Apart from the glamor of the Samsung Galaxy Chromebook and its brilliantly like-minded successor, this tech giant has been considerate enough to make Chrome OS laptops for the budget range as well. In doing so, the South Korean company has come up with the Chromebook Plus V2, which is a follow-up device to the original Chromebook Plus. This machine costs about $300 if you purchase it through Amazon, but its MSRP is slated for $499.99.
We have heard quite a lot about the Chromebook Plus V2, and it has seemingly gathered its fair share of popularity all across the spectrum. Reviews coming in from left and right all talk about how great this Chromebook is, so we’ve decided to take it for a spin and check for ourselves whether the Plus V2 only talks the talk or does it walk the walk as well.
Therefore, in this review article, we’ll be highlighting the technical specifications of the Samsung Chromebook Plus V2 and talking about its significant strengths and weaknesses, so potential buyers like you can come to a definite purchasing decision. So without any further ado then, let’s get this party started.
Samsung Chromebook Plus V2 specifications
- CPU: Intel Celeron 3965Y processor
- Display: 12.2″ FHD (1920 x 1200) WUXGA LED touch-enabled display
- Graphics: Intel HD Graphics 615
- RAM: 4 GB
- Hard Drive Size: 32 GB
- Camera: 1M front camera, 13M on the keyboard deck
- Ports: 2x USB-C, USB 3.0, 3.5 mm headphone jack, microSD card reader slot
- Battery Type: 2-cell Li-ion 39 Wh battery, 10 hours runtime
- Charging Speed: 50% in 45 minutes
- Weight: 2.98 lbs
- Price: $499.99 MSRP
Samsung Chromebook Plus V2 in-depth review
1. Design
The Samsung Chromebook Plus V2 is a good-looking chap with rounded edges and the type of build quality that justifies the sub $500 price tag. It feels firm and rigid, and the device’s hinge amounts to little flex, if not none at all. In addition, the top lid has been created with powdered aluminum, but the bottom remains plastic-made. What’s unique about the Plus V2 is its color scheme, which resembles more of a MacBook in all its premium-grade royalty. Overall, the device looks phenomenal and seems as if you’ve got yourself a genuinely high-end laptop.
Moving on to the portability of the Plus V2, the device weighs about 2.98 pounds, so it’s reasonably portable but not too ultra in that regard. The screen sporting a rare 16:10 aspect ratio makes the Chromebook a bit heavier to handle, but this is no issue when you’ve got the device sitting on a desk and are working on it from there.
Therefore, the Samsung Chromebook Plus V2 weighing less than 3 pounds and measuring 11.35 x 8.20 x 0.67 inches, means that it can fit inside your backpack comfortably, so you never have to cut back from living life in the fast lane. What increases the device’s functionality in this regard is its 2-in-1 convertible form factor. So you can switch up your game and transform the Chromebook into a tablet to jot down whatever you want and stream television shows, or even anime, too, perhaps.
Speaking of which, the display is also fairly decent, being a 12.2-inch FHD (1920 x 1080) WUXGA LED screen with Intel HD Graphics 615. You can expect punchy colors and adequate brightness – both of which will keep you contented with this Chromebook. The device employs a unique 16:10 aspect ratio which is quite rare in the Chrome OS space. However, it does strike the perfect balance between width and height and offers you a pleasurable viewing experience.
The device also has two cameras at its disposal. One is rear-facing with an Auto-Focus feature, while the other is a mere 720p HD webcam for video conferencing and everything of the like.
The Plus V2’s built-in pen is ready when you are, meaning that it literally never needs any time to charge, given how it takes only 15 seconds of juice to charge up to 45 minutes of runtime. It’s built with great precision and has a highly specialized feature called “Tilt Recognition” that recognizes your movements instantaneously. Apart from writing notes, drawing, and sketching, you can also effectively use your USI pen to take screenshots.
As for the port selection, the Plus V2 is pretty generous. You can enjoy the benefits of two USB-C ports, a single USB 3.0 port for legacy peripherals, a standard 3.5mm headphone jack, and a microSD card reader slot to expand your storage. However, there is one design hiccup that we’d like to mention here, and it’s that both of the USB-C ports are placed on one side of the Chromebook, so if you were to use a peripheral with a large footprint, like a USB-C hub, the other port would become practically unusable for you. The keyboard and trackpad duo on this device are some of the bests we’ve ever experienced on a mid-range Chromebook to come back to the positive side. The keyboard, in particular, feels firm and clicky and overall works just great, so professional typists or writers looking to purchase this device are in for a treat. The trackpad is wide and boasts an exceedingly smooth click mechanism overall, so there’s that benefit as well.
2. Performance
The Samsung Chromebook Plus V2 packs all the bells and whistles design-wise and has an admirable build quality, but what good is all that if there’s terrible performance under the hood? Thankfully, the actual case is far from that, as the Plus V2 is an efficient Samsung workhorse that will never let down general users for the most part. Although it employs a low-end Intel Celeron 3965Y processor with 4 GBs of RAM, the level of performance that the device rocks is still quite reliable.
This means that running Google Play Store games and desktop-grade Linux applications won’t be a problem for the Plus V2. It’ll fly past regular day-to-day use and won’t trouble you at all with speed drops or performance lags anyhow. However, do bear in mind not the push this Chromebook over the edge, as there’s only so much an Intel Celeron 3965Y processor can do.
Samsung offers a 64 GB variant of the Plus V2, but we very much doubt that the extra $250 that gets added to the price of this Chromebook is worth it. On the other hand, at $549, you can get yourself high-end devices, like the Acer Chromebook Spin 713, directly from Amazon.
3. Battery life
The battery life of the Plus V2 is nice and tight. It crosses the 10-hour mark and can stretch up to 11 hours if you tone down the brightness a bit. These figures are enough to last you one whole day of work or school without breaking a sweat. The manufacturer has managed to fit a 2-cell Li-ion 39 Wh battery inside the Plus V2 that juices it up.
4. Final thoughts
The Samsung Chromebook Plus V2 is one of the cheaper Samsung Chromebooks that includes a built-in stylus for drawing, sketching, taking notes, and performing other functions such as magnifying the screen. This device has packed enough quality to make it to our list of the top 5 Samsung Chromebooks should you take a look. Thanks to its Intel Celeron 3965Y CPU, 4 GBs of RAM, and 32 GB eMMC hard drive storage, it also works fast and swiftly.
In all honesty, the Plus V2 has a lot going for itself. It affords a build quality that people will grow to like and love, not to mention the device’s reasonably portable weight and dimensional measurements. It also has good-quality speakers, surprisingly, a significant number of ports, and a fantastic keyboard and trackpad combination that adds a great touch to the overall quality of the Plus V2. So if you happen to find this device on sale for somewhere around $300, it’s a solid recommendation bar none.
Therefore, it’s wise to keep a keen eye out for deals and savings on the internet, particularly on platforms like Walmart, Amazon, and Best Buy, to get the Samsung Chromebook Plus V2 at a bargain price to get outstanding value for your money.
