- Operating System: Chrome OS
- Processor: Intel Celeron Processor 3965Y
- System Memory: 4GB LPDDR3/Max 4GB
- Storage: 32GB eMMC
- Display: 12.2″ FHD (1920 x 1200)
Samsung Chromebook Plus (V2), 12.2″, 4GB RAM, 32GB eMMC (XE520QAB-K01US)
Up for anything. Anytime.
Get more done anywhere, anytime, with the lightweight 2-in-1 Chromebook Plus (V2). Stay on top of your projects with the built-in pen, two cameras and full Google experience right at your fingertips. And cross more off your list without slowing down with a powerful battery and an Intel Celeron processor.
From laptop to tablet to sketchbook and more
At just under 3 pounds, the Chromebook Plus (V2) is incredibly lightweight. You can easily fold it into tablet mode for comfortable viewing and browsing.
The power of the pen
Experience the power of the incredibly precise built-in pen that never needs charging. It’s always ready to write, sketch, edit, magnify and even take screenshots.
Two cameras, unlimited views
Fold your laptop into tablet mode to capture clear shots and even zoom in for a closer look with the revolutionary 13MP world-facing camera with autofocus. Or video chat with classmates and clients with the front camera.
Get the most out of Google
Create, explore and browse on a bigger screen with the tools you use every day —all on the secure Chrome OS. Plus, easily download your favorite movies and games from Google Play.
Do more. Store more.
Tackle anything with a long-lasting battery and an Intel Celeron processor. Store more with 32GB of built-in memory and add more with a microSD card.*
*Sold separately.
TimTim –
I’ve been using a chromebook as my primary computer for well over 5 years. The last one I used was an Acer c720 with an i3 processor, I loved that thing…. I replaced the battery and it still works great but this deal was too good to pass up. $450 for a 7th generation m3 processor convertible chromebook with a dedicated stylus is a great deal. Considering google is offering free note taking apps on the offers page also sweetens the deal. In my opinion, this computer is a significantly better value than anything you’d get from a windows computer in this price range.I initially ordered this when it was priced $495 and a 3rd party retailer sent me an xe521qab (dark grey) instead of the listed xe520qab (light grey). I’m going to compare both units at the end.I’m starting with reviewing the specs and hardware since I think mentioning overall build quality is important and why I chose this unit over others. I’m also going to compare both models since everyone needs to know what they’re buying before they actually buy it. I’m also going to touch briefly on the capabilities of Chrome OS and its limitations so first time buyers have an idea what they’re getting.Pros:- Convertible, able to run Android apps- Included stylus built into the computer- Fast, low power CPU (fanless computer)- Full HD screen (1920 x 1200 resolution)- Great battery life- Audio is great, just quiet- Linux apps available from within ChromeOS- Keyboard has good travel, very comfortable to type- Trackpad is a good size and is responsiveCons:- No backlit keyboard (some chromebooks in this price range have them)- Can’t install any kind of Windows or Mac programs- Will not be able to play computer games, but it can play mobile games from androidProcessor:The processor in this unit is an intel core m3-7y30. To me, this is one of the best processors you can ask for in a Chromebook, but can be underpowered in a Windows laptop. The two specs I feel are most important are 4.5 W TDP and 1.0 ghz – 2.6 ghz clock speed.In layman’s terms, this processor has extremely low power requirements which sips power and is able to increase its clock speed high enough to get tasks done. This chip can also hyperthread, basically making it more efficient per core and increasing speed as well. Because of this low power state, the processor doesn’t heat up too much and the computer doesn’t need a fan. The computer makes no noise. I’ve noticed zero lag at all, even using the stylus. This thing is overpowered for most tasks Chrome OS needs. It’s a great balance between power needed vs maximizing battery life.To give you an idea on price, this processor’s MSRP is $280. Kind of already covers half of the price of the computer already.Screen:Incredible considering the wide viewing angles, I can see the screen from every angle possible. My old Acer c720 has the worst screen imaginable with a very narrow, low resolution display. This thing is just as nice as a “retina” display in any macbook.Battery:As stated earlier, the M3 processor doesn’t use much power compared to other processors, the lack of a fan also saves a lot of power.running a crosh battery test, the rate of decline without running anything is about 1% in 300 seconds, or about 12% an hour. So I would say best case scenario, 8 – 8.3 hours of battery life. This is good, not the best, but certainly good enough for me. I got 3 days of solid use before I needed a new charge. In comparison, my acer c720 sipped about 1.25% every 300 seconds, or had around 6.7 hours of battery life. It is older and the CPU’s are different, but overall it’s significantly better.Audio:Great for a laptop. Audio has good dynamic range, just no bass. These are solid speakers and it feels premium, just not nearly as premium as a macbook for instance.Chrome OS:When you buy a Chromebook, you should primarily be using it for web browsing and simple tasks. If you’re tied into google’s ecosystem it can do much more. On the other hand, if you’re tied into Apple’s ecosystem it can be a challenge to use.Chrome OS can’t run computer programs built for Windows or Mac, such as microsoft office and photoshop. You can use an online suite of office or the android apps, but they aren’t the same. Setting up a wired printer can be confusing. Downloading word documents may change the way they look when opened with google docs. Conversely, saving things from google docs to word format may also mess up the formatting, issues I wish would get polished out in the future.Overall, I think chromebooks are absolutely ready for widespread use. Chrome OS is much more secure than both Windows and Mac’s, the fact that you hardly ever download anything keeps the computer fast and secure. The lightweight OS absolutely flies, for everyday tasks it’s much faster than Windows or OS X and you’ll notice a difference right away.Linux Programs:Back in the day (6 years ago), you had to sideload a linux OS in order to use linux apps. It worked but was clunky and made it much harder to keep linux up to date. Plus it took up valuable space on the chromebook and you had to switch OS’ completely in order to use them.Today, ChromeOS has a linux virtual machine built into it, and you’re able to pull apps from the linux database directly into ChromeOS and run apps. This is absolutely amazing to me, and I’m not sure when google decided to do this, but it basically makes ChromeOS a near complete machine with much lower limitations. This gives you access to good program alternatives to photoshop and microsoft office, especially if you need something that does a little bit more than what google apps can do. This is by no means as nice or complete as Windows or Mac as it still requires knowledge to do it properly and keep it up to date, but it’s free and open source, and I think it’s important to support that idea. Linux and Android are the two most popular open source platforms, there’s a lot of things you can do with both of them and it’s great having both available within Chrome OS.Tablet:This is where ChromeOS is heading towards, so I wouldn’t recommend getting a chromebook that isn’t convertible at this point. It’s nice to have and makes it able to run android apps.Apps that would be useful on a chromebook would be anything that can take notes and take advantage of a stylus. It’s good for annotating powerpoints, drawing, or taking school notes if you enjoy writing over typing. Everything else is just gimmicky, but It’s still amazing to have an ability to flip the thing around and have a high resolution tablet available.xe520qab vs xe521qab:When I purchased this chromebook, a manufacturer sent me the 521 by mistake, so to get the lower price I had to return it and get the 520. Amazon unfortunately wasn’t able to price match. I took pictures so everyone can see the difference.The 521 is simply nicer. It has a darker body, metal keyboard deck, smooth edges; it just feels much better and more expensive. It’s rounder in most places, tablet mode feels smoother and better when holding it. The only two thing I like about the 520 is how it looks when it’s closed and it feels better when opening it. The sharp edges are nice and clean, but the plastic keyboard deck just isn’t as comfortable.If you can find the xe521qab for the same price as the xe520qab, I’d pick the 521 in a heartbeat. Other than that you’re getting the exact same thing. Both are fantastic computers and I’m sure anybody would be happier with either pick.$450 is an absolute steal for either of these computers.
Jeffrey P. Keryk –
I was looking for a new Chromie to give my sister as a gift. The Plus V2 jut came out. This thing is beautiful and turbo fast. We have about 50 laptops in our house as we live in Silicon Valley and constantly try and keep up. I use an ASUS C302; wifey has the Google Pixelbook. The only drawback is the non backlit keyboard. If you can get past this, you will love the Samsung Chromebook Plus. I have given 2 of the original models as gifts. Cloud, baby!Update on Thanksgiving – At $449, this thing is a freakin’ steal!
Tim Y. –
Read about Chromebook in general and it fit my needs to a tee! This Samsung model is fast boot up and powering off, can handle multiple tabs while playing a YouTube video. Reading Email, shopping online this is exactly what I needed. I love the big screen, angles are not the best but looks great straight on and the battery life is very long! I’m happy with this chromebook and wish I had purchased along time ago! Quicker than my expensive Dell Inspiron and at twice as less money, couldn’t have made a better decision.
Barrington P. –
I was doing my research before making my purchase. it was down to the Asus302 or the Samsung Plus.Samsung won because:1. I had to have the pen to assist in Navigating2. the add-ons where perfect to compliment my job3. the Imagery is crystal clear4. and every gadget I own is predominantly Samsung………so major bias!!!!! 😁😁so far so good on performance and it suits my needs to date. hopefully, it lasts for a long time.I have no complaints about the battery life y as I only use it when I have the need to ……which is not continuous.great product for me …..to date.
brandon –
I bought this version for my father after he complained about viruses and antivirus software and all those persistent companies that put them on your computer to sell you the cure, I then liked it so I bought a more beefed up version for myself. So I’ll write what he liked about this version. No worries about updates interrupting your use, no malware or antivirus pop-ups. It is super fast! The touchpad is super sensitive and ‘clicks’ items all the time when you’re simply trying to scroll. You have to use two fingers to do so since there is no buttons to right click or left click. you can drag by pressing down on the touchpad though. Chromebooks can be tricky when finding printers that’ll work with them so keep that in mind. The advertisement makes it out like the screen will blow your mind when you see it. It looks like a normal screen and there’s nothing impressive whatsoever about it, although it is the advertised size.
ew –
I’ve used Chromebooks for years as my everyday laptop. This 2nd generation Plus with an M3 satisfies all my normal needs and wants. I use multiple windows/tabs and this machine handles that without a problem. I pushed it to about 30 open tabs running multiple videos and audio before it bogged down.The display is beautiful at all angles. The keyboard travel feels l great and only lacks backlight. The track pad and touchscreen are flawless. Though I considered the pen a gimmick I have found it useful for some situations.Google has solved some of the problems Android apps had on Intel. The UI for switching between Chrome & Android apps has vastly improved, making a Chromebook more useful and productive. The pen is great for the Android photo editing apps and the Chrome app Polar.The 2in1 form works well. The hinges seem built to last, but I would say the Samsung is a bit too heavy to use as a tablet for more than 10 minutes. Google has improved the UI to the point where Chrome works well as a tablet. But, if you want a tablet first there are better options like the HP or Google Slate.This is an excellent laptop with only a few compromises. The plastic bottom creeks a bit, the only indication this is not a solid all metal body. I paid around $500 and that is an amazing value for a laptop that performs this well.
Brett Flournoy –
I have two of the previous Samsung entry level Chromebooks, both of which have become slower over time. They have been optimally tuned. After much reading, and the running of the OCTANE benchmarks, I became convinced that the growth of the web and heavy “paging” had to be countered by faster processing. I selected this Chromebook based on it’s benchmark performance of about 4x my existing devices. Would I be rewarded accordingly? OH YEAH! This thing flys. Those ugly, slow, “lists” on yahoo that would drive you nuts? This unit screen paints the next one immediately. If your performance is annoyingly slow, and you have tuned as best you can with no results, if you have adequate network speed, then this unit will deliver. Also includes hi res HD display, touchscreen, and a stylus. Go for it!
David Edwards –
I’ve been in the market for a cheap laptop for work for a while. I have a hefty gaming PC at home but I wanted something completely separate and portable for non-gaming needs like using the internet and word processing. Additionally I’ve been trying to read more and sometimes this leads to me using the Kindle app on my phone. I was drawn to the Chromebook Plus (V2) because of the attempts to make it more like a tablet and utilize Android apps.Overall the product works exactly as described. The screen is good, though the default settings make the things like the app shelf, window borders, and pointer size a little too large in comparison to the parts of the screen in use. This is variable once you poke around the settings, though, and I have no complaints. The keyboard is fantastic and responsive. The touchscreen is pretty good, though it’s not quite on par with the perfection that is an iPad touch screen. Sometimes I miss when I try to click on things with my finger or perhaps it doesn’t register at all. That happens so infrequently that it’s still entirely usable. The pen is also nice, though I’ve only used it so far to doodle in the Google Keep notes app as it was not a main selling point for me. The battery life is about on par with what is advertised; I used it lightly from 7:30-2:30 yesterday, for example, and it only got to about 50%. The foldability for tent and tablet mode is a little bit awkward considering the size and the fact that the keyboard is always attached, but it works. It just makes me prefer it as a laptop more than a tablet most of the time.The performance is acceptable considering the hardware. With my other machine having a much more powerful processor and more RAM, I actually do notice a bit of delay in navigation online and when using multiple apps. With that said, it’s not bad at all, and the comparison is actually rather unfair.My main complaint is really only the quality of the touchpad for using the cursor. It works well, but it’s a little bit choppy and doesn’t respond to light and subtle movements when trying to be precise. Again, this might be unfair because the only recent laptops I’ve used have been MacBooks and those touchpads are incredibly smooth, but it’s still worth pointing out.Overall I’m highly satisfied with my purchase. The problems I’ve described really aren’t even problems but rather little quirks that I’ve already gotten used to. It works for everything you’d want a Chromebook to work for and it does it well.
B. Lucas –
Unless you’re comparing this to a thousand dollar Pixelbook, you won’t be disappointed with this Chromebook. Solid aluminum case, very lightweight, very beautiful, and responsive and precise touchscreen in my opinion, usb-C charging and ports, everything about it screams high quality build. Absolutely blows away cheaper Chromebooks for half the price. Extremely satisfied with it.
Ron –
I was looking for a replacement for my Samsung tablet & in search for a 2 in 1 since I wanted a keyboard option. I use this for home use so having the “best” screen, etc like a surface or iPad wasn’t a need for me. This item works great. Only drawback is the keyboard isn’t backlit. other then that the screen is very responsive & the overall speed of the device is good.