For a time, 4GB of RAM was the sweet spot for Chrome OS devices but times are changing rapidly thanks to the addition of Android and Linux apps. Combine that with the fact that more and more “traditional” computing experiences are now being delivered via the browser.
As far as budget Chromebooks are concerned, 4GB is still ample enough memory to handle moderate tasks but flagship devices powered by Intel Core processors not only deserve more, they need it.
In my humble opinion, manufacturers shouldn’t release a premium Chromebook without a bare minimum of 8GB of RAM especially when the starting price of most of these models lands somewhere in the $550 range on go up from there and you’re quickly dropping nearly a grand on hardware.
Lenovo and HP appear to have figured this out as their latest Kaby Lake Chromebooks only come with 8GB. Now, if they will only offer the option to upgrade to 16GB without a major price hike.
ASUS’ latest entry into the premium market is about as highly-anticipated as any device we’ve seen and thus far, it has met the expectations we put on it back at CES in January.
Upon release, things played out exactly as we expected. the base Core m3, 4GB model is beautiful and performs well enough for most consumers but we, like many, are already asking “where are the souped-up models?”
Yeah, we want the Core i7 with all the RAMs and more storage. While we will have to wait a bit longer for those versions, the 8GB variation of the Core m3 model is now available on Amazon despite being absent from ASUS’ website.
The specs are identical to the original model sans the memory. For a $30 price bump, you get the Core m3 paired with 8GB and 64GB of storage. The extra 4GB of RAM is what many have been waiting for as the Core m3-8100Y processor packs plenty of power it just needs that extra memory to run at peak efficiency.
Amazon has the ASUS C434 list as shipping in 1-3 months which is usually an indicator that the manufacturer is on the cusp of the official launch.
