably be too obvious.
>> That's fair. >> Okay, here we go. So, let's say A.
>> Okay. >> B.
Hold on. We need C still.
>> Yeah, that's like notably better than the other two. >> Can I Can I see what I'm listening to
now? >> Uh-huh. >> What was What was What? >> This is a
>> Okay, >> so this is actually the one that was here. the uh the ASUS one.
>> Gotcha. >> It doesn't have speaker grills, which I always feel is a problem.
>> Wait, so this was A or this was C? >> This is A. >> This is C.
>> That's C. >> This one sounds good. >> I think good's a pretty strong word
personally, but the other one was my phone. I can handle this one and I
prefer this one, but I would never be able to listen to it loud. >> I feel like there's like a special
circle of hell for people who listen really loud on laptop speakers. Anyway,
>> that's fair. >> Maybe I shouldn't say that in the video. >> Well, it's done now. One thing I noticed
when we were watching video is your black levels are also significantly
better. Even though I have an IPS display, which theoretically is, you
know, better or whatever, the fact that my glass is sitting so far forward and
catching so much glare means that you get a significantly deeper black, which
personally I appreciate. We also haven't looked at performance yet. We're using
Speedometer 3.1 to do just a quick and dirty browser performance test.
Theoretically, you have the better chip though, right? >> Yeah. >> These don't look notably different to
me. And they don't feel notably different in use. Oh, you are making it
through the benchmarks faster though. No question. You've got the faster chip.
21.2 to 13.7. >> Woo! Suck it.
>> Would a human care in a browser? Probably not. But if we were to run say
Android games or even Steam games using
Proton, it might matter or wait about
that. Next year, Steam for Chrome OS is going to stop receiving updates, meaning
that, and I quote, games installed as part of the Steam beta will no longer be
available to play on your device. Now, I
fully expect that just like when I was a kid, the younglings will find ways to
game on their school PCs. I mean, I already mentioned Android titles like we
showed before and online streaming is getting better all the time, but for me,
this is still a huge downer because under the hood, Chrome OS is based on
Linux, and I was kind of quietly rooting for the Chrome OS education monopoly to
help drive Linux gaming into the mainstream. I also think that this is a
big bummer for Google because Chromebooks at the moment are in kind of
a weird spot. They've tried multiple times to upmarket these things, but
they've remained pretty stagnant both in terms of performance and in terms of
public perception. As for sales, well, we don't actually have the latest
numbers for that, but it does seem like we are comfortably past the surge in
demand that they enjoyed during the pandemic. So, what does all that mean
for the future of Chromebooks? Well, despite the rumors, I don't think
they're going away altogether. I do know Google has a bad habit of dropping
product lines, but the market penetration and the long-term support
commitments that they continue to make seem to indicate that abandoning them,
it's not likely. But that doesn't mean we're going to be stuck with the flimsy
status quo forever. What are our other options? >> One of them is Chrome OS Flex, which is
basically the ability to install Chrome OS on Windows and Mac laptops.
>> Nice. Thanks, David. In the case of my kid school, apparently only one person
has ever tried to use it, though. But it was successful. So, if you've ever used
Chrome OS Flex, let us know your thoughts down in the comments. And while
you're down there, let us know what you think of our picks. Did we get a good
value, an okay value, a bad value? What
would you guys have chosen? Would you have chosen this segue to our sponsor?
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