Why I’m still betting we’ll see a Samsung Galaxy Chromebook Plus with 16GB of RAM

As of yesterday, the Samsung Galaxy Chromebook Plus went from “coming soon” to “arriving now.” For those who ordered theirs already or who chose to swing by a local Best Buy store yesterday, the process of settling in with Samsung’s latest Chromebook has officially begun. Our own unboxing will be available soon, and we’re really just getting started on the story of the Galaxy Chromebook Plus as users start truly weighing in on what they think of this svelte, light, AMOLED-toting Chromebook.

And though we were originally led to believe this device would be a single spec, we always thought that might not be the case. Before the Galaxy Chromebook Plus was made official, you might remember the fact that we found Geekbench 6 results that showcased a version with the Intel Core 5-120U processor and 16GB of RAM: two notable upgrades from the model we have available now.

And then just last week, we reported that over in the UK, there is already a variant available with the Intel Core 5-120U inside right on Samsung’s UK-based website. While it sticks with the same 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage, it kicked the door wide open to the idea that the model we saw tested a few months back might actually exist.

Think about it for a second with me. Which is harder: dealing with a more powerful processor in this thin/light chassis or swapping out the RAM stick? You shouldn’t have to think too long about it. Obviously it’s far more difficult to make sure the thermals and the chassis will work with a different, upgraded processor. They could change the RAM out without a thought.

So if the Core 5 model already exists (it does), then the version with a bump up in the RAM department would be no issue. And, honestly, if they are going to do that, why not swap the storage for a 512GB unit as well and deliver a Samsung Galaxy Chromebook Plus with the Intel Core 5-120U, 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage? Call it $899, make it available only on Samsung.com, and I’d guarantee they’ll sell quite a few of them.

Will it happen? I’d wager if the adoption rate of the base model is good enough, we’ll see it happen for sure. The market for an $899 Chromebook is still small, so it would need to hit enterprise channels to really make sense. But I think if Samsung makes this spec available in general, they’ll move quite a few units. While I’m still on the side of the fence that thinks the standard spec we have now is quite enough for 95% of users, I always love options. Here’s hoping Samsung gives them to us.