Here’s a quick look at how fast the new Chromebook Plus devices really are

Speed, simplicity and security. You’ve heard those words used for Chromebooks for years, and the move to Chromebook Plus hasn’t changed that philosophy from Google one bit. As a matter of fact, I’d go as far to say that Chromebook Plus is only here to further lean into two of those three pillars. Security is kind of a baked-in ChromeOS thing, so Chromebook Plus does little to change that part of the equation.

Enhancing simplicity

But speed and simplicity are categories that Chromebook Plus does move the needle on. From the title, I’m sure you’ve gathered that we’re here to talk about that speed pillar, but I do want to quickly touch on the simplicity part of this as well. ChromeOS takes most of the credit for supplying both Chromebook and Chromebook Plus devices with a seamless, simple experience.

But Chromebook Plus simplifies the purchase experience quite a bit. With these Chromebook Plus certified devices (not just the branded ones), you know you’re getting plenty of speed, storage, memory, and pixels on the screen to have a solid overall experience. So, instead of digging through loads of spec sheets, you can know that buying a Chromebook Plus certified device means the experience will largely be positive.

Enhancing speed

Now, on to what you came here for. What we’re really here to look at is the speed element present in all these Chromebook Plus models. Google gave these devices an SoC cutoff for a reason, and if that isn’t to make certain that there’s plenty of muscle under the hood, it was for naught. Rest assured when I tell you that Google’s line in the sand makes a difference, and you feel it when you crack open any of these Chromebook Plus models.

Generally speaking, Chromebook Plus models need a 12th-gen Core i3 “or better” and, for the time being at least, that means 12th and 13th-gen Intel Core i3 models dominate the scene with a couple AMD Ryzen 3 7320C’s thrown in here and there. I suppose there’s an argument for something like the MediaTek Kompanio 1380 to be included, but I think Google was trying to go with more mainline processors for Chromebook Plus to start with. And generally speaking, I think the cutoff works very well.

Chromebook Plus benchmark results

• Core i5-1240P
  • Speedometer 2.1 – 321
  • Octane – 84,000
• Core i5-1235U
  • Speedometer 2.1 – 318
  • Octane – 84,000
• Core i3-1315U
  • Speedometer 2.1 – 298
  • Octane – 83,000
• Core i3-1215U
  • Speedometer 2.1 – 303
  • Octane – 79,000
• Core i3-N305
  • Speedometer 2.1 – 189
  • Octane – 57,000
• AMD Ryzen 3 7320C
  • Speedometer 2.1 – 192
  • Octane – 57,000

As you can see, each of these processors comes packing plenty of speed under the hood. The large-core Intel chips (all of them except the N305) perform better than the AMD variants, but across the board, you’re getting enough processing power to not really feel slow down if you buy a Chromebook Plus certified device.

Clearly, if you want the most speed available in this class of Chromebook, you can go for the more-expensive devices like the Dragonfly Pro or Acer Chromebook Spin 714 and take advantage of the 12th or 13th-gen Core i5 or even i7 processors, but you’ll be paying a bit more for that. There are outliers like the excellent Acer Chromebook 516 GE that have tons of power, are great to use, and get sale prices down in the $500 range, but you need to keep an eye on our deals section to snag those when they show up.

The best part of all this is there’s not a massive amount of difference in computing power between the $700+ devices (i5/i7) and some of these newer, sub-$500 Chromebook Plus models with large-core Core i3’s inside (again, all of them except the N305 models). For more intensive games and such, the better GPU on the Core i5 and i7 models will help, but for general computing tasks, you’re likely going to be unable to tell the difference.

And that’s a great thing. If a device is labeled Chromebook Plus (either digitally or on the box and lid), you can rest easy knowing that these Chromebooks are legitimately fast. They take all the things you want to do on a Chromebook and simply make them faster. And that’s part of the promise of Chromebook Plus. They’re easier to identify, and fast no matter what. And at the end of the day, isn’t that the majority of what you’re looking for when shopping for a Chromebook? For the more minor details, just keep coming back here to Chrome Unboxed as we continue sorting through all this new hardware in the coming weeks.