The Lenovo Chromebook Plus 14 is amazing, but we’re still waiting for one of its headlining features

Let me be clear: the new Lenovo Chromebook Plus 14 is, without a doubt, the best Chromebook I have ever used. From the moment I unboxed it, I’ve been blown away by its performance, its build quality, and that gorgeous OLED screen. It’s a truly fantastic piece of hardware.

And a huge part of the excitement around this new device was the suite of new AI-powered features for Chromebook Plus that Google announced alongside it. We’ve seen many of them arrive, and they’re great. But a full month after the big reveal, I’m still left asking: where is “Select to Search?”

The promise of ‘Select to Search’

Of all the new software tricks shown off, “Select to Search” was arguably the headliner. It’s the Chromebook equivalent of the incredibly useful “Circle to Search” feature on Android phones, and its premise is simple: long-press the launcher button (on your keyboard or on-screen), select anything you see, and get instant, contextual information from Google Lens without ever leaving your current window.

It’s exactly the kind of smart, seamless, AI-driven feature that makes the entire Chromebook Plus ecosystem more compelling. It sounded awesome, and I’ve been eager to try it since the moment it was announced.

A somewhat-frustratingly slow rollout

The problem is, I still can’t. A month has passed, and “Select to Search” has not appeared on my brand-new Lenovo Chromebook Plus 14, nor has it shown up on any of the other Chromebook Plus models I use daily.

And that’s what I find so baffling. I can understand a staggered, server-side rollout for a new feature. But you would think that the new “hero” device—the very Chromebook that was on stage and used to debut all these new capabilities—would have been the first in line to get it. For a headlining feature to be a complete no-show on the showcase hardware a month after launch is a bit disappointing.

I know this feature will show up eventually. I have no doubt it’s on the way. But the delay is a letdown for all the enthusiastic users who bought this new Chromebook, excited to try out the new software tricks that were advertised alongside it. It highlights a recurring frustration I have with Google’s software announcements: the timeline for actual delivery can often be frustratingly vague.

So, while I continue to absolutely love using this new Chromebook, a part of me is still waiting for the full experience to be delivered. Hopefully, it will be soon.