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HP Announces All-Metal Chromebook 13: Thinner Than MacBook Pro, Costs $800 Less 211

Posted by msmash 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.
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HP Announces All-Metal Chromebook 13: Thinner Than MacBook Pro, Costs $800 Less More

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

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  • Apples and Persimmons (Score:5, Insightful)

    by wkwilley2 ( 4278669 ) on Thursday April 28, 2016 @09:43AM (#52005117)

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

    And an HP.

    • Re:Apples and Persimmons (Score:4, Informative)

      by drinkypoo ( 153816 ) <drink@hyperlogos.org> on Thursday April 28, 2016 @09:56AM (#52005221) Homepage Journal

      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.

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

      • I agree with you completely on the support issue.

        Trying to get any kind of support from HP is akin to pulling alligator teeth.

    • Re: (Score:3, Informative)

      by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )

      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.

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

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by tlhIngan ( 30335 )

        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.

        Actually... no. The default Chromebook loader can only boot Linux. There is no BIOS unless the boot firmware includes one (e.g., the Chromebook Pixel included SeaBIOS). This is required if you want to boot... Windows.

        Even then, it's a nasty hack - while you can do it, only geeks will be satisfied with the result. Basically, every tim

      • 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.

    • 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.

  • Chromebook? (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Iamthecheese ( 1264298 ) on Thursday April 28, 2016 @09:43AM (#52005125)
    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.

    • Re:Chromebook? (Score:4, Insightful)

      by LWATCDR ( 28044 ) on Thursday April 28, 2016 @09:48AM (#52005161) Homepage Journal

      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.

      • Very much agree. You could even cover up the HP logo with an Ubuntu sticker.

      • Re:Chromebook? (Score:5, Informative)

        by greenfruitsalad ( 2008354 ) on Thursday April 28, 2016 @10:23AM (#52005473)

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

        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.

      • Oh and that the touchpad does not suck.

        All touchpads without separate click buttons suck, it's only a question of degree.

        • Oh and that the touchpad does not suck.

          All touchpads without separate click buttons suck, it's only a question of degree.

          What about "touchpads" (trackpads) that have the entire touchpad as a "clicky" button, ala Apple? They are widely regarded as having the hands-down (no pun) best trackpads in the industry, by a very wide margin.

          • What about "touchpads" (trackpads) that have the entire touchpad as a "clicky" button, ala Apple?

            Suck.

            They are widely regarded as having the hands-down (no pun) best trackpads in the industry, by a very wide margin.

            Seems like a very low bar.

            • What about "touchpads" (trackpads) that have the entire touchpad as a "clicky" button, ala Apple?

              Suck.

              They are widely regarded as having the hands-down (no pun) best trackpads in the industry, by a very wide margin.

              And who, pray tell, do you think makes a better Trackpad than Apple?

              Seems like a very low bar.

        • i totally agree, with a little addendum. buttons should be above the touchpad and the touchpad itself should be disabled. nipple FTW.

      • 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.

        I already runs Linux. It just so happens that ChromeOS sits on top of it.

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

      • Are you saying Linux isn't a real OS?

        I infer that the claim is that most people need and can securely maintain Windows, rather than ChromeOS. A rather dubious claim, in my experience.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by tepples ( 727027 )

        Until someone presses Space while the machine is booting, which disables developer mode and erases your chroot.

    • I think Chrome OS might get interesting very soon, namely because you'll be able to run Android apps in multi-window mode. And given that mobile is all the app rage lately, I don't think you'll find an kind of shortage of things to do on it.

      Not that I'll buy this machine mind you, just that Chrome OS *may* see a sudden uptick in consumer demand.

      • I think Chrome OS might get interesting very soon, namely because you'll be able to run Android apps in multi-window mode. And given that mobile is all the app rage lately, I don't think you'll find an kind of shortage of things to do on it.

        Not that I'll buy this machine mind you, just that Chrome OS *may* see a sudden uptick in consumer demand.

        Oh, boy! What a wonderful thing: To be able to run scaled-down, bullshit mobile Apps on your "real" computer.

        I simply don't see the attraction. Mobile Apps are for when we need to do things on-the-go; they are RARELY good examples of real, robust Applications (not "Apps").

        • Oh, boy! What a wonderful thing: To be able to run scaled-down, bullshit mobile Apps on your "real" computer.

          You probably say that because you have only a narrow understanding of what people actually do with computers, complicated by a narrow understanding of what Android apps can do (my guess is that you're used to iphone apps, which are deliberately limited in scale and functionality by Apple.)

          I simply don't see the attraction. Mobile Apps are for when we need to do things on-the-go; they are RARELY good examples of real, robust Applications (not "Apps").

          If you give somebody a reason to scale up those apps, they will. In case you haven't noticed, Android allows app developers to modify the look and feel of the app depending on the screen size, which can go anywhere from a

    • Re: (Score:3)

      by thsths ( 31372 )

      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.

      • It's a cheap and (probably) good Linux machine.

      • There are a lot of Macbook owners that only use it for browsing and email. But it was cool and thin, so they wanted it.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by jon3k ( 691256 )
        As opposed to a Macbook which is completely ad free. Until you connect it to the internet and open a web browser, of course. I can install an adblocker on chromeos just like I can on a Mac.

    • Re:Chromebook? (Score:5, Insightful)

      by youngatheart ( 1922394 ) on Thursday April 28, 2016 @10:53AM (#52005683)

      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.

    • 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.

      Because it's not for you. This is for someone who wants an iPad with a built-in keyboard.

    • Re: (Score:3)

      by sootman ( 158191 )

      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"!? :-/

  • Does commensurately less too. It isn't as doorstop-worthy as one of those 32GB MS cloud-traps, but I still pity those who buy this.

    • Does commensurately less too. It isn't as doorstop-worthy as one of those 32GB MS cloud-traps, but I still pity those who buy this.

      I don't, I'll probably pick one up instead of another tablet. Battery life, weight, usable keyboard, decent screen. Perfect for travelling. Good enough for a school computer and you won't cry too much if it gets dropped. Of course it will be running Linux not brain damaged Android. For printing and bulk storage you use wifi or usb.

  • Shill much? (Score:5, Insightful)

    by swimboy ( 30943 ) on Thursday April 28, 2016 @09:50AM (#52005181)

    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.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Altus ( 1034 )

      Yeah but this one is also thinner than the thickest laptop apple makes. Its innovative!

    • Those "real" processors are still mobile processors.

      But what does it matter when it's driver is OS X? May as well put grandma in the driving seat of your BMW 7.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by swimboy ( 30943 )

        If you equate OS X with grandma driving the BMW 7, then it's a dead squirrel driving the Spark with ChromeOS.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by gnunick ( 701343 )

        MacBook's not Wintel, but it's still Intel, so there's no reason you need to have OS X on it. I slapped Ubuntu 16.04 on the recent-model MacBook Pro supplied by my employer, and now it works great and is easy to use.

        Well, other than the stupid fucking buttonless touchpad...

    • Comparing this to a MacBook Pro is like comparing a Chevy Spark to a BMW 7-series.

      Right, a BMW 7xx with one door.

    • But it's all-metal. Isn't that why people like Apple laptops, because the casing is metal?

    • Re:Shill much? (Score:5, Informative)

      by Solandri ( 704621 ) on Thursday April 28, 2016 @11:48AM (#52006233)
      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.

  • Piece of paper (Score:5, Funny)

    by Chmarr ( 18662 ) on Thursday April 28, 2016 @09:55AM (#52005213)

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

  • There's a USB Type-C port (Score:5, Funny)

    by fustakrakich ( 1673220 ) on Thursday April 28, 2016 @09:56AM (#52005223) Journal

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

  • Lame (Score:5, Funny)

    by 110010001000 ( 697113 ) on Thursday April 28, 2016 @09:57AM (#52005229) Homepage Journal
    No wireless. Less space than a Nomad. Lame.

    • Except this actually has wireless AND more space than a nomad, so I guess we finally have a device which isn't lame.

  • http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xvfbpq_simpsons-hp-joke_fun

  • Misleading Trash Article (Score:2, Informative)

    by Anonymous Coward

    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.

    • Yeah, as misleading as the "Flight deals from $59!*"

      *$59 flight only available to the airport that is an hour drive away and would be stupid to actually fly to.

  • I bought a Samsung Chromebook for $150. I am happy with it. Inexpensive, no fuss, fast boot, battery lasts all day and then some.

    I could run Linux on it, but I am happy with it the way it is.

  • Wow, at $499 that is a very expensive doorstop.

    I wouldn't let my dog own anything from HP. My how far the mighty have fallen............

  • wonder how loud the fight was to go straight to 14.

  • All metal (Score:5, Funny)

    by fahrbot-bot ( 874524 ) on Thursday April 28, 2016 @10:39AM (#52005593)
    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?

  • "Thin" is not a feature (Score:3)

    by somenickname ( 1270442 ) on Thursday April 28, 2016 @10:56AM (#52005713)

    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.

  • Good job /.

    Not only does this read like a paid advertising piece, you've also managed to work in Apple in the oddest way possible.

    Enjoy both your paid-for-story cash and the added ad spike from starting yet another fanboy fight.

  • I thought the point of a Chromebook was to make it affordable by making it a stripped down and not needing a powerful CPU. 32 GB eMMC is pretty stripped down, and Pentium. So you're paying a premium for thinnest while having none of the advantages of a full OS. Explain to me why I want this over a tablet or a laptop with a full OS? Plus, it's an HP. I've never had an HP laptop last more than 2 years.

    • You are being conditioned to think that everything that does not cost four digits, meaning $999 or less, is affordable.

  • Comment removed based on user account deletion

  • Is ... can I run DragonFly on it? Or is the BIOS locked to Chrome ? If this baby has the normal write-protect screw / developer mode BIOS features that allow us to run whatever we want on it instead of being locked to chrome, then great!

    We've had great success with the older Acer C720[P] (running a mobile haswell cpu) running DragonFly. So if one of these new HP Skylake-m babies allows me to cut into the dance then I'll give it a big thumbs up.

    I'll have to buy one to find out, I guess.

    -Matt

  • I would always rather have more battery capacity and a real USB jack than thinness.. Just don't get the attraction.

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