It wasn’t too way back that the thought of paying $800 for a Chromebook would get you laughed out of a room. In some circles, it nonetheless will. I personally have criticized all types of Chrome OS gadgets for being too costly for what they provide, and I keep that the $259.99 Chromebook Duet is among the finest bargains in immediately’s laptop computer market.

So I opened up my evaluate unit of Asus’ $828 Chromebook CX5 ready to complain. While that may be a midrange value for a Windows laptop computer, it’s excessive for a Chromebook (and most other reviewers have panned the thing for its price). But the CX5 has finished an amazing job of convincing me that my knee-jerk was misplaced — there’s virtually nothing, other than the working system, separating this laptop computer from a wonderful midrange Windows pocket book. Chromebooks have grown up, and so have their costs.

The most unusual function of the CX5, even amongst current Windows laptops, is its end. The chassis is roofed in what Asus calls “electro-deposition coating.” I do not know what meaning particularly, however I do know I really like touching it.

Both the keyboard deck and the lid are virtually disconcertingly clean. “Velvety” is one of the best descriptor I can provide you with. Aside from the Dell XPS 13 (with its considerably controversial woven-glass texture), there’s not a laptop computer I’ve reviewed that feels this good. That smoothness extends to the touchpad as properly, which is roomy and does an amazing job with palm rejection, although it’s considerably stiff such that I typically wanted two palms to function it.

Similarly, the construct high quality is as good as any Chromebook I’ve used this 12 months and rivals most of the finest laptops at this value level. It’s fairly sturdy, with no flex within the display and just about none within the keyboard deck. The chassis barely picks up any fingerprints, and it got here out of being battered round in my backpack with out a scratch.

The port choice is cheap as properly, together with two USB-C 3.2 Gen 2 ports, an HDMI 2.0, a USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A, an audio combo jack, and a microSD slot (no Thunderbolt help, although). The CX5 helps dual-band Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.0, and it contains numerous applied sciences which are supposed to assist stabilize connectivity together with a “metamaterial filter” that’s meant to “isolate electromagnetic noise.”

I solely have two actual complaints in regards to the chassis. The first is the ability button — it’s positioned on the left edge, and I unintentionally pressed it a number of instances when holding the machine as a pill. The second, talking of pill mode, is the load. At 4.17 kilos, the CX5 is heavy for a 15-inch Chromebook — it’s very shut in weight to the Asus Zephyrus G15 gaming laptop computer, for context, and over a pound heavier than Samsung’s 15-inch Galaxy Book Pro 360. I’d decide one thing else if I had been searching for a tool I may comfortably carry round as a pill.

Elsewhere, the CX5 works fairly properly as an leisure and productiveness machine. The downward-firing audio system, that are Harmon Kardon licensed, have first rate percussion and wonderful quantity, although I did hear a tiny little bit of distortion on the high finish. The keyboard is pretty snug with first rate journey and click on; it’s additionally a bit loud, and the numpad is cramped even for my small fingers.

The 1920 x 1080 touchscreen is vivid and kicked again little glare (and the 16:9 facet ratio, whereas not splendid, is much less of a criminal offense on a 15-inch display than it might be on a smaller machine). The bezels are chunky sufficient to look a bit old style, however these are extra cheap to have on a 2-in-1 that you could be want to carry from the edges.

And then there’s the efficiency. My check unit has a Core i5-1135G7 and 16GB of LPDDR4X SDRAM, that are hefty specs for a shopper Chromebook. It blew by way of no matter I wanted it to, and I used to be typically working in over a dozen Chrome tabs alongside a number of Android apps, with sometimes a Zoom name or a YouTube video over high. I by no means felt any warmth or noise from the fan inside. I had one problem the place operating Spotify for lengthy intervals of time sometimes made the pc crash, however I’m undecided whether or not that’s on Spotify or Asus; I’ve requested the latter and can report again in the event that they determine something out.

Battery life can also be cheap, given the ability of the chips inside. I averaged eight hours and 31 minutes of steady use with the CX5’s display at medium brightness, and simply broke 9 hours on some trials. While that’s not an distinctive consequence by any stretch, it’ll let you go a full day of use with out a charger in case your workload is just like mine. The machine additionally charged rapidly sufficient for a Chromebook, juicing as much as 60 p.c in 57 minutes.

The CX5 can also be accessible in 14-inch fashions. You can get a 14-incher with a Core i3 (at present $724.99 on Amazon) and a Core i7 (currently $1,049.99 from Asus). Given how effortlessly the i5 is performing in my testing, I’d be hard-pressed to suggest the latter mannequin to anybody with a Chrome-heavy workload. People who want that type of energy seemingly know who they’re. The i3, however, could also be a good choice for people who’re balking at my check unit’s value and are okay with a smaller display. An i3 has typically been highly effective sufficient to fly by way of Chrome OS duties in my testing. (That unit additionally has 8GB of RAM, which continues to be unusual in lower-tier Chromebooks.)

All of that is to say that the CX5 rivals many Windows laptops at its value level within the areas that matter — it’s not sluggish, flimsy, or cheaply constructed the best way Chromebooks stereotypically have been in years previous. The most important consideration, in case you’re contemplating the CX5 as a main driver, is whether or not Chrome OS will be just right for you.

I’ve been reviewing Chromebooks for nearly two years, and I’ve watched Chrome OS mature earlier than my eyes in that point. It’s grown from an working system filled with glitches and holes to 1 that doesn’t really feel a lot totally different from Windows more often than not (particularly for the reason that latter simply moved its icons to the middle of its taskbar).

But there are nonetheless a number of issues that get you — even in case you’re somebody like me, who works virtually fully in Chrome. Some apps nonetheless take some time to resize. Slack is now not accessible in app type, so it’s another factor I’ve to maintain in my bottomless heap of Chrome tabs. Messenger nonetheless bombards me each morning with notifications for each message I obtained over the earlier evening. While it’s good that many Android apps have gotten extra usable on Chrome OS through the years, there nonetheless aren’t too many who I discover extra helpful than their browser counterparts — many of the ones I exploit are equal at finest. (And, after all, you’ll be able to overlook about all types of desktop apps to which Windows provides you entry.)

But for some buyers, the simplicity and different advantages of Chrome OS outweigh these drawbacks. If that’s you, extra energy to you.

The elephant within the room to all of that is the CX5’s value: $828.99 is properly outdoors of what most may contemplate to be Chromebook territory. But that projection is commonly, partially, primarily based on the belief that Chromebooks are low cost {hardware}, and I’d remind folks that this value isn’t egregious in relation to well-built Chromebooks — and I do assume this one is properly constructed.

Consider the Pixelbook Go. A Pixelbook Go with equivalent specs to my check unit is $999. Google’s machine is thinner and lighter than the CX5, however it additionally has a smaller display, fewer ports, and an older processor, and it doesn’t flip round. It’s not clearly a greater buy for everybody — it’s actually not $170 higher for everybody.

I feel in case you’re somebody who prefers Chrome OS to Windows, and you recognize that the previous will fit your wants, the CX5 isn’t egregiously priced. It’s a strong performer with a singular design — there are legit causes to choose it over a midrange Windows laptop computer, whatever the working system it’s operating.

Most importantly, it loudly and clearly sends the message that numerous laptop computer producers have been attempting to push through the years: Premium Chromebooks are a factor now. They’re not only a novelty that Google reveals off sometimes — they’re on cabinets, they’re sensible, and so they’re focusing on on a regular basis laptop computer patrons. Just get able to pay a bit extra.