Those of you who are in the market for a new laptop can find a wide range of options. Whether you want one for productivity and office work or just want one for media consumption and entertainment, there are a lot of options out there. Even though most of these laptops are Windows laptops, you can also find a few Chromebooks out there.
Since both of these are thin and light devices, choosing the right one for you can be quite confusing. Hence, we are here with the a complete comparison between Chromebook vs Laptop that consists of the following factors:
Similarities between Chromebooks and Laptops
While there are many differences between Chromebooks and Laptops that you will find later on in this comparison, they also have a few similarities as listed here:
Design and Inputs
Starting with the obvious, the biggest similarity between Chromebooks and Laptops is that they all come with very similar designs. All of them have clamshell designs with some units including 2 in 1 designs for implementing a touchscreen and more versatile viewing options. Talking about their input options, all Chromebooks and Laptops rely primarily on a touchpad and keyboard combo. You can also find touchscreen input with a few models along with the support for external peripherals via USB.
Battery Life
If you are buying something like a Chromebook or Laptop, then it is highly likely that you will be using it on the go every now and then. For the same, it is quite important to ensure that you also have a device that offers a long battery life and can easily last for a long time without needing to be plugged in again and again. Thankfully, both Chromebooks and Laptops come with large batteries and efficient internals which results in a battery life of 10 hours or more depending on the model that you are using.
Portability and Construction
As mentioned before, most Chromebook and Laptop users rely on their devices for portable usage. Because of this, it is always a great idea to go with something portable which features a thin and light construction. Starting with Chromebooks, all of them are quite thin and light thanks to their limited internals as you will see later on in this comparison.
As for laptops, even modern gaming laptops come in fairly thin and light form factors making them perfect for on the go usage. Talking about the construction, you can find both entry level options as well as premium ones whether you are going for Chromebooks or Laptops.
Differences between Chromebooks and Laptops
To choose between Chromebooks and Laptops, you will have to consider all their differences that we have listed here. You can simply go through them one by one and make a decision based on your requirements:
Performance
The biggest difference between Chromebooks and Laptops is the performance that they offer. While both of them are great for basic computing tasks and web browsing, Chromebooks offer entry-level ARM or U series processors. As for laptops, you can find both high-end U series as well as H series processors. With these, you can easily run heavy-duty tasks. Some laptops even include dedicated graphics cards for gaming and other graphics-intensive workloads.
Storage
Other than the performance of your system’s processor, it is also quite important to check the storage capacity and performance. This is due to the reason that you will be storing your data and programs. While Chromebooks do offer SSDs for fast boot up times, their storage capacity is quite limited. On the other hand, laptops can be found with TBs of storage capacity with high-performance NVMe SSD drives. For storage expansion, laptops can come with extra drive slots, whereas Chromebooks primarily rely on micro SD cards and other external drives. Although, Chromebooks do offer cloud storage options which can be quite versatile for some users.
Software
As per the name, a Chromebook runs on ChromeOS which is a cloud-based operating system. Thus, most of the tasks will be done online in the Chrome browser. While you can install apps from the Chrome Store and sideload Android apps, the versatility of Chromebooks is quite limited due to its software or operating system. As for laptops that come with Windows, you can easily install all industry-standard programs along with the support for most PC games available out there.
Security
One benefit of going with a cloud based operating system like ChromeOS is that it is quite secure in terms of cyber security attacks. The chances of getting your Chromebook attacked by viruses and malware is pretty low. On the other hand, Windows laptops are notorious for getting easily infected by all sorts of viruses which can cause a lot of issues.
Price
If you are on a budget, you should most likely go with a Chromebook since these are highly affordable. This is due to the reason that ChromeOS can easily work on entry-level hardware and entry-level Chromebooks under $300 are much more affordable than entry-level laptops.
Conclusion
As both Chromebooks and Laptops offer similar form factors, picking the right one can be a bit difficult. As you saw in this Chromebook vs Laptop comparison, both of them are great for things like their form factor, construction, portability, battery life, and general computing usage. But there are also differences in terms of their performance, storage, and most importantly software. Although, since Chromebooks are quite affordable, both of them can be a great option depending on your budget and usage needs.
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