AMD touts first “Zen”-based Chromebook processors to arm fleets of upcoming devices

HP was the first to let the cat out of the bag with its announcement of the first AMD Ryzen Chromebooks headed to markets later this year but AMD (Advanced Micro Devices) had some news to share of their own about these new chipsets that are built on the Zen architecture. The Athlon and Ryzen processors have been appended with a “C” at the end of the model numbers to denote that they are designed specifically for Chrome OS devices. We’ve been tracking these chips for quite some time and despite them not being the latest generation from AMD, this announcement is huge news for the Chromebook ecosystem.

The announcement arrived in conjunction with the release of the HP Pro c645 and clearly stated that more devices from all the major players are on the way and soon. As exciting as new devices are, the performance numbers that AMD rolled off make this announcement exponentially more mouthwatering. Citing the Ryzen 3700C which is the most powerful of the bunch, here’s what AMD says we can expect from the new Chromebook chip that’s come to challenge Intel.

• Up to 251% better graphics performance compared to previous generation AMD Chromebooks
• Up to 104% faster office productivity performance compared to previous generation AMD Chromebooks
• Up to 152% better photo editing performance than previous generation AMD Chromebooks

Some of these enhancements are thanks to the more robust Radeon graphics that happen to have 10 cores on this particular chipset. AMD has been working closely with Google to prepare the way for the next generation of AMD Chromebooks and Chrome OS VP John Solomon chimed in with his thoughts on the project.

Our partnership with AMD, along with the unprecedented offering of Ryzen processor-based Chromebooks, gives consumers and businesses an even broader choice of affordable Chromebook designs that deliver blazing fast connectivity, long battery life and the ability to power through multitasking workloads.

John Solomon, VP Chrome OS

We were fairly confident that we’d see these new chipsets from AMD appear in devices from multiple manufactures but this announcement solidifies that theory. As a matter of fact, Acer states in the press release that they already have an AMD Ryzen Chromebook which leads me to believe that the PC giant will be making an announcement in the very near future.

Acer is continuing its history of leadership and innovation in the Chromebook market by utilizing new AMD Ryzen and Athlon 3000 C-Series Mobile Processors in our upcoming product line, which will give customers what they need to excel at school, work and home. Our new AMD-based Acer Chromebooks will deliver a heightened level of power, graphics performance, responsiveness and efficiency, allowing our customers to tackle challenging projects and take advantage of the growing range of apps and extensions in the Chrome ecosystem.

James Lin, GM, Notebooks, IT Products Business, Acer Inc.

Rounding out the bunch, Lenovo chimed in which is great news for Chromebook fans. Lenovo has a hit with the Flex 5 Chromebook but the company has been relatively quiet on the premium device front since the launch of the Yoga C630. This is a space where Lenovo has continued to have hit after hit with devices like the Flex 5 and the Duet Chromebook. We’d love to see them market a wider range of premium and mid-range devices.

Designed for the evolving demands on laptops, Lenovo systems powered by AMD processors will balance knockout performance with portability, enabling users to get things done remotely and on the move.

Jerry Paradise, VP commercial portfolio, PC & Smart Devices at Lenovo

AMD stated that we can expect devices from ASUS, Acer and Lenovo during Q4 of 2020 and you can bet we’ll be on the lookout for these new models. The affordability factor of AMD chips combined with the premium performance could forever reshape the Chrome OS market and that’s a very, very good thing. To read then entire release, head over to AMD and check it out.