Dell made a small adjustment to an existing Chromebook, HP and Lenovo were empty and both Samsung and Acer announced their new devices before CES 2021. This left Asus to bring some news about the device and delivered big on the day end of the event. Asus introduced three new Chromebooks, one equipped with AMD’s Ryzen chipset and the other two with 11th generation Intel chips.
Let’s start with the Asus Chromebook Flip CM5, as it is one of the few devices that uses AMD processors and one of the even fewer Chromebooks with a 15.6-inch screen.
This large 60 Hz IPS touch panel has a resolution of 1080p and a 16: 9 aspect ratio. This will give you good viewing angles, but the NTSC color accuracy of 45% is on the middle side.
The Asus Chromebook Flip CM5 comes with a choice of AMD Ryzen 3 3250C or Ryzen 5 3500C processors, each with its own AMD Radeon Vega graphics processor. Non-upgradeable memory options vary between 4, 8 and 16 GB. All configurations use M.2 PCI-e Gen3 fast storage with capacities of 128, 256 or 512 GB, depending on the configuration.
In terms of ports, you have a good range: 2 Type-C USB 3.2, 1 Type-A USB 3.2, an HDMI port, microSD card slot and microphone / headphone jack. There is also a 720p webcam, support for WiFi 6, Bluetooth 5.0 and a USI pen. The 57 WHr 3-cell battery is rated for up to 10 hours of battery life, at least on paper.
Overall, it’s an attractive package, complete with a metal cover chassis in Mineral Gray aluminum alloy and, in a tribute to the players, orange WASD keys. Asus says the Chromebook Flip CM5 also meets the MIL-STD 810H3 military standard, so it must be solid and tough.
Given the large screen, wider keyboard to include a full numeric keypad and an impressive 5.68-inch glass trackpad, this is not a lightweight device, weighing 4.17 pounds.
Moving on to Intel-based devices, the Asus Chromebook CX9 is a slim and light offering made for the job, weighing 2.3 pounds.
There are three 11th generation Intel processors to choose from: one of two different Core i5 chips and one Core i7, each with Intel Iris Xe graphics. Specific options are the Intels i5-1135G7, i5-1145G7 or i7-1185G7 chipsets. Memory is 8 or 16 GB, while storage starts at 128 GB with options of up to 4 TB, according to Android Police.
I don’t even want to guess the cost of this and I think it’s a little overkill for a Chromebook. I could see 1 TB as the maximum for some selected people, but 4 TB?
You are literally looking at a 14 inch 1080p touch panel with USI pen support. Asus did not provide details on the color gamut or brightness and since this is not a “Flip” model, the screen has not folded back beyond a traditional shell.
The ports include a pair of USB Type C / Thunderbolt 4 ports, one on each side, a Type A port, HDMI output, microSD card slot and a combined headphone / microphone connector.
A nice touch is the physical privacy shutter on the 720p webcam. WiFi 6 is included, and although Asus did not mention Bluetooth, I suspect it has 5.0 included.
Finally, there is the Asus Chromebook Flip C536, which is a version of the CM5 with Intel technology. You can choose between the 11th generation Intel processors: Core i3 1115G4, Core i5 1135G7 or Core i7 1165G7, while memory options are limited to 8 or 16 GB. There are no basic 4 GB models here.
Based on the specifications, this is the same 15.6-inch screen, keyboard layout and port selection as the CM5. Asus is claiming 12 hours of runtime and the same weight as this CM5.
Unfortunately, none of these devices have pricing or release dates yet. This is usually the case with CES ads, but it is a little disappointing.
However, they all bring a newer, more modern design (at least in my opinion) compared to the latest Acer Chromebooks launched on the market. I look forward to taking a walk with one of them; particularly the CM5 and its internal AMD Ryzen processors.
