Chromebooks are getting a new button dedicated to Google’s AI

Google is announcing a brace of caller Chromebooks contiguous — Samsung’s Galaxy Chromebook Plus and Lenovo’s Chromebook Duet 11 — and on with them, a brand-new button. Dubbed the Quick Insert button, it’s designed to springiness contiguous entree to immoderate of Google’s latest AI features.

The caller Quick Insert fastener volition regenerate the hunt / launcher fastener connected immoderate Chromebooks going forward, starting with the Galaxy Chromebook Plus. Quick Insert is your one-stop store for a big of caller AI features: property it, and a paper pops up giving you speedy entree to features similar “Help maine write,” which tin lend a helping manus with memos, emails, and eventually, AI representation generation, according to John Maletis, VP of ChromeOS product, engineering, and UX.

The fastener is besides meant to fto you entree accusation much quickly. It tin propulsion up a database of precocious visited websites truthful you tin insert links, hunt done your photos, videos, docs, and spreadsheets successful Google Drive, oregon propulsion up your favourite GIFs and emoji. Microsoft made a akin alteration earlier this year, placing a dedicated Copilot key connected immoderate laptops to connection speedy entree to Windows’ AI feature.

Quick Insert joins a big of different AI features rolling retired starting this period to Google’s premium Chromebook Plus lineup. There’s “Help maine read,” which summarizes immoderate you’re reading; Live Translate, which creates translated captions successful existent clip for implicit 100 languages; and the Recorder app, which tin make transcripts from lectures, interviews, oregon conversations. I saw the Recorder app successful enactment during a demo and asked the presenter a fewer questions astir the service. The app accurately displayed my words and identified america arsenic abstracted speakers.

Welcome Recap, which is coming to each Chromebooks, mightiness beryllium the astir absorbing diagnostic successful the rollout. Once you powerfulness the strategy backmost on, it provides an overview of immoderate you were doing earlier you logged out. Welcome Recap works crossed devices and gives suggestions specified arsenic reminders for “your adjacent video call, speedy entree to a precocious opened file, oregon a clickable proposition to decorativeness an nonfiction started connected your Android oregon iOS phone.” If you thin to beryllium a tab hoarder similar myself, this diagnostic tin travel successful handy.

Samsung’s Galaxy Chromebook Plus is Google’s archetypal showcase for these caller features. The notebook’s grayish-blue all-aluminum chassis volition decidedly crook heads. At 2.58 pounds and 0.46 inches, the laptop bears the favoritism of being the lightest and thinnest Chromebook either institution has launched.

The Chromebook Plus has a 15.6-inch OLED show that looked stunning erstwhile I got to spot it successful idiosyncratic past week, and it’s paired with a beauteous bully keyboard, implicit with a afloat numpad. But if you’re looking for a powerhouse, this isn’t it. The Chromebook Plus has an Intel Core i3 100U Raptor Lake Refresh processor with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of onboard storage. For artillery life, it’s estimated to past 13 hours connected a charge.

Although it lacks the Quick Insert button, Lenovo’s Chromebook Duet 11 tin inactive entree each of the caller ChromeOS features. A refresh of the fashionable detachable that launched mode backmost successful 2020, the 2024 mentation retains the portability and versatility of the erstwhile models, with updated internals. When you’re not utilizing the instrumentality successful laptop mode, the magnetic keyboard detaches, truthful the Duet 11 tin beryllium utilized arsenic a tablet. Or you tin fold the rear screen and usage it arsenic a kickstand to basal it up vertically oregon horizontally. 

Lenovo is touting the 10.9-inch, 1920 x 1200 touchscreen’s precocious thenar rejection. It’s a large mode to usage the USI Pen 2 that’s included successful the bundle. The stylus attaches magnetically to the back. 

Sporting a MediaTek Kompanio 838 CPU with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of onboard storage, the Duet is bully for taking notes and different airy productivity and multimedia tasks. It has 2 webcams: an 8MP successful the backmost and a 5MP front-facing shooter. For artillery life, Lenovo clocks an estimated 12 hours connected a charge. The detachable besides has an acquisition variation that places the tablet information successful a durable lawsuit to support against inadvertent drops. 

Both laptops volition beryllium disposable this month. The Duet 11 volition commencement astatine $399, portion the much premium Galaxy Chromebook Plus starts astatine $699.

Photography by Sherri Smith