Pros and Cons Of Chromebook: Should You Buy It?

If you are looking for an amazing alternative to Windows laptops and MacBooks, Chromebook is the ultimate alternative. However, an investment is an investment, irrespective of its price.

Often a common question pops up among people on the pros and cons of Chromebook. Especially in today’s pandemic situation, students can’t study without a laptop. Well, Chromebook serves the purpose and is cost-effective in notebooks and MacBooks.

Regarding children handling electronic gadgets, another thing that comes to mind is durability. A recent drop test was conducted to check the gadget’s durability, showing promising results.

However, like the price, Chromebook has limited operations and seems like an old operating system with less functional abilities. Yet, it has great battery life, and the Chrome operating system’s beautiful design makes it perfect for educational purposes.

No matter what you buy, either a laptop or Chromebook, it is important to know its advantages and limitations.

Here, in this article, we have assembled some pros and cons, along with the functions and constraints of Chromebook, that will help you select your preference for the same. 

Chromebook: Software Systems

Chromebooks are nothing but gadgets that work on the google chrome operating system. Like other windows laptops and MacBooks, it has a different operating system. These beginner-level laptops are best for children and students to continue online learning. 

The chrome operating system is nothing but the Google Chrome browser acting as the gadget’s operating system.

File manager, taskbar, app launchers, and various others are some features in the Chrome operating system. It also focuses on Google Docs, YouTube, Gmail, and Maps and has similar functions as Android. 

However, this operating system entirely depends on applications that are entirely web-based and open only on Google Chrome tabs rather than the applications you download from the play store and install.

Since the system is entirely dependent on web-based applications, it has a super-fast startup, with low overhead and quick performance abilities on severe short-end hardware.

All of these might seem fascinating. However, it is best to consider the list of pros and cons of Chromebook before investing.

The chrome operating system has a web store where you can download web-based applications. Web-based applications have certain codes in a single package corresponding to processes and installation, like mobile applications.

Although most of these applications require an internet connection, others can work offline. 

Since the chrome applications were barely used, in June 2020, Google stopped working on Linux, Windows, and MacBook. However, in June 2022, Google also discontinued the chrome Apps for Chromebooks.

The replacement of Google Chrome Applications will help the use of Android Applications from the Google Play store. This will allow you to access the best of the two, the speed of the on-the-budget operating system, along with your favorite archive of Android applications.

Screens and Storage:-

Although the local storage is normally limited, there are more than 100GB of space online with the option of expanding extra space per your choice.

There is also a lot of space to perform more tasks and styles for laptops. You will also find various Chromebooks with extra local storage; however, you must pay extra cash. Hence, considering a list of the pros and cons of Chromebook is essential.

Saving anything you want on the web is an undue advantage that gives you access to everything from any computer. Moreover, your files, applications, and documents will remain intact even if the Chromebook is unused for a long time. 

Chromebooks’ screen size usually varies from 12-inches screens like Pixel Slat to fifteen inches screens like that of Lenovo Yoga Chromebook C630.

Hence, these are a lot more comparable to Windows laptops. However, you will not find Chromebooks larger than fifteen inches. These books usually work very well with large external monitors, which many users for space require. 

There are Chromebooks available that have high resolutions. However, the popular Chromebook of Pixel Slate’s screen has a limited resolution of 3000*2000, but it looks extraordinary.

Lenovo has its Chromebook with 4k resolution, which is quite popular among users. Samsung’s Galaxy Chromebook sports has a 4k molded screen and a 10th generation Intel Comet Lake processor, which is also quite popular. 

If you are looking for a low-budget Chromebook, you might not get good-resolution screens. However, some Chromebooks look as good as laptops, sometimes even better.

Work Offline with Chromebooks

Like any other electronic gadget, Chromebooks require connecting to Wi-Fi. However, various expensive Chromebook models have cellular connectivity options. If you cannot find a connection, there are multiple ways to perform several daily tasks.

However, do not let high reliability on the chrome trick you. Just like you can easily read and compose emails with Gmail in offline mode and work on Google documents offline with Google Drive.

Even when you are offline and working, the applications will automatically have your work and sync them back up with online assistance when you reconnect your Chromebook with online services. Moreover, you can easily download as many games as you want from Android in offline mode. 

More than two hundred Chrome applications are available online; why can they be used and downloaded without an internet connection, including pocket, Gmail, Google Drive, and various other applications?

However, the only problem is that you cannot download the Microsoft applications, which redirects you to make a list of the pros and cons of Chromebook.

Pros and Cons of Chromebook: Performance, Features, Battery Life, and Games 

There are various specifications of Chromebooks, which are entirely different from those of laptops. That’s because they are less powerful and do not need too many features to run simple operations.

Google Chrome software has never aimed to run desktop software or even android applications for that concern.

Google wanted to create something more secure than laptops and MacBooks that relied on web-based applications and something much confined and cheaper than notebooks and tablets.

Hence, Chromebook focuses more and more on the simple operating system that makes it lightweight and requires less power to function, has a super-fast startup, and requires low-end components that automatically extend the battery life a lot more than casual high operative laptops.

This is another huge selling point of Chromebooks for laptops. Various other expensive, high-end notebooks are available with greater performance with new generations like Pixel Book Go and Pixel book of Google.

However, most of Chromebooks do not have such high specifications and are of a much low budget. These books have simple beginner-level processors that are mainly installed to save much more energy than rendering 3D images, videos, and number crunching.

Some models have core i7 and core i5 configurations, but they are more like an overload for Chromebooks. 

The memory of Chromebooks is limited to 2GB, which is almost for all windows laptops. However, there are around 100GB of online space that you can use to save files and even extend if required. 

No dedicated graphic chips are available in Chromebooks today; however, you will still find some gadgets with a lot of capability for games than others.

Chromebook 315 by Acer has a great configuration of AMD APU packing graphics of Radeon. However, it is still designed to speed up the web more than that gaming. The pros and cons will help you understand what you are getting into.

Gaming with Chromebook

The weak gaming speculations and limited storage has made the Chromebook best as a working laptop and less functional for games. Casual games are offered by the Chromebook web-based applications like Cut the Rope, Bejeweled, and others.

You might not get such similar options when you switch to laptops and MacBooks for gaming. However, you might still get some good games when you connect your Chromebook with the Android play store. Games like Star Wars: Galaxy of Heroes, Fallout Shelter, and Minecraft are a must-check out for Chromebook games.

However, most android games are best for smartphones and might crash if you try them on Chromebooks. If the games support tablet-size screens, you can rely on them to play on your MacBook; otherwise, it’s a waste. 

The Chromebook operating system usually has limited power to process graphics; hence, sticking to fewer power titles will be smart.

However, if you are switching to the Stadia Platform of Google, you can play AAA games like Assassin’s creed and play it on any device with a Chrome Browser. You can purchase games, stream them at 4k resolution, and play at 60fps. The subscription can boost the resolution of your games instantly. 

You will otherwise not like any games you find in the android play store as most of them do not support large screens and work on ARM processors used in desktops and laptops.

It may be the case that Qualcomm Snapdragon supports your favorite game-configured mobile phones and not Intel core processors.

 Linux can help you play games and install Stream, where you will find any game. However, that is only possible with the extra space you have.

However, keeping in mind the fundamental aim of a Chromebook is to speed up web-based tasks and maintain a low budget, Chromebooks can be a waste for gaming purposes. With the limited storage, you will be obligated to download from playing big and multiple games.

Google pixelbook uses the Chrome Operating System as the platform to land on Google Assistant. If you do not have the dedicated assistant key on your keyboard of laptop, you need to buy the ninety-nine-dollar pixelbook pen accessory necessarily.

Although the addition is presently attached with Google Now, which gives you local stories, news, and weather updates, you can always switch to Google Feed to see it. 

Like the Asus Chromebook Flip C436, Google has updated its Chromebooks for 2-in1 purposes by making the onscreen keyboard useful as a touch screen and easier to use. 

With the help of the sleek design and onscreen keyboard, Google recognizes your script and gives you various options of text to input via the keyboard. Various tests have been conducted, and the keyboard recognizes your writing perfectly. 

Read our guide on Best Games To Play On Your Chromebook.

Battery Life Of Chromebook

Chromebooks have a simple operating system that is already light in weight and super-fast, making the batteries last longer. However, it does not have everlasting battery life anymore.

As per tests conducted last year, with continuous internet usage under Wi-Fi, the battery life of the Chromebook lasted for nine hours and fifteen minutes.

With the highest battery life of eleven hours, we have Acer Chromebook R 13 standing out with the best battery life. Google’s very own Pixelbook lasts only seven hours and forty minutes. The PixelBook Go, the most popular and premium book with a better value, lasted eleven and twenty-nine minutes. 

The minimum battery life recommended for Chromebooks is a minimum of nine hours, which most of these offer.

Some in-budget windows laptops have excellent battery life like the of Lenovo Mix 310, lasting for twelve hours and twenty-four minutes, and Dell Inspiron 11 3000 lasts for thirteen hours and thirty-nine minutes. However, the ultraportable notebook and a below-average battery life of only eight hours and twenty-one minutes.

Whether you are planning to use Chromebooks for business or your children’s education, it is important to know the pros and cons of Chromebooks before investing. Hence, we have assembled some advantages and disadvantages of using Chromebooks.

Pros and Cons of Chromebook Explained 👌👌

👍Pros Of Chromebooks

1. Use of Low Hardware And IT Rates

If you are looking to reduce your Information Technology costs in a few days, then Chromebooks have the potential to do that for you. Moreover, it is much cheaper than normal laptops and computers for obvious reasons.

You can get a decent Chromebook within three hundred dollars. However, many more affordable gadgets are available if you wait for a sale.

If you go for a mid-range laptop instead, it will cost you four times a Chromebook. However, you will get four times better versions of Cloud-based software and Chrome. 

If you own a business and are looking for a crucial saving for your account, then a Chromebook can be a better way to do so. Applying these to a large team of computing requirements can save money.

Since Chromebooks do not require installed software, there is no need for the company’s Information Technology department to install software or update or support it regularly.

Google automatically and periodically carries out all the updates required in your Chromebook, including the cloud-based software you use, like Google docs. If you are a customer at Google Applications, you will get 24/7 support for your removal. 

Chromebooks are unlikely to develop mechanical faults like lack of repair bills, dependability, or longevity because they are no moving parts.

Moreover, people using Chromebooks will likely spend most of their time in the cloud, which doesn’t require much physical storage investment to handle backups or networking.

However, investing in a third-party cloud backup service is always safe to keep any data safe and backed up. 

2. Cut Down Your Software Costs With Chromebooks

G Suite, Google’s own set of productivity applications, can take care of core computing needs like spreadsheets, emails, word processing, and diary management.

This is for individual users as well as business owners. All these functions can be perfectly maintained and cheap rates of six dollars for every user in a month.

Even if you don’t want G-suite to handle your applications, there are even less expensive or free browser-based options other than the free browser version of Microsoft Office or the beginner Office 365 Plans.

It provides cloud storage and an email account for a few dollars every month, added to the online edition of Excel, PowerPoint, Word, and more.

3. Less Likely to Be Attacked by Viruses

You don’t need to install a ton of software on your Chromebook because it is based on the cloud, so users find getting a virus on a Chromebook difficult. However, you can get Phished, which is entirely different from viruses.

The robust structure of Chromebooks with Automatic updates verified boots, and sandboxing is one way to prevent virus attacks and infections.

Therefore, if you are planning to buy a Chromebook, you can feel easy about buying any malware or virus protection software.

You also have no IT professional requirement to clean up the mess you make on your network after you open a nice attachment sent by a nice unknown man from another country.

4. Encourages You to Improve Productivity and Collaboration

Since you don’t need any kind of software to use Chromebooks, web applications have paved the way for allowing more than one user to access files and edit them together in real time. This has led to various forms of collaboration and has changed how work processes save time. 

If you work on a Chromebook, you will get fewer interruptions while working and doing actual work. The chrome operating system is stable and clutters-free, keeping it safe from lags and ‘bloat,’ which is quite common with other operating systems.

You might need to adjust if you use other operating systems after switching to Chrome. It takes five to ten seconds for Chromebooks to boot up and is instant on from sleep. Any gadget that lacks crashes, holdups, and distractions are good points to consider for better productivity.

5. Chromebook is a Robust Platform

Whether we use accounting solutions like Xero or e-newsletter applications like Mailchimp, email clients like Gmail, Helpdesks like Zendesk, or CRM tools like Salesforce, all these have two things similar.

Firstly, this software is used by millions of businesses all around the Globe, and secondly, all these applications can operate in web browsers.

Therefore, if your business team requires all these key tools in their web browser, then isn’t it better to provide them with a designed system, especially for doing that? Even the simplest models of Chromebooks provide a safe and quick environment for operating on web-based applications.

You can also use Chromebooks for entertainment, especially if you are planning to get one only to binge-watch. Amazon Prime or Netflix shows can be easily accessed on Chromebook. You do need a high-end laptop or windows device to do so. 

6. If You Move Around a Lot, Chromebooks Are Perfect!

One of the advantages of the Chromebook is that if you travel a lot for work purposes, Chromebooks are the best option. These mini laptops are thinner and lighter than traditional windows laptops.

This is mainly because Chromebooks do not have any moving parts and are lightweight and easier to travel. Since there are no moving parts, their battery life is perfect. However, the only thing to worry about is the accessibility of the internet connection.

Today it is not an issue you can whether the internet from your phone and Wi-Fi is always possible to find with a blind spot. However, there are also offline working choices available with Chrome applications; plan before time if anything of that sort might happen. 

7. The G-suite Integration Of Chromebooks

More than five million individuals and companies use the G suite today. If your business is in this number, you will lose your sweat looking for a better, more reliable, and better-integrated way to work with these products on the Chrome operating system. 

😔 Cons Of Using Chromebooks

Although Chromebooks’ pros seem fantastic, don’t delve into that and buy the product without reading the cons. Here are some downsides that you must consider before buying one. 

1. Microsoft Office Cannot Be Installed in Chromebooks

We have worked with Microsoft applications like Excel, Outlook, Word, and more.

Therefore, when you switch to G-suite, you will find it difficult to bring a learning curve, and even if you start using it, you will require MS Office to send files in these formats.

G-suite is best for editing, creating, and saving MS office files; however, note that for the editing purpose of complicated documents, you must watch out for format issues to save files.

On the contrary, you can always use the online version of MS office on a Chromebook. You might not access all the available tools on desktop versions; however, it helps you edit most of the browser’s Excel, Word, and PowerPoint files. However, some formatting can give you headaches while running them on G-suite. 

It is important to know that the power users of Microsoft Office outputs may require desktop versions to access advanced features that are yet to be available in online versions. And Microsoft Publisher and Microsoft Access cannot run on the browser.

However, overall you might not be held back on a lot without installing Microsoft Office on Chromebooks concerning editing. If you still feel that you cannot work without installing Microsoft Office, it’s better to reconsider buying Chromebook. 

2. Chromebooks are not ideal for Working on Multiple Media Assignments. 

You must have a traditional laptop if you work on audio or video-related assignments. The pros and cons of Chromebookhave another disadvantage as these are not ideal for working on high-rendering projects.

Mostly because they are not as powerful and cannot handle this kind of work, various software is required for working on multimedia projects like Final Cut Pro, Pro Tools, and more, and it is not at all web-based.

Moreover, you must note that basic editing of images won’t cause problems with Chromebook, as various editors are available online and offline. On the contrary, you have few choices when writing videos line web-based editors or android applications.

3. Chrome books Are a Big No for Gaming Purposes.

It is not an option if you are a gamer and plan to buy a Chromebook to play games. Mostly because these are not as powerful as other computers in terms of graphics cards, it does not fulfill the criteria that modern games demand these days.

Only some Chromebooks allow you to download android applications but note that most of these do not support large screen operations.

4. Chromebooks Can Work Offline, But They Aren’t As Functional As Laptops.

Chromebooks work best online even if it has some functional abilities offline. You can use Google Docs and Gmail in offline mode, and it will automatically sync the data once you are connected to the internet.

Therefore, Chromebooks can be a great option if you are traveling. Various other applications start work offline and are being incorporated with Chrome Operating System.

There are pros and cons to Chromebook, and if you already have all the work settled before your plan of buying and using a Chromebook, you can get enough job done. 

Summary of the Pros and Cons of Chromebook

Chromebooks can be handy but always consider the cons before you plan to buy one. 

Pros of Chromebook:-

• Chrome operating system devices like Chromebooks are cheap compared to traditional computers or laptops. 
• Chrome Operating System is fast and strong. 
• Chromebooks are light in weight, easy to travel with, and compact. 
• Chromebooks have great battery life. 
• There is less chance of risk for viruses and malware to attack your Chromebooks than that of Laptops. 
• Chromebooks can lower your cost to IT professionals as they do not work on any software. 
• These are integrated with G-suite, which works excellently online. 
• If you use web-based applications for work and entertainment, Chromebooks are probably the best idea. 

Cons of Chromebook:-

• You can use Microsoft Office on Chromebook, but only in online mode; however, some features are still missing. 
• Chromebooks are not best for multimedia tasks as they don’t support powerful editing tools. 
• If you plan to use Microsoft, you need many progressive ideas, as you can use office applications online. 
• Chromebooks are not great for gaming as it is not fit for modern games. 
• If you are used to traditional computers, then it is best not to go for Chromebooks. 

✅FAQ on pros and cons of the Chromebook

Conclusion on pros and cons of using Chromebook

To conclude, the Chrome Operating system and Android applications can fill the areas taken up by MacBook and Windows OS desktop apps. However, the Chrome Operating System and Android counterparts are not a better alternative or that good.

However, if you are a power user of Google products, all the applications, and services incorporated with the Chrome operating system work well.

The problem is only faced by people who use traditional laptops. This is why considering the pros and cons of Chromebook will help you to get the inside out of using the gadget.