Verdict
The Asus Chromebook Plus CX34 is a fantastic Chromebook for the Mary Leontyne Price , with a gravid port selection , solid performance and a serious video display , as well as outstanding battery life . Just watch out for its cheaper - feel construction and finish .
Pros
Cons
Key Features
Introduction
The presentation of the ‘ Chromebook Plus ‘ moniker may not seem like the most exciting thing in the humanity , but options such as this Asus Chromebook Plus CX34 have the electric potential to be something quite interesting for those in need of a more low-priced laptop .
price at £ 429/$429 , this mid - range model I ’ve got here packs intriguing hardware , including an Intel Core i3 - 1215U central processor , as well as 256 GB of UFS storage and 8 GB of RAM . Against the likes of the larger - screenLenovo IdeaPad 5i Chromebookand the tablet - laptop - combo of theHP Chromebook x2 11that have come through eclat themselves , Asus ’ option is competitively priced and well - specced .
I ’ve been testing it for the last distich of calendar week to see if it can make headway out as one of the best Chromebooks – get ’s take a closer expression .
Design and Keyboard
With its cheap - feeling plastic chassis , the Asus Chromebook Plus CX34 does n’t make the best first belief . Its lid features a shining and placid - feeling moldable conclusion which initially did n’t instil me with much authority . However , things soon changed when I opened the chapeau and really took a closer look .
The Asus Chromebook Plus CX34 is a decently well - made laptop , especially when taking the price into account . It ’s a upright - expect selection too , with thin bezels around its 14 - column inch presentation , as well as its slender chassis . The grey colourway on offering here also look decent , although it is also useable in blanched for more of a innovative and almost ultrabook - character finish .
A weight unit of 1.4 kg bring in the Asus reasonably hefty for a laptop of its size , although it is easy to sling into a purse and thin enough to not take up too much place . Of course , it is n’t as portable as HP ’s translatable option , but you get more of a conventional software program here , which may befit some good than a pad of paper and folio keyboard cover .
As for its port selection , it ’s interesting to take note that Asus has bundled passably much all of them on the one side . The Chromebook Plus CX34 ’s odd - hand side houses a singularUSB - Cto be used for shoot down , while the right - hand side boast a pair of USB - A port wine , an HDMI out , a earphone diddly-squat and a secondary USB - C. For a Chromebook of its price , it ’s a great offering .
A Full HD webcam is also cuddle in the top screen bezel . It features a privacy slider which can be used to stop the photographic camera ’s wad and forbid any chance of third - party snooper .
The Asus Chromebook Plus CX34 ’s keyboard is excellent . It ’s tactile and offers good locomotion , and the more compact layout on offer ready more sense than a hatful of other laptops I ’ve tested . Its livid backlighting is sharp and bright and illume the keys well . This is a bigger plus point in time than you may ab initio counter , as cheaper laptops tend to declare oneself a meager backlight that barely covers the keys . For a laptop of this size of it , the trackpad is also reasonably large and provides whole - feel buttons , although they are a niggling stiff .
The packaging that this Chromebook comes in is jolly much all made from cardboard and paper , although the only art object of charge card present is on the end of the charging plug . It ’s attentive packaging too , as when open is slightly put forward to make it easy to get the laptop computer out .
Display and Sound
Asus has n’t decided to spring any surprises in terms of the showing . It has wedge with a try - and - prove 14 - inch Full HD IPS panel , which put up the welfare of both a nice resolution and screen sizing for the productiveness workloads that this laptop is plan for .
In day - to - day use , the board impressed with that combination offering unanimous detail . The 250 nit of brightness is okay ( albeit dimmer than average ) for indoor use , and the colours were relatively punchy , thanks to this being an IPS panel . look on capacity on Disney+ , Amazon Prime and YouTube casually after body of work befit it well .
The speakers on the Chromebook Plus CX34 offer a becoming soundbox and a lot of volume but are a little thinly - sounding . The fact they are downwards firing mean they ’re best suited to being placed on a grueling open such as a desk . They may sound blunt or slenderly strangle when on a flaccid surface , such as a bottom .
Performance
Under the hood , the Asus Chromebook Plus CX34 features self-coloured specs , even if the processor is now two generations onetime . It ’s an Intel Core i3 - 1215U chip , which features a total of six cores , separate between two atomic number 15 - cores and four due east - cores , help to give this Chromebook some great all - round functioning .
Both in day - to - day productiveness labor such as write article on Google Docs , as well as loosen up with videos after work , and in our synthetic benchmark tests , the Chromebook Plus CX34 felt nippy and praiseworthily dealt with a warhead of Chrome tabs being unfastened .
8 GB ofDDR5RAM provides some honest headroom for some multitasking during my time with the Chromebook Plus CX34 , while its 256 GB of UFS storage gives a lot more in the means of content than similarly - priced choices from recent year . Older role model even move as low as 32 GB and 64 gigabyte , so it ’s especially nice to see even bigger pick on offer here . The addition ofWi - Fi 6and Bluetooth 5.2 is also a nice touch , hold back this Chromebook well - support with modern standards .
antecedently , I ’d also lament about the lack of compatibility with ChromeOS , but with apps such as Steam and Photoshop making their way over , it get the switch to a Chromebook a little more appealing . Of of course , a Windows laptop computer will allow you to do a plenty more with enough more apps supported , but it ’s overnice to see ChromeOS make up some headroom .
Software
The freehanded modification with the integral Chromebook Plus lineup , such as the Chromebook Plus CX34 , is its noteworthy software touches . The biggest one of these is perhaps the introduction ofMagic Eraser . It ’s a feature film antecedently exclusive to Pixel earpiece , which mechanically erases matter from photos . It works by identifying point in the backdrop , putting a hoary synopsis around them , and then clicking on them to remove them from the image virtually instantly . It ’s an incredible man of outfit .
Offline File Sync is more of a handy character - of - life sentence lineament than a life - spay summation , but it ’s still utile still . It automatically downloads files from Google Drive as a background task so you’re able to use them offline . I ’ve had this enable anyways for my own Drive story , and it ’s a big help when I ’m write something on Docs and then the Wi - Fi at domicile go down , so then I do n’t miss the body of work I was in the middle of .
Enabling it on the Chromebook Plus CX34 is a bit of a faff , require you to go through the Advanced preferences to turn it on . However , once enable , it ’s something you may simply draw a blank about , and you ’ll have all the Indian file you want strew up in front of you .
Google has also roll up in some convenient AI video vocation feature design to improve the overall experience and your own visibleness . They ’re designed to offer up one - click solution to typical problems people experience when video recording calling , such as guileful lighting or background noise . To battle this when you ’re on a call , buttons occur up at the bottom of the screen : ‘ Improve Lighting ’ and ‘ Cancel Background Noise ’ . These do exactly as you ’d expect , and make a reasonable attempt to meliorate the quality of your TV call . conveniently , the features work with Google Meet and Zoom , among others .
At long last , there ’s also support for web - based Photoshop , which is a rather water - down version of Adobe ’s creative photo redaction suite . It ’s still a nice inclusion though , as you get the feature that most people , myself included , will expend . These include marquee tools and wanton alteration , as well as Adobe ’s fresh Contextual Task Bar which provides ready to hand selection on what stone’s throw to do next . The cleverAI Generative Filland Generative Expand tool also make their way over to this web internet browser - based translation of Photoshop . These have made headlines recently , and in drill are rack up - and - miss with the prompts you offer . It ’s not something I can needfully see myself using sidereal day to daylight .
Battery Life
The good times keep rolling for the Chromebook Plus CX34 , with some fine endurance . In dial the cleverness down to one-half and running a video loop trial , it lasted for eleven and three - quarters hour or so . This fits in well against the competition and beats Asus ’ own claim of up to ten hours quite considerably .
That resultant was with the keyboard backlighting off , though . turn that up , as well as the brightness , will cane the battery and make it last for less sentence . notwithstanding , you should be capable to get between one and two sidereal day of everyday use out of the Chromebook Plus CX34 , even if a little morsel of hypermiling is require .
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Should you buy it?
The Asus Chromebook Plus CX34 impresses with its solid performance for productivity work load and good spec weather sheet , which matches Chromebooks that are a bit more expensive .
While the Asus Chromebook Plus CX34 extend a average flake of business leader , its figure feels cheaper than you may expect . If you want something that looks more stylish , check out ourBest Chromebookguide .
Final Thoughts
The initiation of the Chromebook Plus range at first to me seemed like a bit of a gimmick . However , using the Asus Chromebook Plus CX34 proves they truly are appetising options for those wanting a large all - round Chromebook experience .
The Chromebook Plus CX34 offers a good port wine survival , with reasonable positioning , as well as an first-class keyboard with great white backlighting . Its trackpad is also of a comely size , while the display on offer is good enough for day - to - day workloads with reasonable brightness and detail . The barrage fire lifespan on offer is also first-class .
If you ’re after a unanimous all - round formal Chromebook for a fairish price , this Asus Chromebook Plus CX34 is an excellent choice for the price . TheLenovo IdeaPad 5i Chromebookoffers the same spec shroud , but just with a big screen for a destiny more , while the likes of theAcer Chromebook Spin 514 ( 2022)bring 2 - in-1 functionality . For more option , insure out ourBest Chromebookguide
Trusted Score
How we test
Every laptop we review goes through a serial publication of uniform assay designed to gauge key thing include bod calibre , performance , concealment character and barrage fire aliveness .
These admit formal man-made bench mark and scripted tests , plus a series of tangible - humans verification , such as how well it run popular apps .
FAQs
Chromebook Plus is a new ambit of Chromebooks that Google has innovate which are designed to fulfill unexampled requirement , include minimum hardware requirements and reinforcement for apps such as Photoshop .
No , but the Chromebook Plus CX34 come with a leaf - down flexible joint so the laptop can lie down 2-dimensional .
