It’s the 21st century and this era belongs to advanced technology. You see many changes happening every day and the latest technology is bringing more advanced gadgets, tools, and ideas. But this still disturbs many of you when you pay a little heed to the laptop industry.
And then a question comes to mind…
Can A Chromebook Replace A Laptop?
The question does make sense and most people before buying a laptop or Chromebook might be looking for this. But the thing is, ever since the Chromebooks are released, they are becoming way smarter, faster, sleek, and portable than laptops.
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They are in a pretty good race to replace laptops in the coming days but, guess what? There is no comparison to both. Because both Chromebooks and laptops or MacBook’s are best at their own place.
So, if you are considering that a Chromebook whose structure and hardware are the same as a laptop in the market can influence you, here are some things you need to know about the difference between Chromebooks and laptops.
Therefore, let’s dive into today’s topic and find out can a Chromebooks really replace a laptop?
Difference Between Chromebook and Laptop, Before and Now
When Chromebook was first released in 2011, people were not aware of the concept of how to use it and what’s purpose was. It was then a machine that was able to work only by having continuous internet connectivity. It supports a Chrome OS which is basically much different from Windows or Mac OS interface.
However, things have been much changed now and Chromebook makes its user able to work even without having internet connectivity.
Since it’s the Google Product, Google has done many efforts in upgrading it and making it work offline. It’s been much updated and upgraded, but still, these Chromebook laptops lack many things as compared with a laptop running on the Windows operating system.
Can a Chromebook be better than a laptop?
Well, to answer this question, there is no better option than judging both on different parameters which include portability, OS, working efficiency, and many more that you will read soon. But, a simple answer to this question is, Chromebook is basically for those who are casual users, and most of the work or activities relate to the internet.
You can say, a guy who uses his laptop just for surfing the internet, watching movies, Tv shows, using different types of apps, and other normal things, a Chromebook is going to be the best option for him. But, in many scenarios, it is not something that you should choose.
Therefore, let’s compare Chromebooks with Windows laptops and find which one is better in which type of case.
Comparison Between Chromebook Vs Laptop
In this short comparison, I will be talking about many things regarding Chromebooks and laptops. Therefore, hold tight and just give it a little focused, because you are going to know something very important:
Comparison of Operating Systems and software running test:
As far as you know, the Chromebooks are having Chrome OS which is a special type of operating system designed by Google. At this, you will have access to all of the Play store apps like you use on your Android mobile.
Chrome OS is not that powerful for running heavy-duty software and usually, you can’t install them on your Chromebook because it does not allow you to do so. But due to a little more advancement in its operating system, Chromebook now has access to Linux apps.
On the other side, Laptops has Windows and Mac operating systems that allow you to install or work on any type of heavy or light software.
However, Mac OS might have some restrictions due to Apple’s unique build and features, but it does have its own Apple store that provides access to most of the Mobile Apps. Also, MacBook’s are the best option when you are going for developing, graphic designing, and creating content.
Laptops have no comparison with any other laptops. They are designed to do pretty much everything and suit best to those who want to have daily activities, Heavy Gaming, Developing, Coding, and designing.
Recently Microsoft has released its Windows 11 Operating system and do you know what the good news is? In this OS, you will have access to most of your mobile apps too and you can efficiently run them on your laptop which is a great and best feature windows have ever provided. But it wasn’t possible in the previous version of Windows like Windows 10, 8, 8.1, etc.
Hardware, portability, and Size comparison:
Chromebooks are very lightweight, sleek, smart, stylish, and easy to carry laptops. You can easily grab your Chromebook in your hand and work even while standing.
But its build quality is not that strong because you’ll have to take much care of your Chromebook to save it from any kind of resistance.
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They are relatively smaller in size compared to laptops but they are actually laptops. So, you can also have one in a similar size to the normal laptop.
But when it comes to laptops, they are available in every variety. I mean a laptop can be sleek, smart, portable, stylish, and whatever you like.
The same laptop can be heavyweight, rugged, too strong, and yes, it might not allow itself to bring it to public places or in the office.
Some of them required great protection just like Chromebooks due to their material and build quality. However, some are gaming and heavy-duty machines that are made of good quality material and don’t bother protection. Also, they are available in different sizes.
Performance Comparison:
Chromebooks can tackle your daily basis work so easily and without any leggings or hassles. It depends on how much memory a Chromebook is having, if it has up to 8GB DDR4 RAM, this would be better to do almost everything. This includes surfing the fastest internet, doing some documentation work, watching movies on Netflix or any other online/offline platform, listening to music, managing emails, and all this kind of stuff.
They do provide access to Adobe apps but they are not the same that we use on Windows operating systems and you will find yourself lacking on something if you will do designing on your Chromebook. Moreover, you aren’t gonna ask your Chromebook to run something like League of legends. Do you?
On the other hand, when we talk about performance from laptops with Windows or Mac, believe me, there is no comparison at all. Because laptops are pretty powerful due to the fastest and latest processors, much ram and SSD capacity and some of them are with dedicated or integrated GPU.
A laptop is powerful enough for doing anything you like if you have the required specs for running that software or accomplishing that task. They are all the way best for designing, playing, watching, working, and doing whatever you like.
Storage and RAM comparison:
Chromebooks are pretty short on storage needs. The highest level of storage that you might get in a Chromebook could be up to 128 GB. But the good thing is, you can have more storage if you buy some cloud space on your Chromebook.
Google allows its Chromebook users to have easy access to the cloud storage even up to more than 100GB by paying some money and they can store anything in it.
Also, when it comes to RAM, the highest range that you might get is up to 8GB or in some rare pieces, it might be up to 16GB. Moreover, you can also buy a portable hard drive (Check Price) of your required memory if you lack storage while using a Chromebook.
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But things are different if you are using or going to get a laptop. Laptops have storage ranges from 128GB SSD to 1TB SSD or Hard drive storage. This type of storage inside a laptop can store anything you want including your important data, files, movies, or anything you have to store.
Moreover, laptops do come with good ram ranges from 4GB to 32GB extendable which provides never-ending performance and great multitasking to run every heavy-duty software out there. Also, you will have some cache memory inside your laptop to boost its performance.
Comparison of Battery Life:
In Chromebooks, the battery usually gives a good backup because you are not supposed to be working on something extremely loaded or powerful. All you have to do is to perform some basic tasks, so your latest Chromebook can give you up to 9 hours of battery life. This seems to be good when you have to bring your laptop to your college, office or at some far place from home.
However, in the case of laptops, only gaming laptops mostly lack a good battery capacity, but not the one that is designed for doing some small work. Laptops have every variety offering long or short battery lives. So, in this case, you should check before buying what you are going to get and read some user reviews about its battery life. You will easily come to know about this.
MacBooks are really good at providing long battery life. The latest MacBook Pro with an M1 chip can provide you a battery life of up to 20 hours and you can finish almost everything in a single charge. So, this is again something good with laptops rather than Chromebooks.
Comparison of Security on both:
Chromebook is designed by Google, so it offers high protection from every type of viruses, malware, hackers or internet crime, etc. You can use your Chromebook without bothering yourself worrying about internet attacks or data-stealing or any kind of virus program that can damage your system performance by creating leggings and barrels.
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However, windows are considered to be the home of viruses, hackers, and data-stealing groups which, if not protected by any kind of antivirus software, could damage your system performance, and ultimately you may lose your important data. Therefore, you should always have up-to-date anti-virus software installed on your laptop or Windows OS.
Comparison on Price:
That’s a bit of a rational thing that everyone wants to know about Chromebooks as well as laptops. Nevertheless, Chromebooks are not that expensive as laptops but the same, you don’t get that endless performance that an expensive or a gaming laptop can offer.
However, if your needs are summoned up only by doing some daily basis work, you should go for a Chromebook.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a Chromebook do everything a laptop can?
No, it cannot do everything that a powerful laptop can do. It cannot run heavy-duty games, doesn’t bear extensive loads, and is not suitable for people who want to have a workstation for performing or developing. But, for casual usage, the Chromebook is always the best option.
What are the disadvantages of a Chromebook?
Here are some disadvantages of a Chromebook:
- It is not strongly built so it requires strong protection against forces
- It cannot perform heavy-duty tasks
- It is not that durable as a laptop can be
- It cannot run pretty much everything on it due to OS compatibility restrictions
- Also, it doesn’t have much storage and ram capacity
Is a Chromebook the same as a laptop?
In structure or say design, it can be the same as a laptop. But in features, performance and comparing some other most needed things, it can never be the same as a laptop.
Which is the better laptop or Chromebook?
It depends on the needs and requirements that you are looking for in a laptop as well as Chromebook. If your needs are based on your daily activities, a Chromebook can be a good choice. However, whether you have to perform heavy or light, a laptop is always the best option in both cases. But you will have to find which one suits you best and is according to your desired needs.
Final Thoughts
I hope that comparing Chromebook and a Windows laptop on different types of parameters has given you the idea about can a Chromebook replace a laptop? The answer is very obvious and general that a Chromebook, whatever it does and no matter how much it gets updated, can never replace a laptop.
Because both are working on different types of operating systems and both offer different types of versatility. So, if you are a daily bee-like person who doesn’t have to do much on his laptop, you can have a Chromebook. There is no worry about that.
But if you are an enthusiast, developer, gamer, or professional designer, you should have a competitive workstation in the form of a giant laptop, PC, or MacBook.
Hence, with all this, we shall see each other very soon on another great topic. Until then, take care of yourself, stay blessed, stay home and stay safe. But don’t forget to let me know if you have any queries or want to add something. Have a nice day ahead.
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