I replaced my Windows laptop with a 'premium' Chromebook - and can't go back

ZDNET's key takeaways

• The Lenovo Chromebook Plus 14 is available now, starting at $649.
• It's the most powerful Chromebook Plus device yet, and earned our Editor's Choice award for its fantastic battery, lovely OLED display, and ultraportable form.
• There's a limit to its performance capabilities, and utilizing ChromeOS to its fullest comes with a learning curve.

It seems like every few months we're seeing new Chromebooks pushing the limits of what the devices can do. Their once-modest hardware and limited features have evolved into laptops well-armed for a wide range of use cases. 

Now, with a little more powerful hardware and the latest AI-driven features in Google's ChromeOS, they clearly want to compete against the Windows/Mac dichotomy. 

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The Lenovo Chromebook Plus 14 is the latest feature-rich Chromebook to hit the market, offering useful AI features, strong multitasking performance, a delightful physical build, and most importantly: a marathon battery. 

It's powered by the new MediaTek Kompanio Ultra processor, the first ARM chip to appear in a Chromebook, featuring an NPU capable of up to 50 TOPS, up to 17 hours of battery life, and a sharp-looking OLED display. It also has some of the most RAM offered in a Chromebook, with a 12GB or 16GB option -- double what most other Chromebook Plus devices ship with. 

All this upgraded hardware in a lightweight form factor, paired with the snappy and efficient ChromeOS results in an overall enjoyable device to use that's suitable for work, school, or everyday tasks. Even better, it starts at just $649, a steal for a new laptop in this economy. 

I used this laptop over the course of a week, and found that the ARM-based MediaTek Kompanio Ultra chip feels fast and responsive in ways the everyday user will notice. It boots up in a matter of seconds, wakes up from sleep instantly, and handles multitasking like a breeze. With either 12GB or 16GB of RAM, you have more bandwidth to utilize multiple virtual desktops, something this device in particular is made to do. 

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The Lenovo Chromebook Plus 14 has a few exclusive perks in ChromeOS not found on other devices: The Smart group feature uses ChromeOS's "Desks" (different instances of your desktop) and automates the process, separating out similar tabs, windows, and apps together in their own instances.

Kyle Kucharski/ZDNET

ZDNET

For example, I had a bunch of browser tabs open for work, but was simultaneously going down a rabbit hole of restaurant reviews for a dinner destination to take some friends. When opening the Overview window (hit Fn + F4 or swipe up with three fingers), the AI automatically organized the work content in one desktop, and the restaurant reviews in another. 

Another exclusive feature of the Lenovo Chromebook Plus 14 is the ability to edit photos directly from the Photos app. Opening up the Magic Editor lets you remove objects in the image, use AI to erase backgrounds, and create stickers.

Also: This lightweight laptop has one of the best displays I've seen - and it's very affordable

Both of these features are quality-of-life improvements for ChromeOS in general and if I had to guess, will eventually be coming to all Chromebook Plus devices. For now, however, the Lenovo Chromebook Plus 14 gets the pleasure of having the most advanced version of ChromeOS to date.

All Chromebook Plus devices are seeing improvements to the handful of smart features released last year for ChromeOS. Now, they're incrementally more mature. For example, Help me read was a text summary feature released on ChromeOS last year, but now it's improved with the Simplify tool, which can rephrase complex language or give section summaries. 

This multi-modal AI extends to images, too. With the Google Lens app, you can use the Select to search feature on any image on your screen to perform a reverse image Google search. If it's something you can buy, like an outfit, it'll attempt to show you where you can shop it. If it's a foreign language, it'll translate. If it's something like a homework problem, it'll solve it (but yes, you'll still have to show your work).

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There are some limitations, of course. This isn't a device made for specialized, demanding workloads, as the apps you can install on ChromeOS are limited compared to the other "Big Two" operating systems. During my testing of the device, I had a few instances of the laptop freezing up when pushed. For example, seconds after launching a videocall on Microsoft Teams, it stopped responding, forcing a hard reset (notably, this never happened in Google Meet).

Kyle Kucharski/ZDNET

The 12GB or 16GB of RAM goes a long way on a Chromebook, however, and it still feels like it's running circles around the everyday tasks we use our laptops for on a daily basis.

As a work laptop, the Lenovo Chromebook Plus 14 works well thanks to its light and compact form factor (just 2.7 pounds) and above average keyboard. Lenovo's reliable and consistent hardware design comes into play here with a tactile, comfortable set of keys with enough depth and springiness to feel good over an extended use period.

Similarly, the glossy, 400-nit OLED display completes the user experience with a crisp, vibrant image that feels a lot more premium than its price would suggest. 

Also: This premium Lenovo Chromebook made me forget about my MacBook and Windows PC

Lastly, the battery life on this laptop is nothing short of fantastic, easily handling a day or more of sustained use in the office, and lasting several days at a time of intermittent use. Lenovo advertises up to 17 hours on a single charge, and I found this to be accurate thanks largely in part to the the energy efficient ARM Komanio processor. 

ZDNET's buying advice

Would I recommend using a Chromebook for work? Absolutely, especially if you're losing support for Windows in the near future. The Lenovo Chromebook Plus 14 is a versatile device that sits at the top of the lineup (for now, at least) with exclusive ChromeOS features. Paired with a light form factor, vivid OLED display, fantastic battery life, and affordable price, it's the best Chromebook I've tested yet, and a standout device for a variety of use cases. 

Utilizing ChromeOS to its fullest takes a little bit of a learning curve (but not that much) as well as some adjustments with how you organize and navigate your digital workspace. If you live in the cloud, work out of a browser, and orbit around Google's suite of productivity apps, it's a no-brainer. 

Why the Lenovo Chromebook Plus 14 gets an Editors' Choice award

We awarded the Lenovo Chromebook Plus 14 an Editors' Choice because it's a standout device, not just for Chromebooks, but for laptops in this price point in general. The sleek form factor, combined with snappy performance, nice display, and excellent battery life make for a practical laptop that's as well-rounded as it is portable.