Samsung promises to improve the battery life on the Galaxy Chromebook
Adjustments incoming
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There’s no doubt that theSamsung Galaxy Chromebookis one of thebest Chromebooksin the business, but some users and reviewers have reported getting less-than-stellar battery life from the device.
It seems thatSamsungis aware of this, and working on a fix. Representatives from the company toldChrome Unboxedthat both it and Google are busy trying to mitigate the battery problems with a future software update.
That update won’t be able to change the physical size of the battery (49.2Wh) of course: it’s going to have to focus on improving the efficiency of the laptop, possibly by restricting the CPU speed or lowering the screen resolution at times.
With its high-end components and bright,4Kdisplay it’s perhaps no surprise that the Galaxy Chromebook isn’t exactly market-leading when it comes to how much juice you can get out of the tank while you’re away from a charger.
Performance vs battery life
Samsung didn’t elaborate in its communications with Chrome Unboxed about how exactly it would tackle the issue, and get its laptop up to par in the battery life department. There was no mention of a fixed date for a patch either.
It’s possible that the tweaks that Samsung andGooglecome up with will be available on other Chromebooks too – perhaps a way to dial down performance when you’re away from a mains connection in order to eke out more battery life.
Battery life aside, the Galaxy Chromebook very much impressed us when we took a look at it: the lightweight laptop waslaunched at CES 2020earlier this year and is one of the most powerful computers you can get running Chrome OS.
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Watch this space for further software optimizations from Samsung and Google – it is at least reassuring to know that improvements are being worked on that should be available within a reasonable timeframe.
Dave is a freelance tech journalist who has been writing about gadgets, apps and the web for more than two decades. Based out of Stockport, England, on TechRadar you’ll find him covering news, features and reviews, particularly for phones, tablets and wearables. Working to ensure our breaking news coverage is the best in the business over weekends, David also has bylines at Gizmodo, T3, PopSci and a few other places besides, as well as being many years editing the likes of PC Explorer and The Hardware Handbook.
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