Asus has a great track record when it comes to creating some of the best Chromebooks you can buy. But they're not done yet, as out of the blue, another potential contender has popped up in the form of a 12-inch Chromebook Flip.
First spotted on Asus' website, the new 2-in-1 laptop is named the Chromebook Flip CM3200, and has ditched the usual Intel Celeron CPU in favour of a MediaTek 8183 processor — a chip found in the Lenovo Chromebook Duet that raised the bar for budget convertibles.
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Asus Chromebook Flip CM3200 price
The Asus Chromebook Flip CM3200 was first spotted by About Chromebooks, and while listed on the company's main site, the price and release date of the new Chromebook has yet to be revealed.
However, rumour has it the Chromebook will have a price range of $300 to $350. Since it's already on its site, we have a sneaking suspicion it will be available very soon.
Asus Chromebook Flip CM3200 specs
The Asus Chromebook Flip CM3200 comes packed with an eight-core MediaTek 8183 Processor with up to 2.0 GHz, an Arm Mali-G72 MP3 GPU, up to 8GB LPDDR4 RAM, and up to 128G eMMC of storage.
Currently, Asus takes our top spot as having the best Chromebook thanks to its Chromebook Flip C434, and that comes with 4GB of RAM, 64GB eMMC storage, and an Intel Core m3-8100Y CPU. That means performance-wise, we're in for a big upgrade.
The CM3200 also offers a 12-inch 1366 x 912 3:2 LCD touch display up top, with a "360° ErgoLift hinge" to make it flexible enough to be used in Tablet mode, Laptop mode, Tent mode or Flat mode (as most 2-in-1 laptops should do).
Asus also boasts a 16-hours of battery life, which is considerably longer than its predecessors and a smidgen above the Lenovo Chromebook Duet. However, take that with a pinch of salt until we have to put it through our battery test.
In terms of ports, the Chromebook will boast USB 2.0 Type-A and Type-C, along with an SD card reader for good measure.
Asus Chromebook Flip CM3200 design
The Flip CM3200's design doesn't stray far from Asus' Chromebook lineage, coming in a signature silver finish. Opening the lid, you'll find a dark grey chassis, along with a Chiclet Keyboard that gives you 1.6mm key-travel.
It comes in at an impressively light 2.51 pounds (1.14 kg) and a 26.92-inch x 21.58-inch x 1.68-inch form factor. You'll also find a 720p webcam on the top bezel.
Chromebooks have seen a surge in popularity recently, and Asus doesn't slack when it comes to bringing out some of the best.
While no official release date has been revealed yet, we're guessing the wait may not be for long. In fact, it may just come out in time when Google releases its Game Mode to support Steam on Chrome OS.
