Samsung Chromebook 4 Plus review: Bare minimum at a light price

Samsung has some of the best Chromebook options on the market today. Among its ranks is the Samsung Chromebook 4 Plus. It’s a budget Chromebook option that promises a solid set of specifications and a clean design. The Samsung Chromebook 4 Plus is a solid alternative to cheap Windows laptops and makes for a great Chromebook for students. Find out more in Android Authority‘s Samsung Chromebook 4 Plus review.

What you need to know about the Samsung Chromebook 4 Plus

• Samsung Chromebook 4 Plus (4GB RAM/32GB eMMC): $299.99
• Samsung Chromebook 4 Plus (6GB RAM/64GB eMMC): $349.99
• Samsung Chromebook 4 Plus (4GB RAM/128GB SSD): $379.99

The Samsung Chromebook 4 Plus is the larger version of the 11.6-inch Chromebook 4 and has a 15.6-inch Full HD display. There are three storage/memory configurations available, as listed above. It’s a low-end Chromebook that is aimed at those folks that need a simple computer and is a cheap option for students.

It was released back in 2019 and has stayed a competitive option in the budget Chromebook space with the retail price hovering close to the $200 mark in regular discounts. The Chromebook 4 Plus is available in a single color: Platinum Titan.

What’s good?

The Samsung Chromebook 4 Plus has a rather elegant design. While it’s a budget device, it doesn’t look or feel cheap. The build itself is polycarbonate, but the lid is metal, which gives the laptop a rather premium feel. All the touchpoints seem sturdy too and the trackpad is large enough.

We tested the 4GB/32GB version, and the performance didn’t feel lacking if you consider what you’re working with. The processor in this one is an Intel Celeron N4000. It’s a low-tier chip that is less powerful than the Core i3 and i5 you get in many Chromebooks today, but sufficient, especially given the price tag of this Chromebook. The port selection isn’t bad, especially with a USB-A 3.0 port thrown in.

Fortunately, Chrome OS handles web browsing in Google Chrome better than a similarly spec’d Windows machine would. As a web browsing device, the Samsung Chromebook 4 Plus performed pretty well during my testing. My workload was rather light and required having about 10-12 tabs open in Google Chrome, with Gmail, YouTube, WordPress, Google Docs, and a few other websites alongside. The performance was fine to get me through a day without any major frustrations.

The keyboard is rather nice too. The keys have a textured finish and have an angled depression that makes them comfortable to type on. Affordable laptops tend to cheap out on keyboards, but the Chromebook 4 Plus excels in this category, especially considering the price tag.

Also see: The best Chromebooks you can buy

What’s not so good?

A lot of the positives about this Chromebook I’ve listed above are made considering the price tag, especially the performance. It’s decent for an affordable Chromebook like this that is likely to be used as a web browsing device for home or educational use, but you cannot hope to get too much work done with this.

I tried pushing the Chromebook 4 Plus to its limit with multiple YouTube videos running, but it started choking and dropping frames. The overall experience slowed down, and the low RAM and low-end processor hit their limits. A little more than basic multitasking made this machine show its limitations.

The Samsung Chromebook 4 Plus also has below-average battery life. I got around eight to nine hours during my testing. That’s far from the worst battery life you can get on a laptop, but it’s a notch or two below the 12-hour battery life we have seen from many Chromebooks.

In addition, the Chromebook 4 Plus skimps on an important component — the webcam. The quality is blurry and the colors look washed out. Even given the price, the webcam could have been a bit better, especially since this device is targeted towards users with video conferencing needs. Wireless connectivity is limited to the older 802.11ac (also known as Wi-Fi 5 now), and Bluetooth 4.0. There’s no HDMI port either, a notable omission from the otherwise solid port selection.

Finally, coming to the biggest issue with this Chromebook — the screen. While the resolution is good enough, the display is a cheap TN panel, and it shows. The viewing angles are so bad that on lower brightness settings, visibility of around half the screen is affected. It’s an essential component that Samsung should’ve avoided skimping out on.

More: The best Chromebooks you can buy

Samsung Chromebook 4 Plus specs

Samsung Chromebook 4 Plus review: Should I buy it?

At the end of the day, the verdict on the Samsung Chromebook 4 Plus comes down to its low price. While the MSRP of this Chromebook starts at $300 — and you can often find it retailing at $250 or closer to $200 — it’s still a better option for most than Windows laptops at the price, especially if you want a large screen.

If you’re willing to spend a bit more, there are several great options available, especially the Lenovo Chromebook Flex 5 ($429), which often hovers close to $300, and the last-gen (2020) model Acer Chromebook Spin 713 ($629), which now goes as low as ~$330. However, these are still significantly higher price than the $200-250 you can get the Samsung Chromebook 4 Plus for.

Check out: The best Chromebook deals

So, should you buy the Samsung Chromebook 4 Plus? If you’re on a tight budget and need a Chromebook for a young student, or a secondary device for home use, then yes. Even two years later, the Samsung Chromebook 4 Plus provides solid value for the price. If you can stretch your budget, however, there are many other options out there that elevate the Chrome OS experience.