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

ZDNET's cardinal takeaways

• The Lenovo Chromebook Plus 14 is disposable now, starting astatine $649.
• It's the astir almighty Chromebook Plus instrumentality yet, and earned our Editor's Choice grant for its fantastic battery, beauteous OLED display, and ultraportable form.
• There's a bounds to its show capabilities, and utilizing ChromeOS to its fullest comes with a learning curve.

It seems similar each fewer months we're seeing caller Chromebooks pushing the limits of what the devices tin do. Their once-modest hardware and constricted features person evolved into laptops well-armed for a wide scope of usage cases. Now, with a small much almighty hardware and the latest AI-driven features successful Google's ChromeOS, they intelligibly privation to vie against the Windows/Mac dichotomy. 

Also: I tested Acer's caller business-friendly Chromebook and it nails each the essentials for pro users

The Lenovo Chromebook Plus 14 is the latest feature-rich Chromebook to deed the market, offering utile AI features, beardown multitasking performance, a delightful carnal build, and astir importantly: a marathon battery. 

It's powered by the caller MediaTek Kompanio Ultra processor, the archetypal ARM spot to look successful a Chromebook, featuring an NPU susceptible of up to 50 TOPS, up to 17 hours of artillery life, and a sharp-looking OLED display. It besides has immoderate of the astir RAM offered successful a Chromebook, with a 12GB oregon 16GB enactment -- treble what astir different Chromebook Plus devices vessel with. 

All this upgraded hardware successful a lightweight signifier factor, paired with the snappy and businesslike ChromeOS results successful an wide enjoyable instrumentality to usage that's suitable for work, school, oregon mundane tasks. Even better, it starts astatine conscionable $649, a bargain for a caller laptop successful this economy. 

I utilized this laptop implicit the people of a week, and recovered that the ARM-based MediaTek Kompanio Ultra spot feels accelerated and responsive successful ways the mundane idiosyncratic volition notice. It boots up successful a substance of seconds, wakes up from slumber instantly, and handles multitasking similar a breeze. With either 12GB oregon 16GB of RAM, you person much bandwidth to utilize aggregate virtual desktops, thing this instrumentality successful peculiar is made to do. 

The Lenovo Chromebook Plus 14 has a fewer exclusive perks successful ChromeOS not recovered connected different devices: The Smart radical diagnostic uses ChromeOS's "Desks" (different instances of your desktop) and automates the process, separating retired akin tabs, windows, and apps unneurotic successful their ain instances.

Kyle Kucharski/ZDNET

For example, I had a clump of browser tabs unfastened for work, but was simultaneously going down a rabbit spread of edifice reviews for a meal destination to instrumentality immoderate friends. When opening the Overview model (hit Fn + F4 oregon swipe up with 3 fingers), the AI automatically organized the enactment contented successful 1 desktop, and the edifice reviews successful another. 

Another exclusive diagnostic of the Lenovo Chromebook Plus 14 is the quality to edit photos straight from the Photos app. Opening up the Magic Editor lets you region objects successful the image, usage AI to erase backgrounds, and make stickers.

Also: This lightweight laptop has 1 of the champion displays I've seen - and it's precise affordable

Both of these features are quality-of-life improvements for ChromeOS successful wide and if I had to guess, volition yet beryllium coming to each Chromebook Plus devices. For now, however, the Lenovo Chromebook Plus 14 gets the pleasance of having the astir precocious mentation of ChromeOS to date.

All Chromebook Plus devices are seeing improvements to the handful of astute features released past twelvemonth for ChromeOS. Now, they're incrementally much mature. For example, Help maine read was a substance summary diagnostic released connected ChromeOS past year, but present it's improved with the Simplify tool, which tin rephrase analyzable connection oregon springiness conception summaries. 

This multi-modal AI extends to images, too. With the Google Lens app, you tin usage the Select to hunt diagnostic connected immoderate representation connected your surface to execute a reverse representation Google search. If it's thing you tin buy, similar an outfit, it'll effort to amusement you wherever you tin store it. If it's a overseas language, it'll translate. If it's thing similar a homework problem, it'll lick it (but yes, you'll inactive person to amusement your work).

Also: This fund Lenovo 2-in-1 I urge to students and professionals is cheaper than ever

There are immoderate limitations, of course. This isn't a instrumentality made for specialized, demanding workloads, arsenic the apps you tin instal connected ChromeOS are constricted compared to the different "Big Two" operating systems. During my investigating of the device, I had a fewer instances of the laptop freezing up erstwhile pushed. For example, seconds aft launching a videocall connected Microsoft Teams, it stopped responding, forcing a hard reset (notably, this ne'er happened successful Google Meet).

Kyle Kucharski/ZDNET

The 12GB oregon 16GB of RAM goes a agelong mode connected a Chromebook, however, and it inactive feels similar it's moving circles astir the mundane tasks we usage our laptops for connected a regular basis.

As a enactment laptop, the Lenovo Chromebook Plus 14 works good acknowledgment to its airy and compact signifier origin (just 2.7 pounds) and supra mean keyboard. Lenovo's reliable and accordant hardware plan comes into play present with a tactile, comfy acceptable of keys with capable extent and springiness to consciousness bully implicit an extended usage period.

Similarly, the glossy, 400-nit OLED show completes the idiosyncratic acquisition with a crisp, vibrant representation that feels a batch much premium than its terms would suggest. 

Also: This premium Lenovo Chromebook made maine hide astir my MacBook and Windows PC

Lastly, the artillery beingness connected this laptop is thing abbreviated of fantastic, easy handling a time oregon much of sustained usage successful the office, and lasting respective days astatine a clip of intermittent use. Lenovo advertises up to 17 hours connected a azygous charge, and I recovered this to beryllium close acknowledgment mostly successful portion to the the vigor businesslike ARM Komanio processor. 

ZDNET's buying advice

Would I urge utilizing a Chromebook for work? Absolutely, particularly if you're losing enactment for Windows successful the adjacent future. The Lenovo Chromebook Plus 14 is simply a versatile instrumentality that sits astatine the apical of the lineup (for now, astatine least) with exclusive ChromeOS features. Paired with a airy signifier factor, vivid OLED display, fantastic artillery life, and affordable price, it's the champion Chromebook I've tested yet, and a standout instrumentality for a assortment of usage cases. 

Utilizing ChromeOS to its fullest takes a small spot of a learning curve (but not that much) arsenic good arsenic immoderate adjustments with however you signifier and navigate your integer workspace. If you unrecorded successful the cloud, enactment retired of a browser, and orbit astir 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 conscionable for Chromebooks, but for laptops successful this terms constituent successful general. The sleek signifier factor, combined with snappy performance, bully display, and fantabulous artillery beingness marque for a applicable laptop that's arsenic well-rounded arsenic it is portable.