Over the last several years, Chromebooks have been produced at a faster pace. Google wants to distribute these svelte gadgets more quickly than before, and it seems like they’re on track to accomplish it.
But does purchasing a touchscreen device given that there are so many Chromebooks available in a variety of form factors make sense financially and logistically?
This tutorial will examine touchscreen Chromebooks in-depth, highlighting their advantages and disadvantages so you can decide if you can see yourself using one or not. By the conclusion of the guide, we’ll be sure to add our two cents so you can quickly decide.
Nevertheless, before you decide to go for touchscreens specifically, we highly recommend checking out our detailed guide on which Chromebook you should buy.
In This Article
Are touchscreen Chromebooks worthwhile?
The benefits and drawbacks of a touchscreen Chromebook will be covered in different parts so that we can go into more detail. By doing this, you’ll be able to see all sides of the argument and ultimately come to a thoughtful buying choice.
Advantages of a touchscreen Chromebook
To assist you to decide what type of value touchscreen Chromebooks can currently provide to their customers, let’s start with the good aspects first.
Use a touchscreen Chromebook to improve your experience with ChromeOS
First off, a Chromebook with a touchscreen performs significantly better for ChromeOS than one without it. The visible change is notably significant for someone who switched from a conventional Chromebook to a touchscreen Chromebook after using one for several years.
When you add the touchscreen functionality, ChromeOS seems a lot more competent, vibrant, and maybe useful. Not to add the responsiveness of the touchscreen of a Chromebook, those utter ecstasy moments when you can flip your 2-in-1 Chromebook back and make it transition with a click seem quick and snappy.
Also, a touchscreen Chromebook offers significantly more convenience than a non-touchscreen Chromebook could even imagine offering. Knowing that you can use the screen to navigate the operating system anytime you want and that it is always open to you is convenient.
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Another form of navigation
This subsection, which enables a Chromebook user to have an alternative method of navigating instead of being limited to one while using a non-touchscreen device, supports the previous assertion.
Think of such a scenario where your specific Chromebook has a hardware issue that has made either the keyboard or trackpad ineffective.
This is one that neither the trackpad nor your keyboard can be customized to get out of. Use the on-screen keypad and your finger to navigate the device in its current state while the broken component is being fixed.
The experience would be more bearable for someone who is hooked to their smartphone screen. Many of you can probably relate to this, we’re sure.
Another thing to consider when purchasing a touchscreen Chromebook is the ability to zoom in and out of the screen anywhere you want, particularly when using the Chrome browser.
Full compatibility for games from the Play Store
This next supporting piece is nothing less than a significant one, and it is often what convinces consumers to buy a touch-enabled Chromebook. In 2022, it is no longer a secret that ChromeOS benefits from the Android app market and everything that comes with it.
To maximize the usefulness of Chromebooks, the Google Play Store has been huge assistance. As a result, these devices now have access to some of the greatest Play Store applications available, including useful ones that help users perform better at work.
Now, just a tiny subset of the enormous sea of Play Store applications is tailored for Chromebooks. The variety of touch-enabled programs that are best used after a touchscreen Chromebook further filters that fraction out.
Therefore, what you have here is opening the door to a full-fledged ChromeOS experience, but only when a Chromebook with touch functionality is present. Games will be more engaging than they were before, and some tools and applications will only be available on Chromebooks with touchscreens.
In light of the availability of a touchscreen in almost every Chromebook and other PC, it may thus be considered to be just a useful feature in the great scheme of things. You won’t want to miss out on working with ChromeOS because of its simplicity, convenience, and depth.
A Google Maps example would be a powerful argument in favour of our position. On a Chromebook with touch support, trying out software like that is quite simple.
All you have to do is walk about while moving your fingers, and the problem will be solved. There are plenty of additional programs to check into that are available for such a Chromebook in addition to Google Maps.
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Available on tablets
All convertible form factor Chromebooks have a touchscreen, but Chromebooks do have a convertible form factor. You can go from the compatible device’s clamshell mode to the ChromeOS tablet mode by twisting the clamshell of your device backwards in a 360° motion.
One particular instance feels crisp and offers you a little push to acknowledge that your device is now in tablet mode. Moving ahead, you can use the “Home,” “Back,” and “Switch” navigation keys at the bottom of the screen, just as on your smartphone or any other Android tablet.
The availability of gesture-tracking and shortcut motions on Chromebook tablets is one of its main benefits, making it quicker and simpler to use the device than on other tablets. using a tablet-centric device that feels and looks like a traditional laptop has a unique vibe.
Painless Annotations in PDF
One further benefit of purchasing a touchscreen Chromebook is how simple it is to use it to annotate PDFs. Given that you also bought an active pen for the gadget, which enables you to write and do almost all other actions on it, this is no little accomplishment.
Tip: A touchscreen Chromebook can be used to learn how to write in cursive. That is accurate unless you get a Chromebook with a touchscreen. That would result in significant ease in the situation.
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Cons of a Chromebook with a touchscreen
Now that we’re up to speed on the benefits of owning a Chromebook, let’s explore the drawbacks of owning a touchscreen-equipped Chromebook.
Touchscreens are Generally more costly
Undoubtedly, the price of everything that can be purchased plays a significant role in your choice to acquire. In general, touchscreen Chromebooks will cost more than conventional Chromebooks, mostly because of the extra capability offered.
A non-touchscreen Chromebook is a very practical choice if your budget is limited but you still want to get a taste of ChromeOS. Take a look at the HP Chromebook Clamshell as an example for fast pricing comparison. The HP Chromebook 14a’s touchscreen version is much more expensive than its non-touch counterpart.
In this situation, choosing a hybrid Chromebook model that provides touchscreen capabilities at a somewhat reduced cost might be an option. The Chromebook’s subpar quality puts you on the fence between two options while claiming to be high-quality on neither side is the issue here.
It is preferable to choose a side than to remain neutral. Affordable hybrid Chromebooks with touchscreen capabilities don’t have very impressive displays. Because of this, you can either bring enough money to make a wise purchase or go for a Chromebook without a touchscreen.
The price of repairs is much greater
You also have to think about the entire cost of repairs when purchasing a touchscreen Chromebook. Given the intricacy of the components, if, for example, the screen on your Chromebook becomes damaged after you’ve owned it for long, the expense of fixing it would hurt your wallet.
It is important to note that before purchasing a touchscreen Chromebook, you should consider how much it will cost to repair it. However, if you take everything into account, you won’t likely damage the gadget right away. If anything like this happened, it would probably take some time before something bad happened.
But you can never foretell how unpredictable life will be. Our goal is to make sure you are aware of how much it will cost to repair a touchscreen Chromebook. Let’s now examine the last apparent drawback of these really useful gadgets.
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You have a choice
While not exactly a drawback, it is important to note that touchscreen Chromebooks provide a better — or if you will — experience than standard Chromebooks. You never know; it could turn out that you don’t require a gadget with touch capabilities.
In certain situations, it is recommended to choose the less expensive option and get a Chromebook without a touchscreen. You wouldn’t lose out on anything you didn’t want to mix in the first place while still making significant financial savings.
Therefore, it’s up to your assessment to decide if you’d benefit from a touchscreen device. It’s conceivable that your use case varies from all the benefits that these specific Chromebooks often provide to their customers.
It could be pointless for you to choose such a gadget in such a situation. This is the time when your choices will matter. We advise rereading the “Advantages” portion of this article to see whether any of the advantageous qualities excite you or not.
The bottom line
We’ve concluded that everything comes down to how much money you have to spend on a touchscreen Chromebook. To get started with this innovative idea, we advise investing in a high-quality, medium-specced laptop like the Lenovo Duet 5 Chromebook if you have the money.
Devices with touch capabilities can provide much more to the person using them on the other end. They simply provide a more comprehensive way of using the various ChromeOS services and maximizing the use of your device daily.