Why is $1000 acceptable for an Android tablet, but not a well-made Chromebook?

A strange dichotomy exists in the tech world right now, and if you weren’t shopping for a larger, portable electronic device (i.e. – not a phone), you may not even realize it. What I’m talking about is the perspective disorientation that surrounds high-end, more-expensive Chromebooks. Since Chromebooks were initially created and marketed as cheap, lightweight, and simple devices, the growth out of that space has been difficult to achieve at the consumer end of the market.

You don’t have to look much further than the comments surrounding the recently-released HP Dragonfly Pro Chromebook or the Framework Laptop Chromebook Edition. Both devices are $999 and when it comes to Chromebooks and many potential buyers out there, those prices simply cannot be attached to a device that’s just a browser. Though we all know Chromebooks are far more than that here in 2023, the prevailing opinion still persists that Chromebooks cannot be worth $999. And that’s simply not true.

We’ve beat this into the ground around here at this point, but I’ll at least say this about high-end Chromebooks: if a particular tool is the preferred one for you (as it is in my case), spending money on a nicer overall experience isn’t wasteful and still provides plenty of value. I’ve never advocated that Chromebooks are the answer to every computing need and I still don’t think that; but where they make sense, Chromebooks are valuable tools for securely and swiftly getting tasks done. And if you prefer one OS over another (MacOS vs. Windows, anyone?), why shouldn’t you have a few options for nicer hardware when it comes to screens, keyboards, processors, and chassis?

Back to the issue at hand

Advocating for higher quality Chromebooks isn’t exactly what I’m here to talk about today, however, and I’m far more interested in talking about the plainly unfair perception that an Android tablet that costs north of $1000 is OK when a $999 Chromebook is absurd. We saw a few of these new Android tablets at CES 2023 and I’ll be the first to admit it: the hardware is beautiful through and through.

Devices like the new Lenovo Tab Extreme and the latest Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra are wonderful looking on a desk, fast on the inside, come with impeccable screens, and have keyboard accessories that would be well suited for a day’s work in just about any scenario. But at the end of the day, are you really going to do all your work on an Android tablet? There’s an argument for iPads here becuase of the vast app library, but Android tablets aren’t great when used as a desktop. Passable? Sure. Good enough for work every day? No thanks.

And at the prices these tablets demand, I’d assume most people are buying them as their consumption and production devices. While there are some folks with an extra $1000 to shell out for a big tablet that they’ll only use on the couch, I’d wager most people buy these pricier devices to have a lightweight, on-the-go device for getting productive with, too.

And that’s where all this becomes extremely perplexing. We all know the experience with Samsung’s Dex or Lenovo’s take on the Android desktop is nowhere near as good as what you get on a Windows, MacOS or ChromeOS device. It’s passble, but it isn’t great. So these $1000+ tablets might be great for content consumption and basic tasks like email and social media, but they aren’t the full productivity machines you get with even a far cheaper Chromebook.

So why don’t we have people losing their minds over the prices on them? Why is spending over $1000 on a beautiful piece of hardware that is quite limited in scope OK when it is an Android tablet and all of the sudden a massive fail when it is a Chromebook? Both have significant limitations versus a Windows or MacOS device, but I’d argue that Chromebooks and Android tablets both have some significant upside as well.

But at the end of the day, I’m not comparing Chromebooks to Windows laptops, here. I’m specifically talking about high-end Android tablets, and I just don’t understand the duality, here. Expensive Android tablet reviews do tend to point out the high price, but they almost always fail to point out the fact that consumers paying that price are doing so for a limited software experience. Instead, it simply feels like the price warning is there to point out the high price tag that comes along with thin, light, gorgeous hardware.

Yet, with Chromebooks, the expense complaint always comes back to the limitations of the OS. They are there, sure, but I’m far less limited on a Chromebook than I am on an Android tablet. With similarly high-end hardware on top-tier Chromebooks, I can’t for the life of me understand why these devices constantly get called out for their $999 price tag. In nearly every review of the HP Dragonfly Pro Chromebook, price was listed as a massive negative mainly because of ChromeOS; and you don’t have to look too hard to see the comments here, on YouTube and on social media that call out that device as far too expensive “for a Chromebook.”

It’s frustrating, for sure, and I just wish there was a fix for this mentality. With this sort of reception to nicer Chromebooks, it’s tough to ask manufacturers to take a stab at something like the Dragonfly Pro Chromebook in the future.

I guess the takeaway at the end of the day is this: use the tool that is right for the job you are doing. If that’s an Android tablet and you want the best overall experience, go get an awesome one. If you need an app that only Windows can provide, go get the best Windows device you can afford (they get crazy-expensive near the top). And if you require something like Final Cut, then go get a Macbook. But if speed, simplicity and security matter a whole lot to you and you enjoy navigating your work and consumption on ChromeOS, ignore the haters and go get a nice Chromebook. You’ll be glad you did.