Remember a few weeks ago, when I said that I was worried about the slow and painful demise of ChromeOS? Yeah, let's just pretend that never happened. Since then, we've seen new Chromebooks from both Acer and ASUS, and there's more on the way.
Robby over at ChromeUnboxed is a master when it comes to digging through the Chromium Repositories. The latest discovery was a commit that brings "initial support for Qualcomm X1P42100 SoC," which is just the codename for the Snapdragon X Plus chip.
Before I get too ahead of myself, this isn't confirmation that such a Chromebook will ever actually see the light of day. We've seen it countless times where a device almost makes it to the finish line, only to fall just short and basically disappear. However, I'm really (and I mean REALLY) hoping that isn't the case here.
The commit message doesn't really say anything else, so there's no indication of what a ChromeOS Snapdragon X Plus device looks like. All we really know and care about, for the moment, is that the work and development are underway.
It's not like this is the first time we're seeing a new ARM chip make its way to the platform. Recently, MediaTek announced its Kompanio Ultra processor, specifically geared towards the best Chromebooks. It offers almost 20% faster CPU performance, while consuming "up to 50% less power" than the competition. As a result, MediaTek claims it's able to offer up to 20 hours of battery life on a single charge.
This is what makes the idea of an ARM-powered Chromebook so intriguing: a device that is as powerful as its Windows counterparts, with a battery that lasts all day. Plus, these ARM-powered laptops are much smaller and lighter than "traditional" offerings, making them ideal for school and travel.
Up to this point, we've been seeing MediaTek inch more and more into the Chromebook space, with a smattering of Intel, and the occasional Snapdragon 7c from Qualcomm. Notably, the Lenovo Chromebook Duet 11 is powered by the Kompanio 828 and performs admirably, but the truth is that it could be better.
Provided that Google doesn't end up changing its mind, we could eventually have the ChromeOS equivalent of the Surface Pro 11 or Surface Laptop 7. And hey, here's an idea: Google should dust off the Pixelbook 2 it shelved back in 2022, and release it with the Snapdragon X Plus at the helm.
For the sake of not diving down that rabbit hole again, there are a couple of other factors to consider. First, we might not actually ever see a mass-produced Snapdragon X Plus Chromebook released. It's entirely possible that Google is using the X Plus as a development base, in anticipation of the Snapdragon X chip that Qualcomm announced at CES 2025.
Why would this be the case? Money. You can't find a Snapdragon X Plus device for less than $700, at least without scouring through the second-hand market. Google and its partners have also shied away from releasing Chromebooks that cost more than $700, with the Samsung Galaxy Chromebook Plus and Acer Chromebook Plus Spin 714 hovering right around there.
So, before you get too excited, temper your expectations because I don't think we're going to see a Snapdragon X Elite Chromebook. However, utilizing the Snapdragon X Plus lets Google work out any potential kinks with the platform before it makes its way into any devices.
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