Best Buy lists 2 new Chromebook Plus models, including the new 516 GE

Here’s the thing: Chromebook launches are rarely (if ever) a buttoned up affair. When you think of iPhones or Pixel devices and their rumors, announcements, and official availability options, there are pretty hard dates everyone understands and sticks to. For Chromebooks – even pretty popular ones – that’s just not the case most of the time.

And today, while searching for the latest deals, I actually came across a couple new Chromebook Plus models that haven’t been made official just yet. One of them is the Acer Chromebook 516 GE refresh that I’ve previously found evidence for, and it looks pretty amazing.

The second device is what looks to be an update for the ASUS Chromebook Plus CX34, albeit a very minor upgrade. From what I can tell thus far, the new CX34 will simply swap out the processor and move up to a 13th-gen Intel Core i5-1335U. From the listing, it seems not much else has changed with this one, and with a $499 price tag, I’m a bit uncertain about the thought process from ASUS, here. Sure, it’s a lot more performance, but I don’t know that anyone was upset with the 12-gen Core i3 the existing model has, so a big performance bump feels odd in this category.

The new, all-black 516 GE looks awesome

On the other hand, the updated Acer Chromebook 516 GE looks amazing! They’ve changed to an all-black look this time around, but kept all the stuff I loved in the original device. The huge, 16-inch 120Hz screen is still here, the RGB keyboard, port selection, and general chassis look the same, too, but we now have an upgraded Intel Core 5 Series 1 processor inside, and that should be a nice boost for the 516 GE’s already-solid performance.

There aren’t a ton of other specifics in the listing, but Acer stuck with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of NVMe storage, so users should be all good in the storage and RAM department – though I would have loved to see an upgrade to 16GB of RAM. The 350 nits of brightness, upward-facing speakers, and 3.8 pound chassis are still here as well, so I’ll be pretty happy with the update if the keyboard backlight is a bit brighter and the speakers are improved a bit.

With both of these devices already up for order on Best Buy right now, the official launch feels imminent. The delivery window on both devices is May 22nd if you opt to have them shipped, so some official news is likely coming this week. While the ASUS looks a bit underwhelming to me at the moment, this new 516 GE is looking like my dream Chromebook right now, and the fact that it has kept the $649 price tag is amazing. So, who’s ordering one?