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HP Announces All-Metal Chromebook 13: Thinner Than MacBook Pro, Costs $800 Less

Posted by msmash on from the Chromebook-gets-its-MacBook-moment dept.

On Thursday, HP unveiled a new Chromebook 13. Designed in collaboration with Google, the Chromebook 13 sports an all-metal body and is merely 13mm thick while weighing 1.29kg. It sports a 13-inch display with 3200x1800 pixels resolution and is powered by Intel's sixth-gen Core M processor, which comes coupled with up to 16GB of RAM. There's a USB Type-C port as well, and the company is also promising up to 11.5 hours of battery life on a single charge. The retail price of the HP Chromebook starts at $499, and will launch in the US later this month.

30 of 211 comments (clear)

  1. Apples and Persimmons by wkwilley2 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    It ought to cost 800 dollar less, it's a Chromebook.

    And an HP.

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    1. Re:Apples and Persimmons by drinkypoo · · Score: 4, Informative

      They ought to give it to me for free for being willing to even consider carrying something with an HP logo on it around in public. If it doesn't completely suck, I might be willing to say so. So far, everything I've had from HP since the Kayaks has been hot garbage, and their support has been as well. The support experience is actually the primary reason I won't even consider anything from HP. Never again.

      --
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    2. Re:Apples and Persimmons by Hognoxious · · Score: 2

      Might not be so bad if it has the new logo - you can't tell what it says.

      --
      Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
    3. Re:Apples and Persimmons by TechyImmigrant · · Score: 2

      It says bp. It's the British Petroleum laptop.

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    4. Re:Apples and Persimmons by AmiMoJo · · Score: 2, Informative

      It looks pretty good for the money. You can of course run other operating systems on it. Linux, certainly, maybe even Windows. As a Linux machine it's pretty cheap for the spec.

      If anything it seems way over-speced for a Chromebook. Since Android is Linux based it should be well supported for people wanting to run Linux.

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    5. Re:Apples and Persimmons by Shoten · · Score: 2

      Meh, not had your experience. HP's hardware is cheap, but my PC, my wife's PC, and wife's laptop (all HP) have turned out to be huge improvements on their various predecessors from Gateway, Acer, Lenovo, et al.

      I just wish virtually all manufacturers, with the possible exception of Apple, who existed 20 years ago and had a reputation then for quality, weren't so much worse today (that's not a compliment aimed at Apple BTW, their hardware 15 years ago was pretty awful.)

      Wow...there's a marketing slogan for you:

      "Better than an old Gateway."

      Yeah, you'll raise the roof with that one!

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    6. Re:Apples and Persimmons by macs4all · · Score: 2

      It ought to cost 800 dollar less, it's a Chromebook.

      And an HP.

      Exactly!

      And why compare it to a MBP? That should be compared to a MacBook Air, or maybe the new MacBook (non-Pro).

      And as the Parent pointed out, IT'S A CHROMEBOOK. It shouldn't be compared to a REAL laptop AT ALL.

    7. Re:Apples and Persimmons by Shoten · · Score: 4, Informative

      And an HP.

      The dirty little secret of the laptop industry is that the big-name laptop brands - Dell, HP, Apple, Toshiba, etc. - do not actually make laptops. They're made by Taiwanese companies called ODMs - Original Design Manufacturers. They're like OEMs, except they also design the product. The brand name just slaps it in one of their boxes before re-shipping it to you. About the only thing the brand name tells you is what type of warranty service to expect. The entire industry is very secretive about this, and makes it nearly impossible to tell which ODM actually made each particular model laptop (most brands use multiple ODMs).

      The Macbooks are made by Quanta (they're the only ODM Apple is currently using for their laptops; the old plastic Macbooks were made by Asus/Pegatron). Quanta also happens to make most of HP's laptops. This is why all those "laptop reliability reports" which break it down by brand name are bunk.

      True...and not true.

      The implication of your post is that an HP is not really an HP, but something entirely designed, sourced, and built by another company but with HP's name on it. This is not the case. HP buys components from other companies, and other companies often do the manufacturing...but the design of the laptop, its specifications, and essentially everything that determines how good it is are entirely HP's doing. The same is (clearly) true of Apple. The fact that the manufacturing is outsourced isn't really germane; you'll never have an Apple and HP computer that, side-by-side, are entirely interchangeable.

      Disclaimer: I used to work for HP. Please don't hold it against me...

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    8. Re:Apples and Persimmons by macs4all · · Score: 3, Informative

      The Macbooks are made by Quanta (they're the only ODM Apple is currently using for their laptops; the old plastic Macbooks were made by Asus/Pegatron).

      Sorry, no.

      No doubt that Quanta does lots of ODM work for those generic Wintel laptops; but Apple laptops are designed by Apple, period; have been for years.

      Quanta is simply a Contract MANUFACTURER used by Apple to BUILD MacBooks. Has been for years.

      Same thing for Asus/Pegatron. Contract MANUFACTURER Only.

      You apparently don't understand the difference between DESIGN and MANUFACTURING. I can find NO reference to Apple using either of those companies for anything other than Contract MANUFACTURING, not DESIGN work.

      Prove me wrong.

    9. Re:Apples and Persimmons by nmr_andrew · · Score: 2

      It looks pretty good for the money.

      Maybe. But while it will probably get me labeled a blasphemer and heretic on /., I just RTFA (ok, skimmed really). The very next paragraphs starts out by saying the "base model" - i.e. the one with the $500 price tag - will very likely have lower specs, they specifically mention 1920x1080, 4 GB or 8 GB RAM, and probably a lesser CPU. It also mentions that this thing has a whopping 32 GB of storage, presumably flash memory, nor any way to add any other than USB-C.

    10. Re: Apples and Persimmons by macs4all · · Score: 2

      You don't understand the difference between "makes" and "designs".

      As an embedded Developer with almost 40 years' PAID experience and several industrial product designs under my belt, I think I DO understand the difference, COWARD.

      The first product I designed the software and most of the hardware for (it employed an already-built power-electronics assembly, but I did the controller design and and all the software), back in 1989, we used a Contract Manufacturer, because we didn't have SMT fabrication facilites in-house. And since that time, I think I have done the software and hardware for several other products that were ultimately built by Contract Manufacturers. So, I think I DO know the difference between "Design" and "Makes" (manufactures).

      So, STFU, and go crawl back under whatever slimy rock you live under.

  2. Chromebook? by Iamthecheese · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Can I ask the reason, with that much power, not to include a real OS? Also it's disingenuous to name high specs, then say "starting at $lowprice", and THEN say the low specs that go with the low price. That smells like slashvertising.

    --
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    1. Re:Chromebook? by LWATCDR · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Odds are you will see a Windows version of the same machine. I just hope you can put Linux on this one or the Windows version... Oh and that the touchpad does not suck.

      --
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    2. Re:Chromebook? by mrchaotica · · Score: 2

      Chrome OS is Linux (and if you don't like the Chrome UI, a normal DE is just a chroot away). Are you saying Linux isn't a real OS?

      --

      "[Regarding the 'cloud,'] ownership was what made America different than Russia." -- Woz

    3. Re:Chromebook? by greenfruitsalad · · Score: 4, Informative

      i do not like limitations of ChromeOS but it is currently the ONLY way to get a haswell/broadwell/skylake laptop with linux with proper power management. i've yet to see a non-chromeos laptop that can enter a state lower than PC3 (package state, not core).

      https://www.reddit.com/r/linux...
      https://www.reddit.com/r/linux...

      so I, for one, am interested in this new chromebook. i currently have a haswell chromebook with crouton installed and i have never experienced such battery life with a linux machine before (not even on dell sputnik). it's a crappy cheap machine but i'm finding myself using it almost exclusively these days. it's the first computer i can leave the house with while leaving the charger at home.

    4. Re:Chromebook? by thsths · · Score: 2

      Exactly. The MacBook Pro comes with a real OS, this Chromebook is just an advertising delivery system. Yes, it is good value, but unless you can open it up for real applications, it is not actually a computer.

    5. Re:Chromebook? by youngatheart · · Score: 5, Insightful

      If you're asking, you aren't going to like the answer, but I'll try anyway.

      Like many /.'ers I do support for family. Guess which laptops and computers get screwed up? Windows of course. If I don't want to have to fix stuff on a regular basis, I rule Windows out immediately. Macs seem a bit pricey but I could get over that, the problem I have is that typically people find it hard to use at first, which for some of my family translates to forever. (One of the people I support gets quite upset if Internet Explorer isn't on the page he left it on.)

      You know what doesn't get screwed up? Chromebooks. I can hand one to a nine year old niece or to her grandmother and they'll be able to do everything they want and it won't be messed up when they hand it back. We have two that we keep on hand for just that sort of purpose. They're both cheap and a few years old, and they still keep up with all that their target audience asks of them.

      At this price though, this wouldn't be for my niece or her grandmother. This would be a Chromebook for me. I'm a veteran of OSs ranging from Xenix to Microsoft Server 2012, so I feel comfortable with pretty much whatever. About the only question that matters to me when I pick an OS for my own use is how much effort it will require.

      In years past, I would compile my own custom kernel and tweak optimizations for all the software I ran which made me a big fan of Gentoo and FreeBSD, and I'd spend hours tweaking Blackbox. These days? I take the easy and fast route for most things. My current desktop dual boots Windows 10 and Mint and most of my servers run CentOS. If I'm working, I'm either on a remote command line or in a remote desktop, so what good does Windows or Linux or Mac on the laptop do for me? The only thing I ask of my local computer most of the time is that it render web pages well and not give me grief over streaming videos when I'm taking downtime.

      So this is a tempting laptop for me. It would do everything I need in a snappy fashion, including running video on my real displays and take zero maintenance. That's what makes Chromebooks most appealing, they don't take effort. Plus, with this higher level of hardware, if I ever decided I needed something else, I'd just put Linux or BSD on it and it'd be as good for the money as most of the alternatives I might have purchased.

    6. Re:Chromebook? by sootman · · Score: 2

      Yeah. The way they wrote that really sucks. Here's what you ACTUALLY get for $499: "Entry-level models will likely* have lesser specs: the laptop can be configured with a 1920 x 1080 pixel display, 4GB or 8GB of RAM, and processor options including Pentium 4405Y, Core M3, and Core M5 processor." So $499 gets you a 1080p screen and 4 GB and whichever processor is worst on that list. In other words, it gets you a $499 laptop.

      * and who the fuck put "likely" in there? How about "absolutely definitely"!? :-/

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  3. Shill much? by swimboy · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Comparing this to a MacBook Pro is like comparing a Chevy Spark to a BMW 7-series. The MacBook Pro is Apple's big-boy-pants laptop with a real i5 or i7 processor, and a real OS. This has a Core m processor and ChromeOS. Not even close to the same thing, and nobody who'd be happy with one would even consider the other.

    --
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    1. Re:Shill much? by Solandri · · Score: 4, Informative
      The new Skylake Core M processors are actually better than a mobile i5 (they have 4MB cache like an i7, vs the 3MB of the i5). They just throttle more aggressively when hitting thermal limits because the manufacturer has put in a smaller cooling system. It's why you see them beating i5 laptops on certain benchmarks, while losing badly to them in others. If the benchmark is short, the Core M doesn't thermal throttle, and the larger cache gives it an edge. If the benchmark is long, the Core M throttles and is loses. (This wasn't true of the Broadwell Core M - those would only turbo boost on a single core. But the Skylake Core M will turbo on both cores just like an i5 or i7.)

      I'm wondering if some manufacturer will notice this, and stick a Core M in their laptop with a regular-sized cooler, to effectively give you a "cheap i7" (only difference between the mobile dual core i7 and i5 is 4MB vs 3MB cache).

      The major distinguishing features of the MBP are:
      • Calibrated 100% sRGB screen. Lots of other laptops have screens which hit 100% sRGB or close, a few even cover 100% Adobe RGB. But if you don't do graphics, photo, or video work, you're not gonna notice the difference between a 100% sRGB screen and a 80% sRGB screen (pretty much all IPS-type displays can hit at least 80%). 100% Adobe RGB OTOH is very noticeable (think of the AMOLED screens on Samsung phones), and it's sad that we went backwards from NTSC (roughly the same color gamut as Adobe RGB) in the CRT days, to sRGB as a standard on flat panels. The MBPs are one of the few laptops whose screens are calibrated at the factory. But anybody doing color-critical work will own their own colorimeter and do their own calibration, rather than rely on a generic color profile.
      • Iris graphics. This is just Apple's way of bypassing a design flaw in the Macbooks. They don't have vent holes, so the insides get really toasty. No the metal chassis does not help heat transfer because there's a layer of insulating air between the hot parts and the chassis. When you combine a heat insulator with a conductor, the insulator wins. A better solution is to use vent holes to remove the heated air and replace it with cool air. The lack of vents on the MBPs means a discrete GPU is out of the question, forcing Apple to resort to other means to improve 3D graphics performance.
      • PCIe SSDs. While these can exceed the SATA 3 limits, they only do so for sequential read/writes. That makes the extra speed only really useful for certain tasks. The vast majority of computing tasks are bound by the 4k read/write speeds, which are still around 30-70 MB/s unqueued for the best SSDs - well under the SATA 3 limit. Video editing is one of the few tasks which benefits from the higher sequential read/write speeds (which admittedly many MBPs are used for). But if you're not doing that sort of thing, about the only time you'll see the extra speed of the PCIe SSD is if you're copying movie files to/from an external PCIe SSD. Otherwise its performance will be indistinguishable from a regular SATA 3 SSD.

      The MBPs are extremely good tools for the intended audience, and I recommend them in a heartbeat for anyone in those fields (graphics artists, photographers, videographers). But for anyone else, you're wasting a lot of money on features which won't benefit you in any way.

  4. Piece of paper by Chmarr · · Score: 5, Funny

    Much MUCH thinner than the HP all-metal chromebook, and costs $500 less.

    1. Re:Piece of paper by Chmarr · · Score: 3, Funny

      And it has two sides! It dual-boots!

  5. There's a USB Type-C port by fustakrakich · · Score: 5, Funny

    That's good. I was worried there would be no place to plug in my headphones

    --
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  6. Lame by 110010001000 · · Score: 4, Funny

    No wireless. Less space than a Nomad. Lame.

  7. Misleading Trash Article by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

    From TFA

    "Entry-level models will likely have lesser specs: the laptop can be configured with a 1920 x 1080 pixel display, 4GB or 8GB of RAM, and processor options including Pentium 4405Y, Core M3, and Core M5 processor."

    That's the entry-level model that costs $800 less, not the one you're advertising, you fucking shill.

  8. All metal by fahrbot-bot · · Score: 4, Funny

    I know Carly may have fired HP's best and brightest, but they *do* know it doesn't have to be made out of actual Chrome, right?

    --
    It must have been something you assimilated. . . .
  9. Re:USB-C port by markus · · Score: 3, Informative

    I believe, with the exception of the printer, the answer is yes to all of your questions.

    And if your printer was built in the last couple of years, there is a good chance it supports Google Cloudprint, allowing you to print to it any time your Chromebook is connected to the network. No need for any wires.

    If you have an older printer, you'll need a helper application to run on another computer though. So, yes, that's a little awkward but it is a problem that will go away over time, as hardware gets updated.

  10. "Thin" is not a feature by somenickname · · Score: 2

    Beyond a certain point, "thin" stops being a feature. We reached that point long ago. The sacrifices that laptop developers are making to create these ultra-thin laptops are a huge step backwards for computing. User replaceable disks/ram/keyboard/motherboards/anything was a fairly common feature of many laptops until this ultra-thin craze started. I've physically broken every laptop I've ever owned at least once. A laptop with everything soldered onto the motherboard and practically hermetically sealed, will be a paperweight in a year for a heavy use laptop user. But, maybe that's the plan. Sell people easily destroyed, non-fixable but very fancy looking junk and hope you can sell them even fancier looking junk next year when their laptop stops working.

  11. Maybe HP by rsilvergun · · Score: 2

    Is just using chrome books to dodge the Microsoft tax without losing their OEM license?

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  12. Absurd fiction. by Brannon · · Score: 2

    Apple designs their own laptops. Obviously they sub-contract manufacturing, but they clearly don't just slap an Apple label onto some rickety ODM crap.