Asus Chromebook Plus CX34: Two-minute reviewGoogle wants to push its Chromebook laptops a little upmarket and to do that it’s pairing up with several big brands. The latest member of this initiative is the new Asus Chromebook Plus CX34, an Intel-powered 14-inch model.Google is calling this new class of devices ‘Chromebook Plus’ and it’s a little like Intel’s Evo standard. The idea is to dictate some minimum standards of performance and features to ensure a certain level of user

TechRadar battery life test: 10h 21mThanks to a proper Intel Core CPU, albeit the fairly lowly Intel Core i3-1215U with two Performance cores and four Efficient, the Asus Chromebook Plus CX34 has the basic performance to take on full-feature Windows laptops. The question is whether it matters.Google is promoting the offline capabilities of these Chromebook Plus devices, promising double the performance of typical low-cost Chromebooks. Google even makes a pitch for these devices as content creation machines, including video editing.But that’s pretty unrealistic, as is the AI narrative Google is attaching to these Chromebook Plus laptops. The Intel CPU is decent, to be sure, but it doesn’t have any particular AI capabilities since it lacks a dedicated NPU. So, any remotely significant AI work will be done in the cloud.(Image credit: Future)It’s also worth noting that if you’re the sort of web browser that likes to have a zillion tabs open, this 8GB model won’t cut it and you should opt for the 16GB upgrade which should be available soon. As I noted earlier, you’ll need to upgrade to 512GB of storage for a proper M.2 SSD as opposed to the generic UFS flash storage in this model.But short of running out of RAM, general system responsiveness is good. Realistically, most people will use a laptop like this for web browsing and web apps, plus some content consumption. And they’ll find it’s well up to the task.As for the 14-inch display, it offers decent working space thanks to 1080p native resolution. Brightness is decent at 250 nits, and the colors are reasonably vibrant. But compared to, say, a typical tablet, it’s nothing special for image quality or pixel density. The integrated speakers, meanwhile, are pretty terrible. The volume levels are OK, but the sound quality is horribly thin.That said, one of the better hardware features is the 1080p webcam. It has much better image quality than most laptops, even far more expensive machines. It also benefits from operating-system level processing, including background blur and noise cancellation, which can be applied to any video calling or conferencing application.Overall, the Asus Chromebook Plus CX34 has the basic grunt to take on lower-cost Windows laptops thanks to its Intel CPU. But given that Chrome OS will run just as happily on a cheaper and more efficient ARM CPU, it’s hard to see the logic in paying the Intel premium.Performance: 3.5 / 5Asus Chromebook Plus CX34: Battery life(Image credit: Future)Medium-sized batteryBut decent light-usage battery lifeAt 50Whrs, the Asus Chromebook Plus CX34 doesn’t have the biggest battery. Nor do Intel CPUs have the best reputation when it comes to operating away from a wall outlet. But perhaps thanks to the efficiency and minimal bloat of the Chrome OS operating system, battery life in light usage is decent, with over 10 hours of movie playback possible.You’ll get a lot less than that if you put any real amount of load on that Intel CPU, so bear that in mind if you’re planning to run demanding software. But given the modest price point, the battery life is in line with expectations.Battery life: 4 / 5Should you buy the Asus Chromebook Plus CX34?Swipe to scroll horizontallyAsus Chromebook Plus CX34AttributesNotesRatingPriceAsus has hit Google’s Chromebook Plus spec at a very reasonable price, even if the device itself doesn’t feel upmarket.4 / 5DesignThe Asus Chromebook Plus CX34 is well built and has a good webcam, but the design it a bit boxy and dated.3 / 5PerformanceAn entry-level Intel CPU provides all the performance required for this type of device, but an ARM chip might have made more sense.3.5 / 5Battery lifeDespite the modestly proportioned battery and an Intel CPU, the Asus Chromebook Plus CX34’s battery life can hit 10 hours.4 / 5Total AverageThe Asus Chromebook Plus CX34 is a worthy and well priced but unexciting take on Google’s new Chromebook Plus standard.3.625 / 5Buy it if…You want a sturdy, reliable, and cheap
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