In a few weeks, we’re expecting to hear all of the details about the Samsung Galaxy Chromebook 2. That gives enough time for super sleuths to track down information on the successor to last year’s $999 Samsung Galaxy Chromebook. We’ve already seen the device renders and now there are some reported specifics on the internals as well as the price tag.
It appears that Samsung has redesigned the convertible Chromebook to bring the price down to $699.
I haven’t been able to validate the latest leaks, which come from WalkingCat on Twitter and were first reported by 9to5 Google:
The price is mentioned in a follow up to that tweet and based on the above image, I can see how Samsung would be able to go from a $999 Chromebook to one costing $699.
One of the big price reductions would (sadly) be swapping out the 13.3-inch 4K OLED display in the current model for a QLED panel. It could still have a 4K resolution, but I’m skeptical about that. QLED displays offer some brightness improvements over traditional LED screens, but nothing compares to OLED when looking at black or dark screen areas.
You’ll also notice a few keyboard changes, one of which I picked up on early this week: The embedded world camera is gone. That’s not a huge deal.
What is a big deal though is the removal of the fingerprint sensor in the keyboard. It’s so much easier and faster to log in or validate a password with a fingerprint sensor. Perhaps Samsung moved it to the power button? We’ll have to see.
Finally is the mention of a 10th-generation Intel Core i3 chipset. There’s nothing inherently wrong with that but it would be a step down from the 10th-gen Core i5 found in the existing Samsung Galaxy Chromebook.
It could be that there will be multiple configurations of the Samsung Galaxy Chromebook 2 with the base model priced at $699 with the previously mentioned internals.
Indeed, I’m kind of hoping that’s the case. It would make Samsung’s flagship Chromebook more accessible to a broader audience at a reduced price. And it would still allow power-users who want more processing power, or perhaps an OLED display, to purchase the configuration they want for the extra cost.
Again, we’ll know in a few weeks when Samsung announces all of the details. And potential buyers won’t have long to wait after that, given the expected availability date of February.
