After releasing at least one new Chromebook every year over the past few years, Samsung failed to launch any new Chromebooks in 2022 and 2023. However, it looks like the company is making a new Galaxy Chromebook, and it could be launched sometime this year. More information about the upcoming laptop has been revealed.
Samsung working on a new Galaxy Chromebook with a dedicated Assistant key
According to a report from Chrome Unboxed, Samsung appears to be working on a new Galaxy Chromebook that is internally codenamed Xol. New commits in Chromium Repositories reveal that Xol will have a dedicated key for Google Assistant. Many of the code commits have been contributed by engineers at Samsung. That would be the first Galaxy Chromebook (in fact, the first non-Google laptop) to have a dedicated Google Assistant key. Samsung's last Chromebook was the Galaxy Chromebook Go, and it was launched in 2021.
The upcoming device from Samsung is said to be powered by Intel's Raptor Lake processor, which means it has either Intel's 13th Gen. or 14th Gen. processor. It also has a traditional form factor for laptops as its code has ‘Tablet Mode' explicitly disabled. Given that Google Assistant will be replaced with Gemini, the dedicated Assistant key could invoke Gemini instead of Google Assistant on this laptop. It could also feature the Chromebook Plus tag, a tag that was unveiled for high-end Chrome OS-based laptops that satisfy some requirements from Google.
With a closer collaboration between Google and Samsung, it is possible that the latter will build a higher-end Galaxy Chromebook with a dedicated Google Assistant key. The two companies have already worked together on various projects, including the first version of Android for foldable phones, the Wear OS 3 operating system, integration between Google Home and SmartThings, and the merger of Nearby Share and Quick Share.
Watch our hands-on video of the Galaxy Book 4 Pro, Galaxy Book 4 Pro 360, and the Galaxy Book 4 Ultra below.
