Samsung announces a shocking new Chromebook with a standout screen and confusing name

BETT 2022 is ongoing in London right now, and as we’ve seen in the past, it can be a spot where Chromebook makers introduce new hardware with very little notice. Such is the case with Samsung and their latest, oddly-named Galaxy Chromebook 2 360. This is a device we’ve been keeping tabs on as ‘Bugzzy’ over the past few months and without much warning, it is now official.

First, we need to talk about the naming of this Chromebook. Though Samsung hasn’t released too many new Chrome OS devices over the past few years, their naming has been really solid. In 2020 we saw the first Samsung Galaxy Chromebook. 2021 gave us the Samsung Galaxy Chromebook 2 that wasn’t really an upgrade or sequel to the original Galaxy Chromebook as much as it was simply the second Galaxy-branded Chromebook the company made.

Then last year we got the Samsung Galaxy Chromebook Go, a device that was larger than both the original Galaxy Chromebooks, but came with far more inferior specs and a much lower price tag. Odd releases? Sure. But at least the naming was relatively clean and made a bit of sense. With this new one, I’m not really sure I can say that. The Samsung Galaxy Chromebook 2 is already a 360-degree convertible, so launching a new device that is once again called the Galaxy Chromebook 2 with a “360” appended on the end makes absolutely no sense at all to me. But here we are.

The synergy between Samsung and BETT 2022, designed to inspire and power the next generation of innovators, makes this the ideal opportunity to unveil the Galaxy Chromebook 2 360. Built with flexibility and versatility at its heart, the 360-degree convertible touchscreen design offers the best of laptop and tablet experiences, to provide a go-to device for students on the move.

Joe Walsh, Director of B2B at Samsung Electronics UK and Ireland.

Interesting specs

Naming aside, there are some interesting things going on here. On the outside, this Chromebook looks a lot like the Samsung Galaxy Chromebook Go with a silver exterior and all-black interior. Depending on the materials used, this could be a nice little Chromebook at 12.4-inches. The lines look nice and the more-boxy edges keep things looking sharp and modern. I’ll hold off on my other opinions until we get one here in the office.

That 12.4-inch screen is a bit of an oddity, too, coming in at a bit over QHD (2560×1600) with a 16:10 aspect ratio. Even more compelling is the fact that Samsung is being quite forward with the fact that this is also a 350 nit screen, so this new Galaxy Chromebook 2 360 won’t have any issues with sharpness or brightness at all.

What is quite strange is the fact that this screen is getting paired up with the most basic internals, sporting only 4GB of RAM (no upgrade options) and either 64GB or 128GB of eMMC storage. This is all being driven by the entry-level Jasper Lake Intel Celeron N4500 processor. While not a slouch, this is the most basic, small-core processor Intel offers in their latest line, so performance will be just OK. As a side note, I’d love to at least see an option for the N6000 Pentium Silver chip for this one.

Connectivity looks solid, though, with Wi-Fi 6, optional LTE, 2 USB Type C ports, and a single USB Type A port. It isn’t officially listed for the Galaxy Chromebook 2 360, but the Celeron N4500 supports Bluetooth 5, so we’d expect that on board as well.

The device will also come with a larger keyboard than the Samsung Chromebook 4 along with a larger trackpad. All of this will be spill-resistant as well as this device is being geared towards students and for use in the classroom.

General availability

Samsung says the Galaxy Chromebook 2 360 will become widely available from both Samsung and major retailers starting on April 15th. This info comes from the Samsung UK site, so wider availability in other markets is unclear at this point. Prices are set to £419 for the standard 4GB/64GB model and £499 for the 4GB/128GB/LTE model. How those prices will translate to the US and other markets is undefined at this point.

We’ve reached out to Samsung to clear up the questions on wider availability and we’ll keep everyone updated as we learn more about this latest Chromebook from the company. We clearly didn’t see this one coming and the idea of pairing a flagship-style screen with an entry-level Chromebook is definitely interesting. If the build quality is decent and the keyboard/trackpad aren’t detractors, this could be a very interesting package, indeed. We’ll hopefully see soon enough.