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HP is growing its Chromebook line with the addition of the Chromebook 11 G5, which will offer an optional touch-screen display and a redesigned chassis that pares weight and offers a thinner bezel around the machine’s 11.6-inch display.
The new Chromebook 11 G5 will start at $189 with a standard HD non-touch-screen In-Plane Switching (IPS) display and will feature up to 12.5 hours of battery life, according to the company’s June 27 announcement of the new machine. The IPS HD touch-screen model, which is covered with scratch-resistant Corning Gorilla Glass, will offer battery life up to 11 hours.
This is the first 11.6-inch HP Chromebook model to offer a touch-screen display.
The machine includes an Intel Celeron dual-core N3060 processor with Intel HD Graphics 400, 4GB of LPDDR3-1600 SDRAM memory, 16GB or 32GB of eMMC onboard storage, HD audio, dual speakers, an HD camera, and Intel Dual Band 802.11a/b/g/n/ac WiFi and Bluetooth 4.2 connectivity. No further details are available about the onboard camera used on the machine.
The Chromebook 11 G5 also features a multiformat digital media reader that supports SD, SDHC and SDXC memory cards, as well as two USB 3.0 ports and one HDMI port. Also included is a 43.7-watt-hour Li-ion polymer battery.
The system is 11.25 inches wide, 8.07 inches deep and 0.72 inches thick. The weight of a non-touch-screen model starts at 2.51 pounds, while a touch-screen model starts at 2.62 pounds. The latest model is 10 percent thinner and 11 percent lighter than past versions and includes a new, smooth-curve keyboard design that makes it easier to clean, according to HP.
Adding to the versatility of Chromebooks, many Chrome and Android applications in the Google Play Store will be compatible with the machine’s browser-based Chrome OS later this year, according to HP.
The new machines will be available through HP channel partners starting in July and through retailers in October, according to the company. The Chromebook 11 G5 is aimed at students, business users, education users and consumers.
“The demand for Chromebook in education continues to grow as schools take full advantage of the benefits of Chrome—manageability, simplicity, and security,” Anna Wu, product manager for Chromebooks at HP, said in a statement. “The functionality of Android apps—many of which are touch-centric—is adding more versatile learning experiences to the classroom with a host of new education-focused apps.”
In April, HP unveiled its Chromebook 13 model, which was the company’s first Chromebook to include Intel’s 6th-generation Core M processors for additional power and versatility for office workers, mobile business users and consumers. The Chromebook 13, which starts at $499, has an all-metal design and can be configured with a choice of Intel Core M7, M5, M3 or Intel Pentium 1 processors, as well as up to 16GB of LPDDR3-1866 SDRAM, depending on the processor that is chosen. The machine features a 13.3-inch full HD anti-glare display (1,920-by-1,080 resolution) or an optional 13.3-inch quad HD+ display (3,200-by-1,800 resolution), 32GB of eMMC 5.0 internal storage and integrated Intel HD Graphics 515, which supports 4K video output. The system, which runs on the Chrome OS operating system, also includes a high-capacity 45-watt-hour battery that promises up to 11.5 hours of use on a charge, as well as USB-C fast charging. The Chromebook 13 also features an integrated HP TrueVision HD camera.