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Samsung Galaxy Chromebook 2 360: Two-minute evaluate
The Samsung Galaxy Chromebook 2 360 is a 2-in-1 Chromebook with a small type issue for straightforward portability. It’s this miniature dimension that first strikes the attention, adopted by the glossy and minimal design. It additionally has a sturdy building, though it’s thicker and heavier than you would possibly anticipate. Regardless, the Galaxy Chromebook 2 360 continues to be simple to hold round.
Opening up the Galaxy Chromebook 2 360 additional reveals its excessive degree of engineering. The hinge mechanism, as an example, is silky clean to function but offers loads of stability.
In fact, as you’ll have guessed from its title, the Galaxy Chromebook 2 360 is convertible, so you’ll be able to flip the display screen all the way in which again and use it as a pill. Nonetheless, this isn’t very best, because the aforementioned heft prevents this from being sensible for prolonged durations. It does a lot better, although, when tented the wrong way up on a desk, as you’ll be able to nonetheless function it through the touchscreen, however with out being burdened by the load.
In the case of efficiency, there are some disappointments. The specs of the Galaxy Chromebook 2 360 are relatively middling in comparison with the best Chromebooks, which implies that multitasking and even reasonable gaming is usually a stretch for it. Fortunately, it does a lot better at mild productiveness and taking part in again video content material.
The 12.4 inch show I had in my evaluate unit was wonderful, rendering photographs and scenes vividly and with loads of brightness. The 2560 x 1600 decision additionally offers beautiful readability, as does the excessive gloss end.
Nonetheless, the latter facet may cause distinguished reflections, and the distinction will be too excessive. Nonetheless, these drawbacks aren’t persistent or egregious, they usually didn’t smash the general expertise for me.
The touchscreen may be very responsive and simple to make use of, as is the trackpad and keyboard. I might sort precisely due to the beneficiant spacing of the keys, which is spectacular when you think about the small type issue of the Galaxy Chromebook 2 360. They’re additionally very tactile for Chromebook keys.
The Galaxy Chromebook 2 360 sits on the mid-to-high finish of the market when it comes to pricing, which can appear unjustified given its efficiency is missing in sure departments, particularly when in comparison with Home windows or Mac laptops. Nonetheless, that small and stylish construct, mixed with the beautiful show, would possibly simply be sufficient to win you over.
Samsung Galaxy Chromebook 2 360 evaluate: Value and availability
- $429.99 / £419 / AU$707
- Obtainable now
- Larger finish of the market
The Galaxy Chromebook 2 360 prices $429.99 / £419 / AU$707 and is accessible now. Nonetheless, we’ve seen it on sale for significantly much less. It may be configured with both 32GB or 64GB of storage, and varied display screen sizes can be found, though just one colorway is obtainable.
It is a good worth for a convertible and expertly crafted Chromebook. Nonetheless, the CPU and RAM it’s geared up with are on the weaker facet, however the efficiency continues to be succesful sufficient.
It’s nonetheless fairly much more costly than the Acer Spin 314 Chromebook, although, which is considered one of our favourite fashions. This has extra storage and a a lot better battery life than the Galaxy Chromebook 2 360, though its decision isn’t as excessive, and we discovered it will possibly get fairly scorching when processing strenuous workloads – however these had been about the one drawbacks we might discover with it.
Samsung Galaxy Chromebook 2 360 evaluate: Specs
My Samsung Galaxy Chromebook 2 360 evaluate unit was configured with a 12.4-inch show and 64GB of storage.
|
Value |
$429.99 / £419 / AU$707 |
|
CPU |
Intel Celeron N4500 1.10GHz (2 threads, 2.80GHz) |
|
Graphics |
Built-in, Intel UHD Graphics |
|
RAM |
4GB LPDDR4x |
|
Display |
12.4-inch WQXGA LED Show (2560 x 1600), Contact |
|
Storage |
64GB e.MMC |
|
Ports |
1x USB-A, 2x USB-C, 1x microSD, 1x 3.5mm audio |
|
Wi-fi |
Wi-Fi 6, LTE (Possibility), Bluetooth v5.1 |
|
Digicam |
HD 720p / 8MP |
|
Weight |
2.82lbs (1.28kg) |
|
Dimensions |
11.3 x 8.1 x 0.7 inches (28.8 x 20.7 x 1.7cm) |
Samsung Galaxy Chromebook 2 360 evaluate: Design
- Appears premium
- Heavier than anticipated
- Nice hinge mechanism
The design of the Samsung Galaxy Chromebook 2 360 is a notable step up from the same old finances fare of many Chromebooks. It appears to be like very glossy, particularly within the mild gray colorway, and its metal-looking imparts a premium look that rivals even among the best laptops round.
Each dimension is nearly utterly flat, save from essentially the most minimal of protrusions of the ability and quantity buttons on both facet. Even the underside is free from unpleasant vents or etchings, and the 4 rubber ft are very small and skinny, which additionally makes it simpler to slip the Galaxy Chromebook 2 360 into your bag.
Regardless of appearances, nonetheless, the unit is constituted of plastic, not metallic, and consequently the Galaxy Chromebook 2 360 doesn’t really feel fairly as premium because it appears to be like. It’s nonetheless well-made, and Samsung even markets the Galaxy Chromebook 2 360 as a troublesome machine, with its spill-resistant keyboard and talent to face up to mild drops.
The draw back is that it’s thicker and heavier than its small type issue would possibly lead you to imagine. It is a minor disappointment from a portability perspective, though it’s nonetheless simple to hold round.
Flipping open the Galaxy Chromebook 2 360 and positioning the display screen at totally different angles is straightforward, due to the silky clean hinge mechanism. There’s a small quantity of wobble after making changes, however this isn’t regarding and it stays completely steady in use.
The display screen also can rotate all of the again to 360 levels, letting you employ the Galaxy Chromebook 2 360 as a pill. This works properly to an extent, though the aforementioned thickness and weight means this mode isn’t sensible for lengthy durations, and isn’t a match for the best tablets on this regard. Nonetheless, it really works a lot better while you rotate the display screen by about 315 levels as an alternative, flip it the wrong way up, and tent it on a desk.
The keyboard can also be properly made, though it feels much less premium than the remainder of the Galaxy Chromebook 2 360, for the reason that keys have a scratchy texture that doesn’t really feel essentially the most nice to the touch. Nonetheless, they function very properly, and regardless of the small format, they’re generously spaced aside. There’s additionally a wide variety of keys obtainable, together with varied ChromeOS shortcuts on the highest row, arrow keys and a protracted enter key.
The trackpad falls extra consistent with the general commonplace of the Galaxy Chromebook 2 360. It’s fairly small however moderately vast and feels very clean to the contact, making it simple to function.
Samsung Galaxy Chromebook 2 360 evaluate: Efficiency
- Unimpressive specs
- Some stuttering
- Glorious show
Benchmarks
These are the outcomes of our benchmarking exams for the Samsung Galaxy Chromebook 2 360:
TechRadar Battery Life Take a look at: 6 hours and half-hour
Jetstream2 Benchmark: 108.216
Kraken Benchmark: 1298.6ms
Speedometer 3.0: 4.79 (±0.23)
The Galaxy Chromebook 2 360 options an Intel Celeron N4500 1.10GHz CPU and 4GB RAM, neither of that are notably promising when it comes to efficiency, even by Chromebook requirements.
It may possibly deal with mild duties, from leisure to common productiveness, however it will possibly come considerably unstuck even when cheap calls for are fabricated from it. As an illustration, switching between varied home windows isn’t all the time the smoothest expertise, and I did expertise some stuttering when loading pages and navigating between a number of tabs in Chrome, regardless of not having an extreme quantity open.
Mild productiveness work can also be topic to small quantities of lag once in a while, though for phrase processing and spreadsheet modifying, the Galaxy Chromebook 2 360 continues to be succesful sufficient to be usable with out frustration.
In the case of gaming, the Galaxy Chromebook 2 360 is even much less spectacular. Enjoying Asphalt Legends Items was a gradual and stutter-ridden expertise, even on reasonable graphical settings.
Nonetheless, it was way more competent when streaming video content material, with 4K movies loading rapidly and taking part in with out buffering halfway. The viewing expertise is additional enhanced by the wonderful show of the Galaxy Chromebook 2 360.
The WQXGA decision may be very welcome on a Chromebook machine, and much more so on a show this small, for the reason that crispness and sharpness is extra obvious. This advantages not simply video content material, but in addition common navigation and productiveness, for the reason that entire UI is rendered with good readability.
Colours are vivid and there’s loads of brightness on supply too, each of which imply the Galaxy Chromebook 2 360 is proof against the washed-out look that some Chromebook shows undergo from.
Nonetheless, the distinction is usually a little too robust, which creates a extra garish picture at occasions. What’s extra, the display screen may be very shiny, which, whereas radiant, is liable to heavy reflections. That is extra noticeable at decrease brightness settings, however fortunately it didn’t smash my viewing experiences utterly – though there have been definitely events when it was lower than very best.
This excessive shine additionally implies that finger marks are highlighted greater than I’d’ve favored, so that you’ll probably wish to have a fabric handy in case you’re utilizing the touchscreen incessantly.
Fortunately, the touchscreen performs excellently: it’s responsive and clean, which makes navigation and gesturing simple. It’s additionally nice for doodling and creating signatures, though it’s a disgrace no stylus is included to unleash its full potential on this regard.
The Galaxy Chromebook 2 360 is a pleasure to sort on, with the aforementioned spacing of the keys serving to me to realize better accuracy. Additionally they have a stunning quantity of depth to their journey, which makes them really feel extra tactile.
The trackpad is nice to make use of as properly, regardless of its comparatively small dimension. Cursor actions are extremely clean, and, as with the touchscreen, it’s attentive to the varied gestures you’ll be able to carry out.
As for audio, the built-in audio system on the Galaxy Chromebook 2 360 are enough for clear, distortion-free listening; nonetheless, as you would possibly anticipate, they lack low-end depth. I wouldn’t advocate them for listening to music, however for the odd podcast or YouTube video, they match the invoice.
- Efficiency rating: 3.5 / 5
Samsung Galaxy Chromebook 2 360 evaluate: Battery life
The battery lifetime of the Samsung Galaxy Chromebook 2 360 isn’t terribly spectacular. Throughout our TechRadar take a look at, the place we play a video on a steady loop, it managed to final six and a half hours. That is significantly down on the Acer Chromebook Spin 314 (2023), our present choose as one of the best Chromebook total, which managed over ten hours.
Nonetheless, it did higher than the Acer Chromebook Plus 515, which we charge because the best student Chromebook, as this managed simply over 5 hours. What’s extra, charging the Galaxy Chromebook 2 360 is reassuringly fast, because it took simply simply over two hours to totally replenish from empty.
Ought to I purchase the Samsung Galaxy Chromebook 2 360?
|
Attributes |
Notes |
Score |
|---|---|---|
|
Value |
The Galaxy Chromebook 2 360 verges in the direction of the upper finish of the Chromebook market, however its design and display screen are class-leading. |
4 / 5 |
|
Design |
Small, handsome, and well-made, the Galaxy Chromebook 2 360 places many different Chromebooks to disgrace. |
4.5 / 5 |
|
Efficiency |
The Galaxy Chromebook 2 360 is succesful sufficient, however critical multitasking and gaming are past its means. The show is superb, although. |
3.5 / 5 |
|
Battery life |
The Galaxy Chromebook 2 360 is on the decrease finish of the longevity spectrum, and didn’t carry out terribly properly in our battery take a look at. |
3 / 5 |
|
Whole Rating |
The wonderful design and show of the Galaxy Chromebook 2 360 are nice, however don’t anticipate blistering multitasking or gaming efficiency. If you’d like a small machine to do some mild work and watch content material, it could possibly be the perfect selection. |
4 / 5 |
Purchase it if…
Do not buy it if…
Samsung Galaxy Chromebook 2 360 evaluate: Additionally contemplate
| Header Cell – Column 0 |
Samsung Galaxy Chromebook 2 360 |
Acer Chromebook Spin 314 |
Acer Chromebook Plus 515 |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Value |
$429.99 / £419 / AU$707 |
$380 / £329 (round AU$661) |
$399.99 / £399.99 (round AU$633) |
|
CPU |
Intel Celeron N4500 1.10GHz (2 threads, 2.80GHz) |
Intel Pentium N6000 Processor |
Intel Core i3-1215U |
|
Graphics |
Built-in, Intel UHD Graphics |
Intel shared graphics |
Intel UHD Graphics |
|
RAM |
4GB LPDDR4x |
4GB DDR4 |
8GB |
|
Display |
12.4-inch WQXGA LED Show (2560 x 1600), Contact |
14-inch Full HD 1920 x 1080p |
15.6-inch full HD (1920×1080) show with IPS, 16:9 facet ratio |
|
Storage |
64GB e.MMC |
128GB eMMC |
128GB |
|
Ports |
1x USB-A, 2x USB-C, 1x microSD, 1x 3.5mm audio |
USB Kind-C x 2, USB 3.1 x 1 , HDMI x 1 |
1x Kind-A USB port, 2x Kind-C ports, 1x HDMI port, and 1x headset jack |
|
Wi-fi |
Wi-Fi 6, LTE (Possibility), Bluetooth v5.1 |
Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.0 |
Intel Wi-fi Wi-Fi 6E AX211, Bluetooth 5.1 |
|
Digicam |
HD 720p / 8MP |
720p webcam |
1080p HD video at 60 fps |
|
Weight |
2.82lbs (1.28kg) |
3.42lbs (1.55kg) |
3.7lbs (1.68 kg) |
|
Dimensions |
11.3 x 8.1 x 0.7 inches (28.8 x 20.7 x 1.7cm) |
26.5 x 326 x 227mm |
14.2 x 9.39 x 0.79 inches (360.6 x 238.5 x 19.99 mm; W x D x H) |
If the Samsung Galaxy Chromebook 2 360 does not appear best for you, listed below are some alternate options:
How I examined the Samsung Galaxy Chromebook 2 360
- Examined for full day
- Ran benchmark exams
- Skilled Chromebook reviewer
I examined the Galaxy Chromebook 2 360 for a full day, throughout which period I used it for common looking, working, and gaming.
I additionally put it by TechRadar’s battery take a look at for laptops and Chromebooks, which includes taking part in again a 1080p film on a steady loop. I additionally ran varied benchmark exams to additional assess its efficiency.
I’ve reviewed quite a few laptops and Chromebooks up to now, together with different Samsung fashions. These have ranged in worth, type components, and specs, so I’m properly versed within the wider moveable laptop market and understand how the Galaxy Chromebook 2 360 stacks as much as the competitors.