The Samsung Galaxy Chromebook 2: A Premium Device with a Twist

This is the Samsung Galaxy Chromebook 2, it's Samsung's latest premium chromebook and the follow-up to the original that came out last year. Let's have a look in a bit of an odd twist, Samsung actually dialed back on some of the features and components making this sequel more affordable and it has much better battery life but it keeps the same premium look and feel.

The Galaxy Chromebook 2 starts at $550, which might seem high but the first gen is a thousand dollars so it is quite a bit less. The original had a Core i5 processor while the Galaxy Chromebook 2 base model gets you an Intel Celeron processor, 4 gigs of memory and a 64 gig SSD. This 700 configuration that I used has an Intel Core i3 and twice the memory in storage but it's otherwise the same as the base model.

Aside from the components what did Samsung jettison? A big one and a big reason why you can get double digit battery life with this is the display which is a Full HD QLED panel instead of a 4K AMOLED panel. The AMOLED looks fantastic but this one is nice looking too and it covers a 100 DCI P3 color gamut, and I'd rather have the 12 hour battery life that I got on our streaming video test with this one then more pixels and 7 hours of battery life.

The other biggest change is that Samsung removed the included S Pen from this one instead, this supports USI pens so if you want to draw or take notes on the screen you'll have to buy a pen like this Lenovo USI Pen. Since this is a two-in-one Chromebook it is nice to have one and Samsung says there's no plans to make a USI Pen at the moment but it should work with any of them along with the S Pen.

Samsung removed the 13 megapixel world facing camera from above the left side of the keyboard and the fingerprint reader from the upper right corner of the keyboard. The fingerprint reader is nice but you can use your phone to unlock Chrome so not the end of the world, while the camera comes in handy on occasion for snapping picks of documents it's not a must-have.

The one thing I wish Samsung hadn't messed with is the speaker positioning, the first-gen model speakers are on the sides while these fire down so if you're using it on a bed or a couch or your lap the sound is muffled. The speakers do sound good though and have more power to them so that helps too. Samsung did address one other issue from the first gen version and that's heat, there's now a vent at the back which helps keep this cooler so it doesn't get too warm while you are using it on your lap.

It is rare that a second gen device is actually better because there's less to it but that's essentially the case here if you're a full-time Chromebook user or a heavy user I'd say it's worth it to go with the top configuration for $700 but at $550 the base model should be fine for regular use and it's still a nice looking premium package.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enthis is the samsung galaxy chromebook 2. it's samsung's latest premium chromebook and the follow-up to the original that came out last year let's have a look in a bit of an odd twist samsung actually dialed back on some of the features and components making this sequel more affordable and it has much better battery life but it keeps the same premium look and feel the galaxy chromebook 2 starts at 550 dollars which might seem high but the first gen is a thousand dollars so it is quite a bit less the original had a core i5 processor while the galaxy chromebook 2 base model gets you an intel celeron processor 4 gigs of memory and a 64 gig ssd this 700 configuration that i used has an intel core i3 and twice the memory in storage but it's otherwise the same as the base model so aside from the components what did samsung jettison the big one and a big reason why you can get double digit battery life with this is the display which is a full hd qled panel instead of a 4k amoled panel the amoled looks fantastic but this one is nice looking too and it covers a 100 dci p3 color gamut and i'd rather have the 12 hour battery life that i got on our streaming video test with this one then more pixels and 7 hours of battery life the other biggest change is that samsung removed the included s pen from this one instead this supports usi pens so if you want to draw or take notes on the screen you'll have to buy a pen like this lenovo usi pen since this is a two in one chromebook it is nice to have one and samsung says there's no plans to make a usi pen at the moment but it should work with any of them along with the s pen samsung removed the 13 megapixel world facing camera from above the left side of the keyboard and the fingerprint reader from the upper right corner of the keyboard the fingerprint reader is nice but you can use your phone to unlock chrome so not the end of the world and while the camera comes in handy on occasion for snapping picks of documents it's not a must-have the one thing i wish samsung hadn't messed with is the speaker positioning the first-gen model speakers are on the sides while these fire down so if you're using it on a bed or a couch or your lap the sound is muffled the speakers do sound good though and have more power to them so that helps too samsung did address one other issue from the first gen version and that's heat there's now a vent at the back which helps keep this cooler so it doesn't get too warm while you are using it on your lap so that's a look at the samsung galaxy chromebook 2. it's rare that a second gen device is actually better because there's less to it but that's essentially the case here if you're a full-time chromebook user or a heavy user i'd say it's worth it to go with the top configuration for 700 but at 550 the base model should be fine for regular use and it's still a nice looking premium packagethis is the samsung galaxy chromebook 2. it's samsung's latest premium chromebook and the follow-up to the original that came out last year let's have a look in a bit of an odd twist samsung actually dialed back on some of the features and components making this sequel more affordable and it has much better battery life but it keeps the same premium look and feel the galaxy chromebook 2 starts at 550 dollars which might seem high but the first gen is a thousand dollars so it is quite a bit less the original had a core i5 processor while the galaxy chromebook 2 base model gets you an intel celeron processor 4 gigs of memory and a 64 gig ssd this 700 configuration that i used has an intel core i3 and twice the memory in storage but it's otherwise the same as the base model so aside from the components what did samsung jettison the big one and a big reason why you can get double digit battery life with this is the display which is a full hd qled panel instead of a 4k amoled panel the amoled looks fantastic but this one is nice looking too and it covers a 100 dci p3 color gamut and i'd rather have the 12 hour battery life that i got on our streaming video test with this one then more pixels and 7 hours of battery life the other biggest change is that samsung removed the included s pen from this one instead this supports usi pens so if you want to draw or take notes on the screen you'll have to buy a pen like this lenovo usi pen since this is a two in one chromebook it is nice to have one and samsung says there's no plans to make a usi pen at the moment but it should work with any of them along with the s pen samsung removed the 13 megapixel world facing camera from above the left side of the keyboard and the fingerprint reader from the upper right corner of the keyboard the fingerprint reader is nice but you can use your phone to unlock chrome so not the end of the world and while the camera comes in handy on occasion for snapping picks of documents it's not a must-have the one thing i wish samsung hadn't messed with is the speaker positioning the first-gen model speakers are on the sides while these fire down so if you're using it on a bed or a couch or your lap the sound is muffled the speakers do sound good though and have more power to them so that helps too samsung did address one other issue from the first gen version and that's heat there's now a vent at the back which helps keep this cooler so it doesn't get too warm while you are using it on your lap so that's a look at the samsung galaxy chromebook 2. it's rare that a second gen device is actually better because there's less to it but that's essentially the case here if you're a full-time chromebook user or a heavy user i'd say it's worth it to go with the top configuration for 700 but at 550 the base model should be fine for regular use and it's still a nice looking premium package\n"