Proof that Samsung’s Galaxy Chromebook Plus is just around the corner

While we may be smack-dab in the middle of summer, fall feels a tad bit closer than usual at this point in the year. Perhaps that is due to Google’s Pixel Hardware Event happening far sooner than normal (August 13th), back to school looming, or my always-eager desire to see cooler temperatures on the forecast. Regardless, it really does feel like fall is just around the corner, and that is exciting for Chromebook enthusiasts like myself.

You see, we fully expect another Chromebook event this fall like we had last fall and then again this past May. While not confirmed at this point, it feels quite likely that another, similar get together will happen to unveil new ChromeOS features and new Chromebook hardware.

Some certainty that Samsung will be there

And this time around, we will very likely have a new device from Samsung there to greet us. If you haven’t been around Chrome Unboxed over the past few months, you may have missed all the hype around ‘Xol’ – a new Chromebook Plus on the way from Samsung. We’ve taken the liberty of simply calling it the Samsung Galaxy Chromebook Plus. If it is named anything else, I’ll be shocked.

It will definitely have some interesting additions as well, including an OLED screen, a dedicated Assistant key, larger form factor with a numeric keypad, a dedicated dictation button, and even an accessibility key. The whole thing sounds like it could become something similar to the recent Galaxy Book 4 devices Samsung released in the Windows market, and if that’s the case, we could be in for something pretty special.

ME Locked and on the way

One of the ways we can tell that Intel-powered Chromebooks are ready to start production and are prepping for store shelves is by finding a change in the Chromium Gerrit that shows the Intel Management Engine (ME) is locked. This basically means the SoC firmware included on the device is finalized, locked, and ready to head out the door.

While this doesn’t mean we’ll see this new Chromebook from Samsung tomorrow, it means we’re in the final stages of development before we see it begin leaving the factory and making it to retailers for purchase. Again, this process takes time, but we fully expect to see this Chromebook at Google’s fall Chromebook Event, and without another Google hardware event to compete with this year, the ChromeOS team could perhaps showcase the new hardware a tad earlier than last year.

I’d reckon we’ll know something sooner than later and that by late August, there will be some rumblings of an event in September or very early October. Even with the latter, we’re only talking about 2 months before we see some new Chromebooks, and I’m very excited for it. Where May’s event gave us some great, iterative hardware, I think this fall’s event is going to deliver some big moves for Chromebook Plus. Stay tuned.