What you need to know
- Laptop Mag performed drop tests on 11 different Chromebooks.
- The Google Pixelbook and Samsung Chromebook 3 landed on top.
- The publication's top pick Chromebook scored lowest.
Laptop Mag created a torture chamber for Chromebooks to replicate the spills they're likely to take in schools, as classrooms are a key selling space for the secure and easily-managed machines. 11 laptops from seven manufacturers were dropped from shoulder height, pushed off a table by a robot arm (seriously, go check out the video), and otherwise punished by gravity as they met the harsh reality of carpeting and concrete.
Google's almost-$1000 Pixelbook came out on top, but frankly, you could break six of the second-place Samsung Chromebook 3 and replace them all with brand new devices before you'd spend as much.
Unfortunately, Samsung can't take the durability crown because its convertible Chromebook Plus 2-in-1 was the eighth-place laptop, as the nature of a 2-in-1 obviously makes it more fragile. That seemed to be a theme, as Lenovo took the number three spot with the Chromebook 330e, but the 2-in-1 Lenovo C330 came in second-to-last. Despite all of that, Google seems to have struck gold by finding a 2-in-1 design for the Pixelbook that can withstand even the worst of abuse.
Surprisingly, Laptop Mag's (former?) favorite Chromebook, the ASUS Chromebook Flip C434, came in dead last. It's worth checking out the list to see all the damage to your favorites from these manufacturers, as well as HP, Dell, and Acer, which performed as you might guess. Dell and HP were near-top workhorses. Acer was bottom-five.
You get what you pay for
We knew Google's Pixelbook delivered on luxury feel and performance, but who knew it could be so rugged? It came through Laptop Mag's drop tests nicely and remains a solid recommendation, if you can afford it.
