Over the weekend, an unannounced 14″ clamshell Chromebook from ASUS popped up in an Amazon listing that leads us to believe that the PC giant will be unveiling said device at IFA Berlin. The massive consumer electronics trade show begins Friday, September 6th and ASUS is set to be there in full force as they celebrate 30 years in the industry.
In digging around for more information on the ASUS Chromebook C425, I was lead the the Chrome OS servers where updates and recovery images live. As I suspected, the new C425 shares the exact same firmware as its convertible sibling, the Flip C434. However, alongside the two devices, I quickly noticed a third Chromebook that I’ve never heard of.
The ASUS Chromebook Flip C433. No other information is available about the mystery device but it does share the same ‘Shyvans’ codename as the Flip C434. That could be an indication that it is internally and functionally identical to the current Flip. Perhaps a different screen size? Maybe ASUS is jumping on the 15.6″ convertible bandwagon. If the C433 is powered by the same Amber Lake Core m3, there would be no reason to give the device a new codename. Just slap the board into a larger (or maybe smaller) chassis and call it a day.
It’s possible that the unreleased C433 could be a rehash of the 14″ C434 with some added features like, maybe a stylus but that would be a first for ASUS outside of rugged EDU devices. My guess is that we’ll see something in the 12″-13″ range when the C433 is unveiled but that is completely a guess. Who knows, maybe ASUS finally broke down a made a premium successor to the 10.1″ Flip C100/C101. Your guess is as good as mine but either way, we’ll be watching the ASUS presser later this week to see exactly what these guys have been up to. Stay tuned for IFA coverage as it happens.
