New Samsung Galaxy Chromebook 2 leak reveals battery gains, processor, and more

Another day, another Galaxy Chromebook 2 leak. This one comes hot on the heals of the press renders that just showed themselves less than two days ago, but it comes with far more info about Samsung’s new addition to the Galaxy Chromebook lineup. Included in this press slide is a bit more information on the upcoming device, including processors, battery life claims, speaker improvements, and more.

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— WalkingCat (@_h0x0d_) December 23, 2020

As you can see in the slide, these are simply marketing terms and as always, we’ll hold our thoughts for a proper review down the line. This fiery-red Chromebook looks to address one of the huge hangups with the original Samsung Galaxy Chromebooks, however, as Samsung is claiming 12+ hours. Again, real trials will tell the truth on this, but that is far better than the 8 hours claimed on the original Galaxy Chromebook. If you remember, that device still barely gets 4-5 hours of real use.

Additionally, we get confirmation on the QLED screen (a first for Chromebooks), a mention of premium sound that is 178% louder (than what, we don’t know), a weigh-in at 2.75lbs (up a half pound from the scant 2.2lbs on the original Galaxy Chromebook), and a mention on the processor being used: 10th-gen Intel Core i3. Finally, the new render in this leak makes it clear that the fingerprint scanner has been removed in this iteration, too.

Finally, the leaker (WalkingCat @_h0x0d_ on Twitter) let on that the starting price for the new Galaxy Chromebook will be $699. Other than this tweet, we have no firm evidence this is the case, but I could see that being in the ballpark.  Samsung always leans towards a bit pricey in their Chromebook hardware and they are no stranger to discounts and deals. Think about the Samsung Chromebook Plus v2 for a minute. That device was pretty nice, a bit pricier than we thought it deserved, and constantly on sale. I’d expect the same thing, here.

The odd move to me is in the naming. Assuming this is all correct (it looks like it is at this point), calling this the Galaxy Chromebook 2 feels like a miss already. Appending ‘2’ to any model gives off a vibe of a replacement that is meant to supersede the predecessor. From the looks of it, the Samsung Galaxy Chromebook 2 is not going to do that at all. From the original, we’re taking a step back in the processor department, losing the fingerprint scanner, losing the AMOLED screen (though QLED is very nice) and dropping a bit of the premium aesthetic from the original.

However, we’re also gaining battery life, better speakers, and a $300 discount on the MSRP. 2021 will be replete with high-end Chromebooks with both the 11th-gen Intel Tiger Lake processors and all the new AMD chips on the way, so I think Samsung is making a good move into the upper mid-range with this device if it comes in at the rumored $699 and sees consistent mark-downs. But the competition in this space is fierce with devices like the Lenovo Flex 5 and the excellent Acer Spin 713 to contend with, so they’ll have their work cut out for them.

Much of this device’s success and failure will hinge on the feel and build quality Samsung offers, and no leaked images can answer to that. If this Chromebook feels like the original Galaxy Chromebook, performs well, the screen is fantastic, the speakers are booming, the keyboard and trackpad are top-notch, and the battery life delivers, I could see $600+ making sense for a lot of users. We won’t know that until we get one, so stay tuned for more. It looks like we’ll be seeing this Chromebook at CES 2021 or shortly after for sure at this point.