Samsung Chromebook Pro review

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Samsung Chromebook Pro

Samsung’s Chromebook Pro and Plus for 2017 are the next evolution in the Chromebook effort. The team at Samsung has paired up with Google’s engineers to produce Chromebooks specifically designed to run apps from the Google Play Store, with motion controls, and a multi-touch compatible display.

That doesn’t mean it isn’t a fully-featured Chromebook, too. The Samsung Chromebook Pro sports an Intel Core M processor, 2,560 x 1,600 panel, and multiple Thunderbolt 3 ports. At $549, though, the Chromebook Pro is one of the more expensive Chrome OS options on the market. With a V2 of the Samsung Chromebook Plus on the market, is the original still worth the price of admission?

The hinged wonder

As far as Chromebooks go, Samsung’s offering is on the high-end. The magnesium alloy chassis feels sturdy to the touch. It’s important to note that there are two models of Samsung Chromebook, the Pro and Plus, but the only differences between the two are CPU and color.

Display quality is the best reason to consider the Samsung Chromebook Pro.

Our review model was the Pro, which features an Intel Core M processor. Our was silver, but that will actually be the color for the Plus, with the hexa-core ARM processor. The final version of the Pro will be a darker shade. In any case, the Pro is a simple but elegant machine. It’s not eye-catching, but also inoffensive.

The hinge is sturdy, and find the balance 360-degree hinges often lose. If you’re trying to tilt the screen, it’s easy to do so, and it will hold the panel in place wherever you need it to. That allows it work splendidly in both tent and laid-back modes.

Fold it all the way around, and it’s essentially an Android tablet, although it’s not quite that simple. The power and volume buttons fall on the keyboard unit, so they’re behind the tablet portion when flipped all the way around. It’s not the easiest to use as a dedicated tablet, but it’s far from the most awkward. The device’s small size and light weight make it easy to handle. We also love the screen – more on that in a moment.

A pair of Thunderbolt ports, and not much else

The Samsung Chromebook Plus has limited wired connectivity, which doesn’t come as much of a surprise considering its size or intended use case. There’s a Thunderbolt 3 port on each side of the system, with headphones and a MicroSD slot tucked away on the left side, plus a 3.5mm headphone jack.

While that might seem limiting to a lot of users, one or two Type-C ports are quickly becoming the standard for compact, lightweight systems. For most of the situations you’ll find yourself in with a Chromebook, wired video out ports are a luxury, or completely unnecessary. Still, if you often need to present from a projector or stream to a TV without a Chromecast, you’ll need an adapter.

Cramped, but enjoyable

Of the two most important keyboard qualities, size and key-feel, the Samsung nails just the latter. Each key on the Chromebook Plus is responsive, sturdy, and clicks satisfyingly, providing deep travel not usually found on such small systems.

However, the keyboard layout feels cramped, and will feel doubly so to people making the move from larger Windows and Mac laptops. Important keys like backspace and tab are too narrow, which is not an uncommon issue on smaller Chromebooks. There’s also no backlighting, which seems like a notable absence for the price point.

The trackpad is somehow even more disappointing. It’s small, particularly compared to the sprawling glass touchpads we’ve seen on systems like the XPS 13 and Apple’s MacBook line. As such, some of the Chrome OS gestures can feel a little cramped. Thanks to the touchscreen, you can simply drag around the screen if it grows frustrating, but users sitting at a desk will want to look for an external mouse.

Samsung is the only manufacturer to offer a digitizer stylus with its Chromebook. It slips away into the back-right corner on the base of the laptop, popping out with a clicking button on its exposed end. Removing it will trigger a pop-up context menu that allows the user choose its functionality. Apart from standard touch and handwriting modes, there’s also a laser pointer mode, magnifying glass, and a selection mode for capturing screenshots.

It may not be useful in all situations, especially in Chrome web apps, but it can help with precise touches in Android apps. It also has handwriting recognition through Google Keep, which allows you to quickly jot down notes and even search them, assisted by Google’s deep learning. It isn’t the most well-supported feature at the moment, but frequent note-takers may find themselves reaching for the stylus on a regular basis.

Samsung Chromebook Pro Compared To

Lenovo Yoga 730

Dell XPS 15 2-in-1

Samsung Notebook 9 Pen

Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Yoga 3rd-gen

HP Envy x2 (2017)

Acer Switch 3

Samsung Galaxy Book

Asus Chromebook Flip C302CA

Lenovo Yoga Book

Lenovo Yoga 3 Pro

Lenovo Yoga 2 Pro

Dell XPS 12 (2013)

Lenovo ThinkPad Helix

Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Touch

Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga 13

A lovely display

For this high-end Chromebook, Samsung reached for a 2,400 x 1,600 display, which boasts a pleasantly high 235 PPI. The Asus Chromebook Flip C302CA only packs in a 1080p screen, while the HP Chromebook 13 does bumps the resolution up to 3,200 x 1,800.

The Samsung has an advantage with its unusual 3:2 aspect ratio, which we’ve seen become more common on touchscreen devices. The ratio makes the display far closer to a square than most, when in turn makes the system feel more tablet-like, and gives Android apps plenty of room to run in both landscape or portrait mode. It’s an important detail that even most Android tablets don’t get right.

The keyboard layout feels cramped.

When discussing display quality, we often reach for our Spyder5Elite, a calibration tool that runs a gamut of tests while measuring the effective output of the display. We don’t have that luxury on our Chromebook because Chrome OS is not compatible with the test software, so we’ll have to rely on subjective impressions.

We came away impressed with not just the contrast and color accuracy, but with general screen quality. Colors had a full, vivid quality to them, while avoiding the neon-tinted blues and greens that often come along with that. Black levels were satisfyingly deep, giving bright spots a chance to truly shine.

That’s good news for the Samsung, particularly in a category where displays aren’t necessarily taken as seriously as they are in other laptops. Here, the Samsung’s panel can shine even brighter than it might otherwise. Its closest competitor, the Asus Chromebook Flip C302CA, doesn’t have as high-resolution a panel, and we weren’t as enthused by its brightness or white point. The screen is the best reason to consider the Samsung Chromebook Pro.

Turn it down

The Samsung Chromebook Pro suffers from a problem that many smaller systems share — audio quality. With a pair of downward-facing speakers, it was immediately clear the Chromebook wasn’t going to offer up anything besides basic sound reproduction.

Bill Roberson/Digital Trends
Bill Roberson/Digital Trends

On the other hand, we found the speakers were more than loud enough to fill a small room with sound. Not that you’d want them to run at that volume, where they cracked and sputtered audibly. Instead, at half-mast, the volume was comfortable enough to show off a Youtube video to a small group without it sounding like the speakers were stuffed in a tin can.

Usually fast enough, but the Intel chip has limits

Our review unit, the Samsung Chromebook Pro, was powered by an Intel Core m3-6Y30, a dual-core chip with a 900MHz base clock, 2.2GHz Turbo Boost, and Hyper-Threading. It’s a well-equipped, if low-power, option for a higher-end Chromebook. It’s the same chip found in the Asus C302CA, and just shy of the Core m5 found in the HP Chromebook 13.

The other version of this system, the Samsung Chromebook Plus, is powered by an ARM-based, hexa-core OP1 CPU. That’s a forward-looking move that will also save you $100 off the sticker price, but without spending time with the machine, it’s hard to say how performance will compare.

Our Chromebook testing process doesn’t have many actual performance benchmarks to lean back on, due to compatibility issues with most benchmarks. That said, we found the performance to be more than adequate for most users, and in most daily use cases. The system occasionally stuttered or hung for a few moments, but only if there were a lot of tabs open. In fact, we most often saw the gears slip a bit when we were switching back and forth between Google Play apps and Chrome-based software.

Android apps are one of the stronger performance points on the Chromebook Pro. The Core m3 chip is faster than basically anything you’d find in a standard Android tablet, so even the most demanding Google Play apps run smoothly at the highest setting and resolution. We did find there was a bit of a break-in time for games like Asphalt 8 and Fallout Shelter. We saw that performance often started out rocky and smoothed out over time. After playing a full game, Hearthstone ran as well as it does on any Android tablet or laptop.

Time to play

Often, the software section in our laptop reviews sticks to any bundled software, or lack thereof. In the Samsung’s case, it’s a big piece of the puzzle. The Chromebook Pro and Plus are the first systems designed with Chrome OS and Google Play in mind, with accelerometer and gyroscopes for tilting and steering in games, and a digitizer touch pen for quick notes.

It’s a solution that feels a little rushed, even if it is still in its beta stages. Android apps work as expected, and the fact that Android already supports mouse emulation to a basic degree helps smooth the transition. That said, tablet mode is clearly the ideal setup for Google Play apps, and trying to use some of them in laptop mode can cause odd frustrations.

For example, the back button is commonly used on Android phones and tablets, but you’ll have to reach up to the back arrow in the upper left corner of your keyboard, or on the screen, to use it. Similarly, messaging apps don’t often use the “enter” key on an Android keyboard, so you’ll have to reach out to the screen and tap send.

Ultimately, if something is already working well in the browser on Chrome OS, you’re better off sticking with that instead of switching to the Android version. For us, that meant Google Play apps were often relegated to niche status – playing games like Fallout Shelter or Hearthstone, and the Netflix app lets you download some TV shows and movies, a feature laptops can’t claim.

Portable enough

At just .55 inches thick, Samsung’s Chromebook Pro fits in right alongside the thinnest systems we’ve tested. Its compact size shouldn’t be a problem for anyone, even those with small work bags. It’s also about a third of a pound lighter than the Asus, although neither is light enough for long-term tablet use.

As far as battery life goes, the Samsung doesn’t impress as much as we’d hoped going in. Its 39-watt hour battery isn’t large by modern standards, but it seems large for a small, efficient Chrome OS laptop.

It’s not the easiest to use as a tablet, but also far from the most awkward.

Even so, we saw a modest five hours and 14 minutes in the Peacekeeper browser benchmark loop — easily the most demanding battery test in our arsenal. The Asus stayed alive an hour longer. Some Chromebooks we’ve tested, like the Acer Chromebook 15, Lenovo IdeaPad 100S, and Acer Chromebook R11, have hit six and half to seven hours.

The Samsung Chromebook Pro lasted a respectable but not outstanding nine hours and 37 minutes in our video loop test, which loops a 1080p video file. That’s better than the Asus Chromebook C302CA, which lasted eight hours and five minutes. However, the best Windows laptops can last longer, with many hitting 10 hours of endurance or more.

We had hope the Chromebook Pro might last longer, given its premium position – but to be fair, it does defeat other high-end Chromebooks, and represents the upper end of endurance in Chrome OS systems.

Warranty

Like almost every laptop under the sun, the Samsung Chromebook Pro comes with a 12-month warranty. That’s standard, even for the low-cost Chromebook category.

Our Take

Samsung’s Chromebook Pro is a premium, ambitious system, with a lot going for it when it comes to design and feature set. There’s some awkwardness associated with Google Play’s recent introduction to Chrome OS, but the problems are minor, and potentially solvable in software. It carries a premium price for the category, but still comes in well under even the most budget-friendly Windows machines.

Is there a better alternative?

There are several other Chromebooks at the high-end price point for the category. The most immediately comparable system is the Pixelbook, though it’s nearly double the cost these days. It packs a similar 2-in-1 form factor and high-end design.

HP’s Chromebook 13 shoots a bit more straight down the middle, with a 3,200 x 1,800 panel, backlit keyboard, and core m5 CPU. It lacks the 360-degree hinge, but may be a more appropriate fit if you don’t see yourself playing a lot of games or already have an Android tablet.

The DT Accessory Pack

Ice Red AVA Laptop Backpack

$65.99

Jack Spade Tech Oxford Slim NYRU1352 Briefcase

$305.13

AmazonBasics Wireless Mouse

$9.99

Logitech M510 Wireless Mouse

$20.99

Sugru Moldable Glue

$17.10

AmazonBasics 7-inch~17.3-inch Laptop Sleeve

$11.49

Semi-Transparent Universal Silicone Keyboard Protector

$5.80

You could also spend far less on a Chromebook, but you’d have to compromise with lower-end CPU options, less RAM, and likely a 1,336 x 768 panel. You’d save a couple hundred dollars, but the day-to-day experience would be critically wounded compared to the Samsung. And you can forget about fancy features like stylus support, an accelerometer, or possibly even Google Play support. Not all Chromebooks will receive the update to enable it.

How long will it last?

Samsung’s Chromebook Pro represents the next major step for Chromebooks. It’s already built with some of the newest hardware available, and a rich feature set that you can expect to define the category for years to come. At launch, the Samsung Chromebook Pro and Plus are better equipped than any other Chromebook on the market to accept new features and software.

Should you buy it?

Yes. Samsung’s new Chromebooks represent the bleeding edge of development for Chrome OS, and are likely to support features we won’t see on other systems for quite some time. It also nails some of the fundamental elements of a high-end Chrome OS device, including a high-resolution display.

The Chromebook Pro has a few rough edges, and more traditional or less expensive Chromebooks could be the better pick for users who just want a very simple, intuitive laptop. Those who care about Chrome OS, though, will adore the Chromebook Pro’s advanced features.

What you missed this week on CordCutters.com

Amazon Fire TV Cube, WatchTV from AT&T, and new July listings!

It’s been a big week for us at CordCutters.com. We’ve got new streaming hardware to play with, and we’re taking our time and doing it right.

OK, we’re also keeping one eye open on the World Cup games each day. And you’re still able to stream all the games on pretty much every streaming platform out there.

What else have we been up to this week? Quite a lot, actually. Here’s what you might have missed.

• Amazon Fire TV Cube is here: It’s part Fire TV, part Echo Dot. And we’re putting it through its paces. Look for a full review in the next few days.
• Get a great deal on a Fire TV Cube: And a reminder that you can get $35 off a Fire TV Cube if you trade-in a current streaming device.
• Racist Roseanne is out, “The Connors” are in: The reboot is being rebooted and will air this fall.
• AT&T’s new “skinny” WatchTV bundle: Two new wireless plans bring along an inexpensive streaming video deal. And it’ll be available on its own for $15 a month later this year.
• What’s streaming in July: One of our more popular features — what’s new on Netflix, what’s new on Amazon Prime Video, and what’s new on Hulu for July 2018.
• Do you really need an “HD” antenna? You most certainly do! But here’s the thing about “HD” …

That’s it for this week. So much more to come!

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Luvmyhike is the app that helps you get in shape for adventure

There are few better ways to get a gauge on your current level of fitness than signing up for an extended backpacking trip or adventure travel experience. Those types of excursions can be a lot of fun, but they can also leave you with sore muscles, burning lungs, and a very large slice of humble pie. Because of this, many outdoor enthusiasts will start training weeks in advance of a big trip in an effort to lessen the amount of suffering they endure while out on the trail. Now a new app is looking to help with that process, with a goal of making outdoor adventure more fun and accessible.

Available for both iOS and Android, Luvmyhike comes or way courtesy of the Wild Women on Top, an adventure travel company that not only offers great excursions, but excellent tips for how to prepare for those getaways as well. The wisdom imparted on clients over the years is distilled nicely in the app, offering advice on how to better prepare for the next big outing on your list while also adding a bit of adventure to your daily life.

The Luvmyhike app is specifically tailored for those planning a big hike or trekking excursion, such as backpacking the Appalachian Trail or walking the Inca Trail in Peru. That said, it also offers solid fitness advice for any outdoor enthusiast looking to improve their overall health, not just physically, but mentally and spiritually too.

With that in mind, the app features a 12-week fitness program to help users better prepare for their next adventure, whether that’s hiking a local trail or climbing Kilimanjaro in Africa. To achieve that, Luvmyhike’s program motivates adventurers to reach their goal, while also offering inspirational notes, a series of “how to” videos, and more. The workouts are designed to be done outdoors in real world environments, prompting users to leave the gym behind. The app’s workouts have even been tuned to help improve endurance, prepare hikers for trekking at altitude, and get used to carrying a heavy backpack for hours at a time.

The Luvmyhike app comes with a seven-day free trial, but members will have to pay $8 Australian (about $6 U.S.) per week once that period has ended. For more info visit the Luvmyhike website.

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Best SD Cards for Chromebooks in 2018

Expanding your Chromebook’s storage.

If you want to expand your Chromebook’s storage, you can use an SD or microSD card and boom, you’ve got more space. It’s not exactly the same because Chrome’s security model treats storage you can remove differently than storage you can’t, but an SD card slot means limitless storage space for photos, video, documents or anything else that you need to keep somewhere.

Whether you use a full-size SD card, a microSD card or a half-height SD card depends on your particular model of Chromebook. Or maybe, you can’t use a SD card because you don’t have a slot for one — we have you covered, too.

• Full-size SD cards
• microSD cards
• Half-height SD cards
• An alternative

Full-size SD cards

Full-size SD cards are the largest SD cards in terms of physical size. Whether or not your Chromebook will fit a full-size SD card depends on the model and manufacturer.

Even then, a full-sized SD card may stick out of the SD card slot on your Chromebook and if this is the case, we don’t recommend that you use a full-sized SD card in your Chromebook all the time, since it could catch on something. Instead, insert it when you need to transfer files over or access files you’ve stored on it previously, then remove it again.

SanDisk Extreme Pro SDXC

If your Chromebook has a full-sized SD card slot, this is a no-brainer. The SanDisk Extreme Pro SD card is the best SD card you can buy.

It has data transfer speeds of up to 95MB/s, so you can transfer those Blu-ray movies you’ve got sitting on your Chromebook’s hard drive without a problem. You’ll also find it available in models featuring 8GB (but don’t buy anything smaller than the 32GB version or you’ll wish you hadn’t) of space up to a whopping 512GB version.

Like all full-sized SD cards, the SanDisk features write protection, which prevents you from accidentally erasing or overwriting your important files. No more worrying about accidentally erasing those old family pictures.

If you’re looking for a fast, reliable SD card, this is the one to buy. Pricing starts around $20 for the 32GB model.

See at Amazon

microSD cards

MicroSD cards are much smaller in physical size than their larger SD card cousins — about as large as a fingernail whereas SD cards are about the size of a postage stamp.

Their smaller size doesn’t mean that they have smaller capacities than their larger brethren, however; they simply have a smaller form factor, and that means they’re typically used in smaller devices, such as smartphones and tablets.

For the most part, if your Chromebook can fit an SD card, it’ll take a microSD card. You’d just need an adapter, such as the Raspberry PI Shortening MicroSD Adapter to make things work with a full-sized slot.

SanDisk Ultra 200GB microSDXC

The SanDisk Ultra 200GB microSD card is about as fast as they come, and with a 200GB capacity, it provides a lot of space for your files.

Transferring large files won’t be a problem with its rated 100MB/s transfer rate and with all of that space available, it can hold up to 20 hours of HD video. That’s right, 20 hours.

If you’re looking for an expandable storage option for your Chromebook that’s fast and has a large capacity, check out the SanDisk Ultra 200GB microSD card. The 200GB model comes in around $60. If that’s more than you want to spend, prices start at just $13 for smaller capacities. you can even find a 400GB version for about $190 if you’re that kind of baller.

See at Amazon

Samsung EVO Plus 128GB microSDXC

Slightly slower than the SanDisk Ultra microSD card, Samsung’s EVO Plus 128GB is still fast enough for most uses and is correspondingly cheaper too.

While it doesn’t have as large a capacity as the SanDisk Ultra 200GB, the Samsung EVO Plus may have enough to suit your needs if you are looking for a bargain. Though it’s a little slower, you won’t notice much of a difference when transferring files or media.

These EVO cards are fast enough for most everyone, and $40 gets you 128GB of storage from Samsung.

See at Amazon

Half-height SD cards

Half-height SD cards, as the name implies, are SD cards that have a shorter form factor. They’re a great alternative if regular-height SD cards protrude from your Chromebook’s SD card slot and microSD cards aren’t compatible.

Transcend JetDrive Lite 330

The Transcend JetDrive Lite 330 comes in three capacities: 64GB, 128GB, and 256GB.

With a maximum rated read speed of up to 95MB/s and write speeds of up to 60MB/s, this half-height card is fast enough for downloading large files, and with its three capacity options, you can choose just the amount you need (and the price, too).

These aren’t cheap — the 64GB model is around $50, but If you don’t want to or can’t use a microSD card, the Transcend JetDrive may be the card for you.

See at Amazon

Shortening microSD adapter

If you have a fast microSD-card or want to buy a new one in your Chromebook, you can get a half-height adapter to keep things from hanging out of the side too far. Originally designed for use in a Raspberry Pi, these adapters from Adafruit work exactly the same as any high-quality full-sized adapter. There’s just less hanging out to snag on things. Best of all, they’re only $9.

See at Amazon

An alternative

SanDisk Ultra Fit 128GB USB 3.0 Flash Drive (for older USB-A ports)

Maybe you don’t want to use an SD card at all but still want to expand your storage or you don’t have a SD card slot on your Chromebook. The SanDisk Ultra Fit USB Flash Drive offers up to 128GB capacity and its low profile fits snugly against your Chromebook when it’s inserted. Its low price — $30 for 128GB — fits snugly against your heart, too.

Read speeds up to 150MB/s mean it’s ultra-fast and the design means you can leave it inserted so it’s always ready every time you boot up.

These are USB-A (bigger, older style socket) drives, so make sure you have the right USB ports!

See at Amazon

SanDisk Ultra USB Type-C 128GB Flash Drive

While these don’t fit flush to the side like the USB Type A flash drives above, they are fast and reliable removable storage for your Chromebook if it only has newer USB-C ports.

The 128GB model sells for around $40, and it offers USB 3.1 compliance with read speeds of up to 150MB. It’s fast, and SanDisk is known to build reliable storage. Eventually, we’ll see “shorty” USB-C flash drives that don’t like to protrude so much, but until then these flash drives are a great way to expand your storage.

See at Amazon

We’ve told you which SD cards we prefer, but what about you? Let us know in the comments below!

Updated June 2018: Updated with the latest recommended SD cards.

Chromebooks

• The best Chromebooks
• Chromebooks in education: Everything you need to know
• Should you buy a Chromebook?
• Chromebook Buyers Guide
• Google Pixelbook review
• Join our Chromebook forums

Become an Creative Cloud Master with the Complete Adobe CC Training Bundle!

Designing posters for events, making business cards, or creating graphics for Youtube videos all take powerful designing software to complete. The Adobe Creative Cloud is the gold standard in the design industry today, used by professionals and amateurs alike.

Learn Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, and more! Learn more

While the Adobe CC is loaded with powerful programs like Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign, they won’t be much good to you unless you know how to use them, and learning how to use these sophisticated design programs can be tricky — especially if you want to master each program. Lucky for you, Android Central Digital Offers has the perfect solution.

The Complete Adobe CC Training Bundle covers everything you need to know to get started using Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign for all your graphic design and publishing needs, along with comprehensive courses for using Adobe Flash, Premiere Pro, and a dedicated course for animation.

Each course individually is valued at $79, but you’ll pay just $29 for all seven courses — that’s 65 hours of valuable content and tutorials to get you started using Adobe CC.

Get the Complete Adobe CC Training Bundle and save 95% off the regular price!

See at iMore Digital Offers

Best USB-C hubs for Chromebooks

Are you looking to turn your Chromebook into a productivity powerhouse? Check out these USB-C hubs!

Chromebooks are great for simple productivity on the go, but when you get home, it’s nice to move to a larger setup. A bigger screen, a nice mechanical keyboard, a proper webcam, and so on. Yeah, you can plug things in individually, but a USB-C hub means you just need to plug one cable into your Chromebook and all your accessories connect. Newer Chromebooks like the Pixelbook only feature USB-C ports, so you’ll need adaptors to use most accessories.

These are the best USB-C hubs for your Chromebook!

A word on compatibility

Google helps manufacturers design all of the motherboards inside every Chromebook and Chromebox, and builds all of the necessary drivers into Chrome OS This is why Google can send an update to every Chrome device every six weeks for years on end, and it also means if an accessory works with one Chromebook, it works with all of them. And if you see a USB-C port on a Chromebook, know that it supports charging, video out and data transfer. All of these hubs have been used by a member of the Android Central team with their personal Chromebooks.

• ARKTEK USB-C Hub
• AUKEY USB-C Hub
• HooToo USB-C Hub
• QacQoc 8-in-1 hub
• Dell WD15 Monitor Dock
• Plugable USB-C Triple Display Docking Station

ARKTEK USB-C Hub

If you just need a display out and charging port and don’t want to spend too much money, ARKTEK has you covered. They offer a basic hub with a USB-C port for passthrough charging, HDMI port, and either one or two USB-A 3.0 ports. I’ve had this hub in my bag for about a year now, since it’s so compact and easy to carry around. The HDMI port will output at up to 4K at 30hz with a compatible HDMI cable and monitor. The lightweight nature of this hub means it’ll slide around on your desk and potentially scratch things, so consider some double-sided tape to keep things in place.

The ARKTEK USB-C Hub costs $16 for one USB-A ports, or $22 for two USB-A ports.

See at Amazon

AUKEY USB-C Hub

Stepping up in price and selection is this hub from AUKEY. It offers a USB-C port for passthrough charging, one HDMI port, three USB-A 3.0 ports, one microSD card slot and one full-sized SD card slot. The HDMI port can output at 4K at 30hz with a compatible HDMI cable and monitor, and this hub is still light enough to live in your bag if you want to carry it around. That light weight means it’ll slide around a bit, even with the rubberized grips on the bottom of the hub.

The AUKEY USB-C Hub is available for $40.

See at Amazon

HooToo USB-C Hub

This HooToo hub is a bit more expensive than the AUKEY one, but depending on the layout of your desk it may be a better fit. It offers three USB-A 3.0 ports, a USB-C port for passthrough charging, and an HDMI port that can output at 4K at 30hz. There’s also a full-sized SD card slot, but this one is much faster than the one on the AUKEY model: it transfers at 5 Gbps instead of 480 Mbps. This is another lightweight hub, perfect for throwing in a bag or sliding across your desk.

The HooToo USB-C Hub is available for $48.

See at Amazon

QacQoc 8-in-1 hub

The last truly portable hub is more expensive than the others, but offers more ports. You get a gigabit Ethernet port, a USB-C port for passthrough charging, a microSD slot, a full-sized SD card slot, three USB-A 3.0 ports, and an HDMI port that can output at 4K at 30hz. This hub also includes a pouch for travel, and is available in a variety of colors to best match your Chromebook.

The QacQoc 8-in-1 hub is available in gray with white, gold, silver, rose gold, and gray with black.

See at Amazon

Dell WD15 Monitor Dock

This will be overkill for most users, but indispensable if you have a lot of accessories. There are three display output options — HDMI, Mini DisplayPort and VGA — though you can only use two of these with a Chromebook. You also get three USB-A 3.0 ports — two on the front of the dock for easy access — and two USB-A 2.0 ports, an Ethernet jack, and a combination headphone/microphone jack on the front for easy access. The hub itself uses a proprietary charger, since the hub may need more power than USB-C can provide. Your Chromebook connects and can charge with a single USB-C cable.

The Dell WD15 Monitor Dock is available for $136.

See at Amazon

Plugable USB-C Triple Display Docking Station

This is another super expensive option for power users. It features two HDMI outputs and one DVI outputs, though you can only use two of these with a Chromebook. Also on the back are gigabit Ethernet, three USB-A 2.0 ports, the USB-C port to charge and connect to your Chromebook, and the proprietary power port for the dock itself. On the front, you get another USB-A port, this time at 3.0 speeds, separate headphone and microphone jacks, and a USB-C 3.0 port. This dock may be a bit overkill for most Chromebooks users, but if you have a lot of accessories it’ll be well worth the money.

The Plugable USB-C Triple Display Docking Station is available for $180.

See at Amazon

What say you?

Which USB-C hub do you use with your Chromebook? Share them with us below!

Chromebooks

• The best Chromebooks
• Chromebooks in education: Everything you need to know
• Should you buy a Chromebook?
• Chromebook Buyers Guide
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Mynt massagers, portable gas grills, Star Wars e-books, and more are all discounted today

Whether you’re looking for new tech gear or household items, we’ve got you covered.

We found plenty of great deals today that include big discounts on various Mynt massagers, Cuisinart’s portable gas grill, a Star Wars e-book and much more! Time’s running out to take advantage of these prices, so hurry!

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If you want to know about the deals as soon as they are happening, you’ll want to follow Thrifter on Twitter, and sign up for the newsletter, because missing out on a great deal stinks!

How to Get a MacBook or MacBook Pro Keyboard Repaired Free Under Apple’s Service Program

Apple has initiated a new worldwide service program offering free repairs of MacBook and MacBook models equipped with low-profile, butterfly mechanism keyboards, after the company determined that “a small percentage” of the keyboards may develop one or more of the following issues:

• Letters or characters repeat unexpectedly
• Letters or characters do not appear
• Key(s) feel “sticky” or do not respond in a consistent manner

Apple or Apple Authorized Service Providers will service eligible MacBook and MacBook Pro keyboards free of charge. Apple says the process may involve the replacement of one or more keys or the whole keyboard.

The following MacBook and MacBook Pro models are eligible for the program:

• MacBook (Retina, 12-­inch, Early 2015)
• MacBook (Retina, 12­-inch, Early 2016)
• MacBook (Retina, 12-­inch, 2017)
• MacBook Pro (13­-inch, 2016, Two Thunderbolt 3 Ports)
• MacBook Pro (13-­inch, 2016, Four Thunderbolt 3 Ports)
• MacBook Pro (15-­inch, 2016)
• MacBook Pro (13-­inch, 2017, Two Thunderbolt 3 Ports)
• MacBook Pro (13-­inch, 2017, Four Thunderbolt 3 Ports)
• MacBook Pro (15-­inch, 2017)

All other MacBook, MacBook Air, and MacBook Pro models are not equipped with butterfly mechanism keyboards, and thus are ineligible.

To identify your MacBook or MacBook Pro model to see if it is eligible for this program, click on the Apple logo in the top-left corner of the screen and select About This Mac. A window should open, and in the Overview tab, the model should be listed, such as MacBook Pro (15-inch, 2016).

Apple or an Apple Authorized Service Provider will examine the MacBook or MacBook Pro prior to any service to verify that it is eligible for this program. If the notebook has any damage which impairs the service, that issue will need to be repaired first, and in some cases, there may be repair fees.

Step-by-step instructions ahead…

MacRumors obtained an internal service document from Apple that outlines exactly which pre-existing damage is eligible for this program:

Eligible physical damage includes:
• keyboard damage due to attempted keycap repair
• physical top case damage unrelated to the keyboard

Ineligible physical damage includes:
• liquid damage
• physical keyboard damage unrelated to keycap repair

Apple’s service program is valid for four years after an eligible MacBook or MacBook Pro was originally purchased, meaning all of the models listed above remain eligible until at least April 10, 2019, four years after the original 12-inch MacBook, the first model with a butterfly keyboard, was released.

An eligible MacBook or MacBook Pro purchased today, meanwhile, would be eligible for coverage under this program until June 2022.

How to Initiate a Free Repair

There are three ways to take advantage of Apple’s service program: book an appointment with an Apple Store or Apple Authorized Service Provider, or mail in the notebook to Apple’s repair center.

Apple Store or Apple Authorized Service Provider via Web

These steps are web-based, so they work across Mac, iPhone, iPad, and other devices.
Navigate to the Get Support page on Apple’s website.
Select “Mac.”
Select “Mac notebooks.”
Select “Hardware Issues.”
Select “Keyboard not working as expected.”
Select “Bring in for Repair.”
Sign in with your Apple ID.
Specify your location.
Sort by “Availability” or “Distance.”
Select an Apple Store or Apple Authorized Service Provider.
Select an available day and time slot for the appointment.
Arrive at the Apple Store or Apple Authorized Service Provider when your appointment is scheduled. Bring your affected MacBook or MacBook Pro and government-issued photo ID.Apple Store or Apple Authorized Service Provider via Apple Support App

These steps are based on the Apple Support app for iPhone and iPad.
Open the Apple Support app.
If necessary, tap on the “Account” tab and sign in with your Apple ID.
Tap on the “Get Support” tab.
Tap on your affected MacBook or MacBook Pro.
Tap on “Hardware Issues.”
Tap on “Keyboard not working as expected.”
Tap on “See all” to the right of “Get More Help.”
Tap on “Bring in for Repair.”
Select an Apple Store or Apple Authorized Service Provider.
Select an available day and time slot for the appointment.
Arrive at the Apple Store or Apple Authorized Service Provider when your appointment is scheduled. Bring your affected MacBook or MacBook Pro and government-issued photo ID.Mail-in to Apple Repair CenterNavigate to the Get Support page on Apple’s website.
Select “Mac.”
Select “Mac notebooks.”
Select “Hardware Issues.”
Select “Keyboard not working as expected.”
Select “Talk to Apple Support Now” or “Chat” to speak with an Apple support representative by phone or online chat.
Inform the representative that you would like to mail in your affected MacBook or MacBook Pro to Apple’s repair center.
Follow further instructions as advised.Apple’s internal document for this program advises that mail-in service will take five to seven business days to be completed, but Apple’s public-facing page about the program notes that service turn-around time may vary depending upon the type of service and availability of replacement parts.

How to Initiate a Refund

Apple’s website notes that customers who believe their MacBook or MacBook Pro was affected by this issue, and who paid to have their keyboard repaired prior to this program, can contact the company about a refund.Navigate to the Get Support page on Apple’s website.
Select “Mac.”
Select “Mac notebooks.”
Select “Hardware Issues.”
Select “Keyboard not working as expected.”
Select “Talk to Apple Support Now” or “Chat” to speak with an Apple support representative by phone or online chat.
Inform the representative that you would like a refund.
Follow further instructions as advised.It should also be possible to visit an Apple Store to inquire about a refund in person, but call the store ahead to confirm.

MacRumors first highlighted customer complaints about the 2016 MacBook Pro keyboard over a year ago, including non-functional keys, strange high-pitched sounds on some keys, and keys with a non-uniform feel. The issues are believed to result from small amounts of dust or debris accumulating under keys.

Apple has been hit with at least three class action lawsuits over the keyboards in the United States, after the company charged some customers with out-of-warranty fees as high as $700 to replace the keyboard on affected MacBook Pro models, as the process requires replacing the entire top case assembly.

Until now, Apple had not publicly acknowledged the keyboard issues, and only offered cleaning instructions to affected customers.

More Details on Apple.com: Keyboard Service Program for MacBook and MacBook Pro

Related Roundups: MacBook Pro, MacBookTag: repair programBuyer’s Guide: MacBook Pro (Don’t Buy), MacBook (Don’t Buy)
Discuss this article in our forums

How L’Oréal designed the UV Sense to fit on your fingernail

L’Oreal

Beauty tech is still in its infancy, but lifestyle brands are slowly warming up to the idea of incorporating technology to improve user experience and sometimes, the product itself. We’ve seen a smart hairbrush that can determine the quality of your hair, a smart mirror that can identify the health of your skin, and now there’s nail art that can track exposure to ultraviolet radiation when you’re out and about.

The UV Sense is a battery-free wearable electric sensor you stick onto your fingernail. It can measure UV exposure, which you can track via a companion app on your smartphone. It’s from L’Oréal’s Technology Incubator, which has created products such as the Makeup Genius app, where people can try different looks using a smartphone camera, and Le Teint Particulier an in-store device that scans your skin to create custom foundation for you.

The tricky part about the UV Sense is that if people are supposed to wear it 24/7, it has to look good and feel comfortable. We spoke to the team behind this micro wearable to see how they managed the feat.

From a temporary patch to nail art

The UV Sense may be L’Oréal’s smallest battery-free wearable, but it isn’t the company’s first device to measure UV exposure. Back in 2016, the company released My UV Patch (marketed under the La Roche-Posay brand), and it looked more like a temporary tattoo.

L’Oreal

L’Oréal Technology Incubator’s Global Vice President, Guive Balooch, and his team knew wearing a sticker daily wasn’t practical, unless at the beach or swimming pool.

To help come up with a new design and form for the UV Sense, Balooch brought back Swiss designer and Fuseproject founder, Yves Béhar, who designed the original My UV Patch.

“There are no moving parts or buttons, and no physical interfaces to the device. It all happens wirelessly to the phone.”

“The original UV Patch was an incredible feat in technology, however it was strongly lacking a design component,” Béhar told Digital Trends. “The product was unnecessarily large, and was being presented as a novelty item. If you’re asking someone to wear a product 24/7, it should be comfortable, beautiful, fit [into] their personal style, and provide necessary insights into our daily [lives].”

But figuring out the formula for a hassle-free and comfortable device required highlighting pain points that exist within wearable technology today. Balooch and his team narrowed it down to two major issues: Having to charge a battery, and the lack of real estate on people’s wrists. Balooch called in a team of engineers from Northwestern University, who brought up the idea of flexible electronics that don’t need a battery. Earlier this year, Digital Trends spoke to John Rogers, a Northwestern engineer who was a part of the team.

“From a user standpoint, it’s hard to imagine anything simpler, in the sense that you never have to worry if your battery is charged up since it doesn’t need one,” Rogers said. “There are no moving parts or buttons, and no physical interfaces to the device. It all happens wirelessly to the phone.”

L’Oreal

Rogers said his team did face challenges developing the UV Sense, specifically when it came to developing designs for the antenna and electronic circuit that would enable it to work with a smartphone. But once those issues were solved, it “opened up the ability to mount technology in places that were previously not considered.”

Some of the “places” Rogers is referring to are fingernails. Through testing, the L’Oréal team found that placing the UV Sense on nails returned the most accurate feedback to UV exposure. Since taking the battery out helped create a thinner and smaller sensor, Béhar saw the opportunity to disguise it as nail art. For even more versatility, the team is in the process of creating bracelets and watch accessories with the sensor, as well as clips that can attach to sunglasses.

How the UV Sense works

The UV Sense is dead simple to use. Stick it on your nail, swipe it over your iPhone or Android phone, and it will wirelessly transfer UV exposure data to the companion app using near-field communication (NFC). It’s the NFC chip that also charges the device through the data transfer process.

UV Sense itself strictly measures UV exposure. The app is where you can find additional info like allergens and pollution.

Apply the sensor to a nail using an adhesive, and you can reapply it using additional adhesives that come packaged in the box. Placing it on your thumbnail exposes the UV Sense to optimal sunlight, and the sensor is activated by UVA and UVB rays. Along with your UV report, you’ll also get some advice on on avoiding the sun, and recommendations on L’Oreal products to purchase.

The data the sensor collects is accurate, or at least that’s what L’Oreal claims.

“People would wear the sensor and then we’d have a clunky expensive detector that was right next to it, and [we’d] test the data to make sure we’re really measuring the UV correctly,” Balooch said. “It’s very important to us [and] it’s something we really need to be accurate on.”

L’Oreal

It’s important to note the UV Sense itself strictly measures UV exposure. The app is where you can find additional information such as allergens, pollution, and other factors in the environment that can effect your skin. While wearing the sensor does provide you with your own personalized metrics when it comes to your UV exposure, you can still use the app without it to get a more general sense of what else is around you.

Pilot program and launch

The UV Sense will launch in the U.S. this summer as a pilot program. The company will continue to do testing with dermatologists and consumers, which allows L’Oreal to get even more feedback to improve the experience even better.

L’Oreal plans on launching the UV Sense under the La Roche-Posay brand worldwide in 2019.

“Our question has always been [how] to bring more performance to the product,” Balooch said. “So we took on this challenge of figuring out how could we make a wearable that’s interesting and exciting technologically, [that] could also give the user some tools to understand the personal level of exposure and what they could do with that information.”

After the pilot program, L’Oreal plans on launching the UV Sense under the La Roche-Posay brand worldwide in 2019. A price for the wearable hasn’t been set yet.

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Google is adding DRM to all Android apps, but it’s for the right reasons

Metadata will be added to application files when they are digitally signed and built. That’s a lot of letters to say DRM.

Earlier this week, Google quietly rolled out a feature that adds a string of metadata to all APK files (that’s the file type for Android apps) when they are signed by the developer. You can’t install an application that hasn’t been signed during its final build, so that means that all apps built using the latest APK Signature Scheme will have a nice little chunk of DRM built into them. And eventually, your phone will run a version of Android that won’t be able to install apps without it.

What the hell? DRM? Why?

DRM is why Netflix used to only work on approved phones. But it doesn’t have to be used for evil.

We can relax (for now). We all hate DRM (technically, Digital Rights Management) because of the way developers and publishers have abused it. DRM means you are being treated like a thief before you buy any software. A great example is having to install the Orgin client and have it regularly be checked online to run any games published by EA.

EA doesn’t trust that we paid for the software title so it forces us to present our papers when demanded. PC gaming is rife with DRM and applications like Steam or U Play exist for the very same reason. Other examples come from Sony, Disney, EMI, and every other entertainment publisher which decides where in the world you are allowed to listen to music or watch a movie that you paid for, or how many times you are allowed to do so.

So DRM is bad to the core. But not really. DRM is simply a way for a developer or publisher to keep track of software versions and authenticity. Sometimes you need to do that for the right reason.

As of now, Google’s reason is right. That doesn’t mean the company can’t change its tune and go all out crazy (like EA) in the future and limit how, where, when, and why we can use the apps we paid for, but for now everything is good. Google added this metadata so you can buy an app from any approved distributor and it will work with Google Play Store features like family library and subscriptions.

Apps have to be “signed” to verify their contents. Adding metadata to this signature ensures we will have DRM in every app eventually.

Android can read the metadata automatically inserted into an app and verify that it’s a legitimately sourced version and approved for use by the developer. If it passes these checks, it is added to your Google Play Store library. You’ll be able to update through Google Play, use things like Google Play Games for leaderboards and achievements, or share an app with people in your Family Library. And the developer can change the metadata at any time with a new signing key, which ends support for the current version and creates a new listing in Google Play.

Google says it did this for two reasons — the first is a little worrisome, and it’s to allow developers more control over how their apps are used. There is certainly potential for abuse there, but we have to wait and see if any developers get any bad ideas. The second is straight out of left field for most of us — many people live where data isn’t affordable and available, so they share apps using peer-to-peer distribution channels. That doesn’t mean these people are stealing apps. It means they can pay through a portal then use a peer-to-peer network to get their copy using as little data as possible.

Developers want us all to have access to the apps they create. More downloads mean more exposure and more income via sales or ad revenue. That’s what app developers want.

Google may be using a fancy set of words to disguise the fact that Android apps will soon all have DRM inserted in a way that’s difficult to remove and eventually your phone will need to be able to read it to install them. That’s smart — it kept the internet from erupting in a frenzy of pitchforks and furor normally reserved for lootboxes or Comcast.

But it is DRM, and Google has very good reasons to be adding it. Let’s all hope that everyone involved doesn’t get any ideas about abusing it.

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