HP and Google are making a premium 13-inch Chromebook for $499

Enlarge (credit: Google)

People who like Chrome OS but don't like the cheap low-end hardware it normally comes on or the expensive, aging Chromebook Pixel take note: HP and Google have announced a new 13-inch Chromebook that includes many of the Pixel's best features, but does it for a starting price of $499. That's half the $999 starting price of the Pixel, though it's still about twice as expensive as the cheapest Chromebooks.

The all-metal Chromebook 13's specs definitely deliver, though you'll need to drop more money to get the really impressive specs. Higher-end models have a 3200×1800 IPS display, even higher than the 2560×1700 of the Pixel, while lower-end models get a still-reasonable 1080p panel. It has two USB Type-C ports for charging, data, display output, which also makes it compatible with HP's Elite USB-C Docking Station (PDF), and it includes one standard USB Type-A port for compatibility with existing accessories.

Base models use 4GB of RAM, though 8GB and 16GB configurations are also available. It also uses a range of Skylake Core M processors, from the Pentium 4405Y at the low end to the m7-6Y75 at the high end. All of these chips ought to provide more performance than the cheaper Atom-derived Celeron and Pentium chips in cheaper Chromebooks but should still allow for a fanless design while maintaining decent performance. It's 0.51 inches (12.9mm) thick, comparable to other Core M laptops, and it weighs 2.89 pounds (1.29 kg). 802.11ac Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.2 round out the wireless capabilities, and HP promises 11.5 hours of battery life while browsing.

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