The new MediaTek Kompanio Ultra Chromebooks are the only ones I want to use

I’ve realized something about my daily carry of late – I only seem to gravitate to one of two MediaTek Kompanio Ultra devices. Where I usually end up moving back to something like the Acer Chromebook Plus 516 GE once my reviews are finished up – thanks to that large, bright display and extra resolution – I’ve not done that this time around.

Between the Lenovo Chromebook Plus 14 and the Acer Chromebook Plus Spin 514, I’ve not only had zero desire to switch back; I’ve become somewhat reliant on one of the core features of these new ARM-powered Chromebooks: extraordinary battery life paired to excellent overall performance.

The Kompanio Ultra difference

Both of these devices are powered by the new MediaTek Kompanio Ultra processor. While I’ve always been a fan of ARM chips for their efficiency, this new silicon is in a different league. It delivers the high-level performance I need for heavy multitasking without the battery anxiety that usually accompanies it.

With the Lenovo Chromebook Plus 14, I’m seeing the 17-hour battery claim actually hold up in real life. I can easily go two full workdays without even thinking about a charger. The Acer Chromebook Plus Spin 514 is just as impressive, breezing through long work sessions with plenty of juice to spare. Most weekends, I don’t even bother looking for a charger to make it back to Monday. There’s literally no need.

Performance without the penalty

Usually, there’s a trade-off. If you want a fast Chromebook with a great screen, you accept mediocre battery life in the range of 6-7 hours of use. It’ll get you through a work day, but not without a tad bit of charger anxiety. But these Kompanio Ultra devices break that rule.

Despite the generally power-hungry display features (OLED on the Lenovo and 120Hz on the Acer), they just keep going and going. And I’m not constantly concerned with the percentage on my screen brightness, either. With the Acer being a 300 nit panel, I usually keep it cranked up to 80% or higher on most days, and 14-16 hours of battery life is still absolutely achievable.

When it comes down to it, the freedom of leaving my charger behind and knowing I won’t be hunting for an outlet at 2 PM has completely won me over. To be fair, MediaTek has done something pretty special by pairing that comfort with rock-solid performance, so with both of these Chromebooks, I don’t feel like I have to make any trade-offs.

And that’s pretty damning for Intel-powered Chromebooks right now. While there isn’t an army of these MediaTek Kompanio Ultra devices, there is at least one more on the way that has very close ties to Google (‘Sapphire’) and other Snapdragon X devices also on the way.

We’re not to full ARM takeover for Chromebooks just yet, but the MediaTek Kompanio Ultra has raised the bar so high that we are definitely headed in that direction. It was always a matter of time, and now that powerful, battery-sipping ARM processors in Chromebooks exist, I think it will be tough sledding for Intel in this space moving forward.