One New Year’s resolution for Chromebook hardware needs to be innovation

Laptop hardware can get very boring at times. Stale periods happen with all the manufacturers and all the operating systems from time to time, and it has been at the root of phone makers trying for wild, new form factors like folding phones and devices with rolling screens. After enough time goes by, every hardware category hits a spot where innovation gets so iterative that it all feels very commonplace.

That’s where we are with Chromebooks at the moment. By and large, there are tons of options out there now with most of the features we’ve asked for over the years. Screens, keyboards, track pads, speakers, chassis and processors are all far better than they were a few years back at the same price point, and we really do have a wide selection of fantastic Chromebooks to choose from all under $699.

And I suppose you could argue the greatest innovation we should be on the lookout for in the Chromebook space is seeing all these great features continue showing up on more affordable devices, all being present across the board for ever-lowering price points. After all, if you could get the build quality and screen of the Samsung Galaxy Chromebook Plus and add touch input and premium speakers while still keeping the price down, you could say that would be an innovation in its own right.

New hardware additions

But what I’m wishing for is true innovation like we see with Windows laptops. I think the market will continue pushing better components down to lower-priced devices regardless of any further innovations in the laptop space, so I’m really more interested in seeing some outside-the-box thinking when it comes to Chromebooks as we head into 2025.

For instance, how about some real movement in the webcam game? Yeah, 1080p is nice, but what if Chromebooks leaned all the way into video calling as a core feature and started getting webcams that had real depth, color, and contrast that rivaled smartphone cameras? What if Chromebook cameras weren’t just getting by, but pushing the envelope of what was possible on a laptop? From tutorials to video calls to content creation, it would be amazing if the included camera on your device was more than just a mere utility and was actually a sensor you wanted to use on a regular basis.

Or, how about dual-screen setups like we see from ASUS in the Windows space? Their latest dual monitor laptop is pretty marvelous looking, and I don’t see any reason ChromeOS wouldn’t be right at home on something like that. As a laptop and as a workstation, the ASUS Zenbook Duo is well-made and the first dual-screen laptop that looks less like a gimmick and far more like a workhorse. I’d love to see a Chromebook like that!

Another innovation that is ripe for ChromeOS is some real integration with AR glasses. We’ve not tried it yet, but I’d imagine something like the XREAL glasses could make for a decent extended display; I’m just not sure about the limitations you may run into with them when using them on a Chromebook. It would be amazing to see Google or another Chromebook maker really work with one of these companies and build a unified AR experience for those looking to have a simple on-the-go external monitor in their pocket.

The last one that comes to mind without thinking too hard is a move to high-end ARM processors for performance, slim designs, and epic battery life. ChromeOS is perfectly fine running on ARM, but we’ve yet to see a device launch with a truly high-end ARM processor inside. It looks like the MediaTek MT8196 might finally be that SoC, and we have a couple devices (‘Hylia’ and ‘Navi’) that we are tracking with that processor inside, so hopefully 2025 will finally deliver a flagship ARM Chromebook or two to the masses.

Don’t get me wrong; innovation in a hardware space (laptops) that has been around for 30 years is tough. We’re not going to see quantum leaps, but there’s no denying that Chromebooks got real stale in 2024. While the innovations we’ll likely see are better components in even more affordable chassis moving forward, I’d still love to see a few surprises this year on the higher end. If we don’t keep pushing forward, everything gets stagnant. I don’t want to see that in the ChromeOS world, and I’m sure most of you don’t either. Here’s hoping for a more innovative 2025.