This $649 Chromebook just beat Windows 11 at AI — no cloud required

A Lenovo Chromebook Plus 14 laptop displaying a vibrant image of a musician playing an electric guitar. Colorful abstract 3D waves and spheres flow from the screen.
(Image credit: Lenovo)

On Monday, Lenovo officially launched the Chromebook Plus 14, the first Chromebook powered by MediaTek’s new Kompanio Ultra 910 processor and the first Chromebook Plus to run on an ARM architecture. It is also the first ever device to use the Kompanio Ultra chip, delivering 50 trillion operations per second (TOPS) for AI acceleration.

The Chromebook Plus 14 is also the only model in its class with two exclusive on-device Gemini AI features: Smart Grouping, which suggests how to organize tabs and files based on active tasks, and on-device image editing in the Gallery app, including background removal and sticker creation. These features run entirely on the laptop's dedicated MediaTek NPU 890, enabling full AI functionality without relying on cloud processing.

More power in your hands with Chromebook Plus - YouTube More power in your hands with Chromebook Plus - YouTube
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Built for speed and silence

The Chromebook Plus 14 debuts with a 14-inch 2K OLED display rated for 100% DCI-P3 coverage, flanked by quad speakers tuned with Dolby Atmos. The chassis weighs just 2.58 pounds and uses an all-aluminum design with a fanless architecture and an optional fingerprint reader for secure login. Battery life is rated at up to 17 hours, with support for 65W USB-C charging.

Under the hood, it runs on up to 16GB of LPDDR5 RAM and 256GB of internal storage, with support for dual 4K displays via USB-C. Wireless connectivity includes Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4.

The processor, a MediaTek Kompanio Ultra 910, includes a custom Immortalis-G925 GPU and a built-in MediaTek NPU 890, delivering 50 trillion operations per second of AI acceleration. That’s more than enough for the suite of Gemini features preloaded on ChromeOS.

AI without the cloud

The big story here isn’t hardware but rather the laptop’s AI capabilities. ChromeOS now supports Gemini AI tasks on-device, and Lenovo’s model is the first to unlock every feature. That includes new functions like Select to Search via Lens, which allows users to take a screenshot and search Google based on the on-screen images or text. Text captured in this way can also be imported into Google Calendar or Workspace apps, such as documents and spreadsheets.

Other new Gemini features include a smart grouping tool that can organize your current tabs and documents based on what you’re working on, and image editing that’s built into the Gallery app for tasks like image background removal.

These new Gemini AI functions are handled on-device thanks to local inference, with some, such as image editing, not requiring an Internet connection. They’re also exclusive to Lenovo’s new Chromebook Plus 14 laptop, which launches today, June 23rd, alongside a suite of new Google tools.

Built for the future of ChromeOS

Lenovo is also offering the Chromebook Plus 14 in Chrome Enterprise Upgrade and Chrome Education Upgrade configurations. These SKUs are managed through the Google Admin console, enabling mass deployment, data controls, remote access management, and app provisioning. The company says the new model is aimed at institutions looking to roll out smart, low-maintenance workstations at scale.

The launch aligns with Google’s wider push to redefine what a Chromebook can be, with Chromebook Plus guaranteeing a minimum hardware spec and AI feature support. Lenovo’s model simply goes further by being the first to ship with the local Gemini stack fully functional.

All this echoes similar moves from Microsoft with its Copilot+ PC initiative, though its machine enters the market at a much lower price point. Where Windows Copilot+ devices begin around $999 and require cloud fallback for certain tasks, Lenovo’s Chromebook aims to do the same work without the same price or dependency.

A PR image showcasing some of the Lenovo Chromebook Plus 14's features and a free 12-month subscription to the Google AI Pro plan.

(Image credit: Google)

Closing the gap with Copilot+ PCs

The timing of this release is notable as it's only been a year since Microsoft Copilot+ PCs debuted with Snapdragon X Elite chips and 45+ TOPS NPUs, but most are still over $999, and still rely on the cloud for advanced tasks.

Lenovo’s machine delivers comparable AI workflows for hundreds less, inside a lighter chassis with longer battery life and fewer moving parts. While it can’t match the raw multicore CPU performance of Qualcomm or Intel chips, the addition of local AI support makes this the first ChromeOS device to go head-to-head with Windows on AI productivity.

The Chromebook Plus 14 is available now, with two configurations: $649 for the 12GB RAM model, and $749 for the 16GB RAM version. Both include one year of the Google One AI Pro plan, valued at $240.

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Luke James
Contributing Writer

Luke James is a freelance writer from the UK. Although he primarily works in B2B assurance and compliance, he moonlights as a tech journalist in a bid to stay sane. He has been published in All About Circuits and Power & Beyond, where he focuses on the latest in microchips and power electronics, and consumer tech publications like MakeUseOf.

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