HP today announced the first detachable Chromebook, the HP Chromebook x2. It will be available in June for $599, and comes soon after Acer announced a Chromebook tablet and Apple has doubled down on iPads as education devices.
The Chromebook x2 has a 12.3-inch, 2K display and runs on an Intel Core m3-7Y30 CPU, 4GB of RAM and 32GB of eMMC storage. HP's Active Pen Stylus is included in the box, and the tablet has both a 5-megapixel front-facing camera and a 13-MP rear shooter.
HP says it's just 0.6 inches thick with the base and 1.6 pounds (up to 3,1 pounds when you include the keyboard). HP claims over 10 hours of battery life, and the company pointed out in a conference call that the Chromebook comes with a stylus and keyboard, while the newest iPad does not.
The tablet has a ceramic white matte finish that HP says is scratch-resistant. It uses HP's older, less premium logo, though, which reduces its air of luxury. The keyboard has a finish similar to leather, which should have a similar feel to HP's Envy x2.
This is just one more step in the tablet-ification of Chrome OS (especially after Google stopped supporting its Android tablet in favor of the Pixelbook), with the Google Play Store becoming increasingly important.
Image credit: HP
