What is Chromebook?
Chromebook is a budget-friendly laptop integrated with Linux-based Chrome OS. Consider it as the soaped-up version of the chrome browser. Chrome serves its purpose pretty well as a mobile computer. In other words, you can have a laptop with fewer bells and whistles. Chromebooks are ultra-portable because they are not required to have a lot of RAM and heavy processing power. The reliance is more on Google apps and cloud services.
For educational purposes, Chromebooks are the perfect fit. The credit goes to the ease of use and streamlined design. Do not take it as a replacement for your feature-packed laptop but it is best for daily basic tasks. It has everything from photos to music and Maps and the office. You can easily sync it with Android devices by logging into your Google account. One of the best things about Chromebook is that they get automatically updated.
What is a laptop?
The laptop is considered to be a full-sized desktop computer but is small enough to be carried around all day. the miniature version of a desktop computer has an on-screen keyboard, trackball, trackpad, and high-powered processors and GPU. Laptops are expensive compared to desktop PCs. However, they consume less power.
The laptops are mostly used for demanding tasks and gaming. The manufacturers ensure to integrate solid hardware into the laptops to keep up with the tasks and intensive gaming sessions. Also, laptops have the most effective cooling systems to avoid heat throttling.
Difference between a Chromebook and a Laptop:
OS: The operating system is making all the difference here. Laptops mostly run-on Mac OS and Windows which is a different operating system altogether. It is designed for handling all kinds of stuff. Whereas, Chromebooks have Google Chrome OS which is the upgrade version of its chrome web browser.
Cloud: Chrome OS offers some added functionalities like there are some Google services it relies on i.e., Maps, Docs, Drive, Gmail, etc. You don’t need to have a lot of RAM and high0end processors in your Chromebook. You mostly depend on the internet connection and cloud-based services.
Storage: While buying a laptop storage is always considered. If you want it for content creation or gaming, you must be needing a lot of storage. Now we have laptops that have whooping amounts of storage even up to terabytes. This is huge. However, this doesn’t apply to Chromebooks. As Chromebooks rely on cloud services so they don’t need a separate disk drive for storage. If necessary, you can have USB Cards or SD cards for storage. But it is very rare that you need external storage peripherals.
Microsoft Office: You cannot install the Microsoft Office suite on a Chromebook. You can use the cloud-based versions of Microsoft PowerPoint, Word, Excel, and One Note. Chromebook’s native Google Sheets and Docs work better than Excel and Word. Also, you cannot install any applications on the Chromebook. You can alternatively use a web application.
Printer Access: A Chromebook cannot be connected to a printer wirelessly or via a USB connector. Instead, you must use Google Cloud Print to route your print jobs over the internet. Chromebooks can only be used with printers that support Google Cloud Print.
PC Games: Your favourite PC games, like Call of Duty, Need for Speed, etc., cannot be played on a Chromebook. However, except for AAA game titles, which call for hyper-gaming laptops, laptops can play games pretty well.
Do Chromebooks need an Internet connection?
There was a major downside to the Chromebook when it comes to the Internet connection. If you are offline and you have a deadline to meet and you want to get it done, there is not much you can do about it. Also, you can’t even save your progress. It can get frustrating sometimes. But now Google is working on this and now the special emphasis has been given to improving the offline capabilities and some apps which are common like YouTube, Netflix, Spotify, etc.
Are Chromebooks cheap?
Chromebooks are less expensive than laptops given the low hardware requirements for Chromebooks. Chromebooks are smaller and lighter as well. There are cheap laptops available in the market, but they still are more expensive than the average Chromebook.
Should you buy a Chromebook or a laptop?
It used to be quite simple to pick up a laptop. It came down to choosing between a MacBook or a Windows laptop, each of which had a strong tribal following. The Chromebook is a more recent opponent, and the two are perhaps more competitive than they've ever been.
Chromebooks are replacing "traditional" laptops as the more sensible option because of their lower pricing and straightforward design. We'd say a Chromebook is the best option unless you really must use a certain programme that is only accessible on Windows (or Mac). They are also highly secure, assisting in preventing a security breach from happening to you.
Nowadays, online computing predominates overusing your computer directly. your email address via the cloud is synced. Your paperwork? backed up on Dropbox or Google Drive. Your audio and visual works? not downloaded but streamed. Chromebooks are ideal for this "always-online" strategy and are far less expensive than Windows or Mac-based laptops.
There are some tasks that Chromebooks, MacBooks, and Windows laptops can each complete more effectively than the others. However, each has its own pros and disadvantages. They can all browse the web, stream videos, and manage documents since they are all fundamentally laptops.
Wrap up:
Chromebook is an ideal choice for students who have more to do with web browsing, video streaming, word processing, and other basic tasks. It is also a low-cost option, and you don’t need to spend a lot on a laptop when you won’t be using all the features it has to offer. Additionally, if you have storage demands you can always get a USB card or SD card. You can work on documents and directly share them with your colleagues and professors. Also, Chromebook is a more secure option when it comes to erasing virus-laden programs.
The laptop is more like a high-end investment but in return, you get a lot of convenience and versatility. You can play games and use software like illustrator, lightroom, etc. without any hassle. The computing experience is better when you are using the laptop as it has a lot more to offer as compared to the Chromebook. In terms of processing, gaming, and graphic power, the laptop is the clear winner. You can pick what serves you the best.