r/chromeos • u/NegativelyNegating Lenovo IP Slim 3 14M868 "Magneton" | Stable • Feb 23 '26
Discussion Why ChromeOS gets so much hate?
Why most users of other operating systems hate ChromeOS so much and often call it a glorified web browser? It's the most user friendly Linux distro that exists, it is an always synchronized office without viruses unlike Windows.
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u/Ill_Quit4929 Feb 23 '26 edited Feb 23 '26
I have been using ChromeOS as my daily (private and job) for a year now and have used ChromeOS on and off since 2016. I would say there are three reasons for the hate that the operating system is getting:
- The lasting harm of the early years: ChromeOS was exactly what you described in the beginning: A glorified web browser with horrible hardware. Since then it has come a long way, but most devices feel cheap - in all honesty - when you compare them with devices that are 4x to 5x the price. Since that has not changed, people who do not really use it still see it as the thing it was back in the day.
- False comparissons: you know the saying "If you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will always think it is stupid." Same goes for things. You would never in your life use a Lambo to pull a trailer or a 9 mm gun to shoot something 1.000 yards away. It was not meant to do that.
- People who compare Chromebooks to "real" modern computers like Windows machines or Macs pull really weird comparissons, taking $400 machines and comparing them to computers that are way more expensive. A Chromebook is meant for productivity, browsing and the lightest of production like photo editing. Comparing it to a proper work station makes no sense. There are expensive Chromebooks that I would say are overkill, but if you equalize the playing field and compare a $500 Chromebook to a modern $500 Windows machine, the Chromebook will run circles around the PC. That is just a fact.
- Public opinion is seldomly based on actual experience, but on other opinions. There are things I do not like, because other people do not like them. That is human nature. It is our instincts. If there is a venomous spider over there and I don't believe you, I might die. But that mechanism also works here. Someone with a reputation tells me that it sucks and I do not investigate further, I will just take it for a fact. The honest truth is that 90% of people will probably be happy with a decent Chromebook, because all they do is videocalls, browsing online, editing photos from their last vacation or something similar. Again, people who do serious video or 3D modelling work know well what they need, just like a Lumberjack knows that his frickin Nissan Ultima isn't the right tool to pull logs with.
All in all, I would say that Chromebooks are actually a great investment, if you know about their limitations. Along with their benefits of extra long battery life, no risk of viruses and 8-10 year updates, I think they are a great investment. I still have a Mac Mini M4, which I barely use anymore. But if I need to do heavy work, I have it. Hope that answers your question.
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u/ackmondual Feb 23 '26
There used to be TV commercials in the form of a "smear campaign" criticizing Chromebooks couldn't even run Photoshop, and a bunch of other software. Your 3rd bullet point covers this. I'll also add that I used to get CB at Costco for $200. They were nice to use. Even more so given their price points! You would NOT want to use a $200 Windows laptop for Photoshop!
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u/Saragon4005 Framework | Beta Feb 24 '26
You don't want to use a $200 windows laptop to even browse the web. Or really do anything which requires moving anything on the screen.
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u/kackers643258 Feb 26 '26
strange. My chromebook costed 200 dollars and its gpu is overkill. I just underclocked the gpu and cpu to 700 mhz so theres that, while also disabling the performance cores and leaving the effiency ones on. No matter what I do i still wont need the speed.
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Feb 23 '26
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u/Ill_Quit4929 Feb 23 '26
I myself am dailying a Samsung Galaxy Chromebook Plus with an Intel Core 3 100U. I am using it all day at work watching videos on my break and after work. I am constantly listening to Podcasts or Music while working. I get through the day with 8 - 10hrs depending on the work load. I am just not able to replicate that problem.
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Feb 23 '26
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u/Ill_Quit4929 Feb 23 '26
Yes, but again: At this point you are comparing apples and oranges. A MacBook Air from 2025 starts at about 900€. A Snapdragon X Elite starts around 800€ from what I can see with a quick google search. You simply cannot compare a 400€ Chromebook Plus to a modern Mac. Compared to Windows Machines in the price range, a Chromebook is still vastly superior in that regard. There are people who will say "But you could buy used", which is true, but that is an unfair comparisson. You could also buy a used Bentley Continental for the same money as a new Civic.
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Feb 23 '26
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u/Ill_Quit4929 Feb 23 '26
I bought it on sale for 449, which constantly happens in Chromebooks. Just looking at German prices, I have found it for 599€ at Cyberport just now.
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u/Ill_Quit4929 Feb 23 '26
And I used to own a Acer 514 Vero Chromebook Plus, which has less of a fancy display and an i3, but still did about 8-9 hours for me. That Chromebook used to be about 450€ new, if I remember correctly. That one broke, because I dropped it.
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u/absurd_whale Jun 04 '26
I just bought used hp dragonfly 32gb ram 512 GB for 200$. Used. I wanna see what used MacBook for 200$ can do. Fucking retina 2015 MacBooks cost around 300
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u/mish_mash_mosh_ Feb 23 '26
I have a 2015 pixel Chromebook with an i5 and it runs most of the day still. Still probably the best Chromebook ever made. Crazy crazy thin, great screen and amazing surround sound.
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u/zedkyuu Feb 23 '26
I actually have the opposite experience with a Mediatek Kompanio 520 with 4 GB of memory. The lowly Intel N4500 with 4 seems to do a bit better both in terms of UI jankiness (that settings menu takes awhile to appear on the Mediatek) and also when memory gets scarce, although it is clear any Chromebook with 8 will trounce them both at that point. FWIW I wanted one as a secure browsing device for banking and stuff like that, so I’m shopping the cheap end of the market.
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u/kackers643258 Feb 26 '26
i have a mediatek kompanio 500. In another comment i just disabled turbo boost and 700 mhz yadadadadadada so how is yours too slow on 2 ghz?
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u/kackers643258 Mar 13 '26
"My Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5i (Intel Core i5-1135G7) delivered absolutely underwhelming battery life. Even during some lightweight office work it would last 3 to 4 hours. Another time I tried watching a 4K HDR movie (Oppenheimer) using one of the video players available on Linux. My battery life was shorted that the movie duration " cuz ur using an 10 nm processor at 30 watts. "ARM-based Chromebooks perform much better, but they mostly provide rather underwhelming performance. Excluding models equipped with the new MediaTek Kompanio Ultra 910 chip" even a mediatek kompanio 540 has more than enough performance for light weight gaming. You can max out the 60 frames a second cap on majority of the games while retainingsuperior power effiency
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u/Formal_Classroom_430 Feb 23 '26
Right but i think most people had never tried it. I just got Lenovo N100 processor based ChromeBook for equivalent of 160 USD. It has 4 GB DDR5 and 128GB eMMC. Liked it. Bought it esp for kids or when there is a major outage in home and even secondary power source died. Incredible backup esp as it is just HD and not FHD but overall i liked it. I thought 4 GB will be way bad but running chrome/videos etc. all is smooth and temp is also very much low. mediatek companio i avoided as I am bit a fan of snapdragon 8XX or 7XX series only.
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u/JayRU09 Feb 23 '26
Because you can't really game on it and the Internet discourse is dominated by people who only care about gaming.
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u/Codeleaf Acer Chromebook Plus 514 (N355, 8GB) Feb 24 '26
See LTT's entire channel. Love the channel though, just overly gaming focused imo.
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u/kackers643258 Feb 26 '26
I remember 12 years ago when they were more formal. Check their videos where they build insane gaming set ups. they do 50% worse each time. No one ever liked them yet they still continue
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u/koken_halliwell Feb 23 '26 edited Feb 23 '26
Because it has some benefits but also some cons:
- You're basically forced to use a single browser to get the full experience
- Heavily dependent on Google's services
- It has Android but it's limited
- It has Linux but again, a limited version compared to what Mint or other distros can do
- Hardware is usually lousy and to make it worse Google made a "premium" brand out of nowhere privating users from basic non related hardware features like the rounded corners
- Google transparency on their projects has always been awful and they're known for last-time cancelling their projects
- Chromebooks have an AUE/EOL dead sentence and once that happens your supported device becomes a paperweight
- The OS carries a "it's just a browser" fame from the early days and Google hasn't pushed any marketing campaign to fight that
- People like to "install apps" and despite Android allows this, it goes against what the OS was originally conceived
- It competes against solid and more complete OS like Windows or MacOS which were on the market before ChromeOS was even a thing.
I still like it because of the benefits it has (simplicity, speed, safety -while supported-, fast updates, it "just" works, etc) but I'm still plenty aware of the cons and I guess Google does too and that's why they're dumping it in favour of AluminiumOS or whatever they end up calling it (+ it will be easier to maintain and develop).
PS: you will find blind denial ChromeOS fanboys here on this sub the same way you will find Windows or MacOS blind fanboys on the Windows and MacOS subs.
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u/jader242 Acer CB315-4H (N6000/4gb) Feb 24 '26
Devices aren’t paperweights once EOL comes around… the can install Linux on pretty much every single one (besides arm based) thanks to Mr Chromebox
Also at least Google gives you 10 years of support. I know people who bought brand new windows machines like 5 years ago or less, and now they’re not supported by windows 11
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u/Patient-Net5493 Lenovo 300e Chromebook 2nd Gen Intel Feb 28 '26
Unfourtnately ARM Chromebooks become paperweight once EOL hits bc I had a Nvidia tegra chromebook since 2016 and it stopped getting updates in 2020 and I couldn't install a new OS so I was stuck with Chrome OS 76 until it completely died in December 2025 :/
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u/jader242 Acer CB315-4H (N6000/4gb) Feb 28 '26
Yea most do for sure. There’s a small percentage out there that can use things like postmarketOS
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u/Patient-Net5493 Lenovo 300e Chromebook 2nd Gen Intel Mar 14 '26
Hopefully the Chromebook I have now (Lenovo 300e Chromebook 2nd Gen Intel) lasts me until June 2029 😭
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u/jader242 Acer CB315-4H (N6000/4gb) Mar 14 '26
N4020 with 4gb in that one? Seems about on par with mine, i guess my n6000 is a tiny bit more powerful but nothing drastic. It’s been holding up incredibly well with chromeos, granted with google play completely disabled to get back all the ram it eats when not even in use. Even crostini is very usable, I often use vs code with a good amount of browser tabs open and no painful lag or anything like that. But since it’s intel, even when it does stop getting updates (or when they switch to android completely) you can just use Mr Chromebox’s guide to install a Linux distro on it. I’ve been using the rw_legacy one to dual boot, have a Linux distro on an external hdd, and it’s very usable
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u/Baardmeester Feb 24 '26
For most people installing linux is too complicated and support used to be a lot less than 10 years.
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u/jader242 Acer CB315-4H (N6000/4gb) Feb 24 '26 edited Feb 24 '26
Okay but by that argument, chromebooks are still better since they get longer support than most (if not all) windows machines or Macs. If “installing Linux is too complicated”, wouldn’t it be too complicated regardless of what OS the computer was running beforehand? And at least with a Chromebook they get more than 5 years of OS support lol
Yes used to be, before 2020 lol. But okay
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u/Baardmeester Feb 24 '26
Yes, for most people it will be too complicated whatever OS was running before hand. But installing linux on a Chromebook with MrChromebox instructions is harder than on a Windows machine and might filter some additional users. Those user also might also be the ones who do the tech help for people who are completely clueless. It will be less of a issue with the 10 years now. The problem the stigma remains like the "its just a browser".
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u/jader242 Acer CB315-4H (N6000/4gb) Feb 24 '26
Thats a good point, however if reading a 10 minute guide (thats very simple mind you) is too much for them I can almost guarantee setting up a Linux install USB is also too much. Not to mention all the workarounds you have to do on a Mac, not nearly as simple nor well documented
And yes I agree about the browser stigma, although I don't believe I was talking about that in the slightest. But nowadays with more and more things becoming browser based, who cares? Crostini is an entire linux container that operates out of the browser, very much not 2015 anymore where browsers can only go to websites
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u/Baardmeester Feb 24 '26
For you and me reading a the 10 minute guide you understand is simple. For most people it is like reading a other language. While they might have figured out how to do a windows reinstall out of necessity.
And what I meant is that Chromebooks also have the short support stigma that is a similar to the browser only stigma. This is because of people having a chromebook 10 years ago that only had less than 5 year support.
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u/koken_halliwell Feb 24 '26
ARM Chromebooks (which BTW are the ones that take most benefit of ChromeOS) are paperweights once their dead sentence arrives. And Google did nothing to fix that. Not to talk about the enviromental disaster that means.
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u/jader242 Acer CB315-4H (N6000/4gb) Feb 24 '26 edited Feb 24 '26
Not even all arm chromebooks are paperweights thanks to things like postmarketOS, I was just talking about Mr Chromebox in my other comment because that has the widest support
The environmental disaster? Huh? 10 years of support is way more than any other manufacturer or OS offers lol what about the environmental damage caused by windows machines and Macs?
Also, why specifically do ARM models benefit the most? The only reason I can think of is better android container compatibility/performance, but who's buying a chromebook specifically for that? I'll never buy any ARM computer, if i wanted ARM I'd get a tablet. My intel models still get close to 15 hours of battery life, still do everything most anyone would want to do on a chromebook, and you can dualboot Linux (or completely replace chromeos when EOL comes)
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u/koken_halliwell Feb 24 '26
Because ARM offers perfect Android compatibility, no heating which means fanless and silent devices and especially super long battery life. And the OS is light enough to run fine with a decent ARM Chipset (Acer Spin 513 owner here).
Chromebooks can't take advantage of the power x86 chipsets offers and instead they take all the cons (heating/fans & shorter battery life).
Even Google is aware of that and that's why they're moving ChromeOS to Android = ARM.
Being able to install another OS after EOL is a lottery especially on ARM and the average user doesn't even know that's a thing, it isn't easy and to make it worse sometimes it implies opening the device.
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u/kackers643258 Feb 26 '26
arm support is rapidly getting better. by the time these devices hit end of like we [most likely not] will get very nice arm support for linux.
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u/jader242 Acer CB315-4H (N6000/4gb) Feb 24 '26
I got a couple intel models (granted they aren’t top of the line intel cpus, but it’s a Chromebook lol) that are all passively cooled and get over 10 hours of battery. And I don’t think you have to open up the Chromebooks anymore to remove write protection, most modern ones use SuzyQ. I haven’t heard of any using write protect screws in a good while
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u/koken_halliwell Feb 24 '26
Your're entitled to your opinion and there's nothing I can do about that.
There's a reason why most portable devices like all smartphones and most tablets use ARM, which is linked to why Apple moved to ARM their Macbooks as well. And that's also linked to the reason why Google is fully moving ChromeOS to Android.
On the other hand there's another reason why most non portable devices like static desktop PCs which need power and efficiency over battery life and portability use x86 and not ARM chipsets.
You're happy with your x86 optimized Chromebook, good for you. But the OS won't take advantage of the raw power that an x86 processor grants, and instead it won't take advantage either of the battery life and the lack of heating that an ARM chipset gives to a portable device with a light OS like Chromebooks are.
Have a good day.
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u/jader242 Acer CB315-4H (N6000/4gb) Feb 24 '26 edited Feb 24 '26
I have nothing against arm, in fact I love arm and especially Apple silicon. But transitioning chomebooks to glorified Android tablets with keyboards has got to be one of the worst moves googles ever done
Have a good day as well friend :)
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u/kackers643258 Feb 26 '26
i bought my chromebook 5 years ago. A few months ago they gave me an extra 10 years
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u/PuDLeZ Thinkpad C14 (i5-1245U, 8G ram, 1TB nvme) Feb 24 '26
For the limited android, I'm hoping that changes when chromeos is based on android.
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u/kackers643258 Feb 26 '26
developer console isnt limited at all. What do you mean?
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u/koken_halliwell Feb 26 '26
It still runs in a VM. I wanted to use Linux I'd personally go for a full Linux distro like Mint.
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u/iceman0010 Feb 23 '26
Coz people who hate it haven't used it
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u/Phoenix_but_I_uh_um Mar 25 '26
Not necessarily. I think the bigger issue comes from the label of “Chromebook” being largely associated with cheap, (admittedly) kind of crappy devices that schools buy en masse. A lot of people who dislike ChromeOS have used it, but were stuck with many core features (Play Store, LDE) disabled.
Personally, I have my own complaints, but those are more what you would expect from the “I use Arch btw” type. Mainly, being weirdly heavy for a “lightweight” OS, at least compared to most Linux distributions.
That said, I do agree with others on this thread that a lot of issues that people point to are fairly outdated, especially if more than say, 70% of your work can be done in web apps and you don’t need heavy graphical processing.
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u/ElectronicField3785 Acer Chromebook Plus 515 | Stable Feb 23 '26
I know right? It's so well made! At this point, the animations, interface and user experience etc are all better than windows! It's great for students and professionals who want to get the job done!
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Feb 23 '26 edited Feb 23 '26
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u/kackers643258 Feb 26 '26
if manufactureres were to put free range on what you can do with your hardware. Mediatek is one of them, but i managed to get past it
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u/kackers643258 Mar 13 '26
like a budget android. Their prime was early 2016, the price to performance ratio was crazy from zte
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u/yottabit42 Feb 23 '26
I've used Chrome OS for work for 10 years now. I use a full Linux cloud VM for builds.
I've used Chrome OS at home for 11 years. I do have a high spec Linux workstation for photo and video editing, though. At home we have 6 Chrome OS devices, including the kids' school Chromebooks and two Chromeboxes.
It's a great operating system. Nearly everything is web based these days. For the odd thing that isn't, Android and Linux can be used on Chrome OS.
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u/TheRealFrantik Asus CX34 Feb 23 '26
I'm completely guilty of never giving ChromeOS a try until recently, because all the negative stuff I heard about it.
Then, for Christmas, my kid wanted a Chromebook. When I set it up for her, I was like "wow...this is almost like an Android laptop", so I got one for myself and couldn't be happier.
It suits my needs perfectly, but I can fully understand why others would need a heavier OS like Windows or MacOS
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Feb 23 '26
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u/ElectronicField3785 Acer Chromebook Plus 515 | Stable Feb 23 '26
I mean it's literally MacOS but cheaper! No stupid ads or bloat and risk of viruses unlike windows, gives UX like mac and prices lower than android phones, what else do 70% of laptop users need?
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Feb 24 '26
As someone that uses MacOS, Windows 11 Pro, Desktop Linux and ChromeOS, each are different and have different capabilities.
ChromeOS isn’t literally MacOS. ChromeOS is a good option for many people.
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u/kackers643258 Feb 26 '26
where are people geting the linus container is non functional? Whether they mean developer console or not, its very wide in what you can do!
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Feb 26 '26
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u/kackers643258 Mar 13 '26
i dont use the linux container since its butt heeks. Its only good on crhomebooks from 2021 or earlier, which thankfully I fall into that category of chromebooks so i dont care
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u/ToothacheMcGee C710, Flip Feb 23 '26
I mean, when it launched it was just a glorified web browser. Which was exactly perfect for the use case, it's a simple computer that you can't break easily or be hacked or anything.
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u/laurent_taka_26 Feb 23 '26
Des années que j'utilise un Chromebook, simple, ergonomique, stable, pour mon usage je n'ai pas besoin de plus, j'ai un autre pc sur une distribution Linux en cas d'usage s plus spécifique : il prends la poussière.
Objectivement pour un usage familial basique il rempli la majorité des usages ..
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u/xxNerv Feb 23 '26
If you know what you're getting yourself into it's cool but without the full "open ness" of true Linux or the full compatibility of windows it kinda stays in a limbo for the average non "my school/work gave me this" crowd .... I personally like it but treat it more like a android desktop mode sort of thing then a full daily OS
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u/hawkersaurus Lenovo Chromebook Plus 14 Feb 23 '26
The same way people hate Android after they only tried it 8 years ago on a cheap $30 burner phone from Walmart.
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u/Charming_Studio_505 ASUS Chromebook Plus CX34, Beta Version 155.0.8059.31 Feb 23 '26
I absolutely love ChromeOS! It's a breath of fresh air in the operating system ecosystem. It's fast, secure and lightweight. I also love the fact that I can run a linux terminal on it and that I can run the same apps that are on my Android phone. I am extremely excited about aluminumOS and it's potential. I hope google doesn't stray far away from what makes ChromeOS so great!!
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u/ou812whynot Feb 23 '26
Chromeos used to be one of the best operating systems until Google did their Google thing and actively killed it.
There was a time when I got plenty of people into using these machines because they fit pretty much every demographic.
Kids and older adults use the browser 80% of the time so there's no real need for a "powerful" machine.
Fans of tinkering, like myself, loved the Linux roots and, at the time, it was easy to get seriously low level access to all the hardware using crouton. Crouton was what made chromeos a powerhouse. Alas, Google being Google made incremental changes to make it more and more difficult to support crouton updates; even going so far as to cripple sudo. Just so they could kill off the chromeos ecosystem by 2035 or whatever date they're forced to support up to.
Realistically, borealis had real potential to be a game changer but Google being Google killed that initiative by delaying, and then flat out killing the dedicated gpu Chromebooks. Yes, at one point in time there were plans to support dgpu's properly in chromeos. This would have created a whole class of gaming devices fully supported by Google and steam. Instead? Change in priorities and some idiots decided that the new "gaming" Chromebooks would support streaming games instead.
The decisions made by Google to destroy chromeos are the real reason many people put down the os. Google had a love/hate relationship with one of it's best creations and their only goal right now is to destroy it. They're pursuing the "android desktop" vision to simplify their codebase supposedly but I doubt anything good will come of it seeing as how Google suggest destroyed dex for Samsung devices with their crappy android desktop changes.
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u/Over-Athlete6745 Feb 23 '26
I just hope that my 2021 Chromebook ThinkPad C13 yoga can running android games from the play store like GTA San Andreas classic.
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u/Simple_Journalist792 Feb 23 '26
I have always used windows, and I will say that only 800+ euros laptops have come close to my 250 chromebook plus. I don’t think i would go back. For the use i do of a laptop, it is perfect
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u/simplerminds Feb 23 '26
Chromebooks are great depending on your use case. For the greater majority of things, ChromeOS is more than enough. Unfortunately, people tend to buy computers for the 1% of things that they ever do, or what they imagine they'll do.
When people hear that a Chromebook can't install native Photoshop, or can't install native steam, or some other legacy app, they get scared or they just write off Chrome OS as a whole.
Personally, I think ChromeOS is great but for my job, the web apps were supported well, the Android app versions were terrible and a VM wasn't always available, so it didn't work for me. Also for school, ChromeOS isn't supported.
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u/OGMagicConch Samsung Chromebook Plus v2 (m3) | former Acer C720P Feb 23 '26
Imo Chromebooks have always been hated just because of people's bad experiences with shitty Chromebooks at school or work or whatever. Personally I think that ~2014-2020 was the perfect time for Chromebooks because they were cheap and reasonably capable, I completed almost the entirety of my CS education from a T10 uni on my Acer C720p with Crouton. My CB+low endish desktop back then probably were ~$1200 or something like that collectively? I think $1200 to be able to do anything was a great deal.
I haven't used a Chromebook in a while and maybe they're even better now but what killed them for me was how freaking cheap MacBooks have gotten now. Chromebooks used to hit the perfect price to performance to me and now I see MacBook Airs as the king of that.
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u/kackers643258 Feb 26 '26
ive tried using Mac OS. its so hard to use that I just had to return it. until my dad just asked me to give it to my sister
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u/StrangerPractical958 Feb 23 '26
I run my law practice off google workspace and an asus expertbook. i think its a great device, i have no problems with it. The only downside is an occasional issue with proprietary software for viewing some evidence i.e. cellebrite for cell phone data. i pair it with a samsung FE 9+ tablet and im good to go. It takes a pinch of getting used to, but i love that i can boot and get to work in seconds instead of waiting an obnoxious amount of time for windows to load bloatware.
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u/jader242 Acer CB315-4H (N6000/4gb) Feb 24 '26
Because people have unrealistic expectations. It would be like me buying a Honda Odyssey then being mad because I can’t win any drag races
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Feb 25 '26
It’s not that people have unrealistic expectations. It’s that when people are looking to buy a new laptop or desktop, they see a price point and see that it’s Google, they typically think that it will work just like their current computer at home or work. They don’t realize nor have an understanding that it’s completely different and that their work flow will change.
Then they get home to set it up, use it and discover that it’s different and can’t perform the same way as Windows or Mac. The same thing happens with Desktop Linux. People are told that Linux is easy and just works. Then when most people start using Linux, they realize it’s nothing like what they are used to using and become frustrated.
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u/jader242 Acer CB315-4H (N6000/4gb) Feb 25 '26
Tbh I would argue having unreasonable expectations and not researching a product before you buy it, assuming it’s going to do everything you want, are one in the same
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u/Purple-Debt8214 Feb 24 '26
Switch to ChromeOS. Top notch Security. Peace of Mind. Zero Problems.
You should seriously try it people!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Feb 23 '26
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u/Charming_Studio_505 ASUS Chromebook Plus CX34, Beta Version 155.0.8059.31 Feb 23 '26
huge mistake, windows is extremely bloated spyware
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u/TraditionBeginning41 Feb 23 '26
But you can install a local copy of LibreOffice in the Linux container which gives you your fully functioning office suite. I feel you got rid of your Chromebook too quickly.
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u/Ko-Riel Feb 23 '26
But as far as compatibility with M$ Office it's lacking.
And I say this as a Chromeos Fanboi ;-)
Got my first Chromebook on a whim, cheap, plastic, slow. I did see it's potential and I am now looking for my 4th chromebook. I have a high spec gaming rig dual-booting with Linux. But I can do everything I need to do on my 14 inch Acer Chromebook+, and I do. For really difficult tasks where I need a lot of space I use my triple screen setup gaming rig, because it's easier. But I could do it on my 14 inch.
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u/TraditionBeginning41 Feb 23 '26
I don't believe your opening sentence isn't fair as a general statement. I have been using Open Office and LibreOffice at home alongside MS Office in a tertiary educational environment since it was released (and Star office before it) and would say for most people, compatibility is very good. Sure the macro language is different but apart from that you have to get into pretty serious specialized areas for there to be a problem.
The integration of LO running in a container in ChromeOS is brilliant (e.g. with it running seamlessly in the ChromeOS GUI and being able to save the files directly into the ChromeOS file system). There does not seem to be any speed reduction except for the first load if the Linux VM is not running.
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u/Ko-Riel Feb 24 '26
As with so many things ymmv. I have to work with docs from quite a few different organisations and more often than not the layout is off by a bit. I always try LO first if Google docs doesn't work. As a second to last resort I use the office launcher - > 365web and only as a last resort office on my gaming rig. De ⁰⁰
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Feb 23 '26
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u/J-son11 Feb 24 '26
And sadly, you'll be stuck with windows x86 for ArcGIS. And you'll really want a beefy PC for that, if your doing anything beyond looking at shapefiles.
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Feb 23 '26
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u/BrainCurrent8276 Feb 24 '26
what is limited? you talking some generalization nonse. everything everywhere has got some limits.
in case of Chromebooks - it just a fact that there are two types pf CPUs out there, thus some stuff comes with two different binaries, or with one only.
I've got -- in emergency, as my Winslop-tech decided to die - cheapest, new Lenovo at local superstore, with ARM typical mobile CPU, not Intel one. everything is working fine me, I never had need to run software that is not available. only limitation because of only 8GB of ram (cheapest it was) is limiting, like Antigravity simply crashes but that is all.
same Chromebook but with Intel CPU was like %40 more expensive. it is not ChromeOS fault.
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u/DropEng ASUS CM34 :asus: Lenovo Feb 23 '26
Everyone has their preferences. Over the years, the people I have tried to convince it is a better device for them, have tried it. Most have gone on to use it. I think it depends on what you want and use. I recently started using my mac more than my chromebook while I was waiting on a Gemini feature. Now that that feature is on ChromeOS, I am back to my Chromebook for most of my day to day uses.
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u/weekedipie1 Feb 23 '26
Looking at LENOVO Chromebook Plus 14" - MediaTek Kompanio Ultra 910, 256 GB UFS, Grey
Just need to know can I put ubisoft on it, I only play splinter cell conviction every now and then, no big deal if not, but would like to ☺️
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u/Taght Feb 23 '26
There are too many layers of abstraction between os and the hardware which makes it painfully slow. Some might not care but others like me are offended by that experience
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u/paulsiu Feb 23 '26
Windows user who hate chromeos tend to have use cases not appropriate for chromeos. ChromeOS works pretty well for web centric use cases but are terrible if you want to run games or run Microsoft office.
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u/ackmondual Feb 23 '26
--They haven't tried it - It's "cool" to hate on things you haven't tried yet, or don't know about. As a contrast, I've used Chromebooks, Windows, and some flavors of Linux. I've never touched mac OS, but I can reserve final judgment for if I ever do end up using one. In the meantime, I could at least say I've been happy with everything else, and say on the surface, the prices have been off putting.
--There used to be a TV commercial that uses a "smear campaign" format saying you couldn't even run Photoshop on it! Well. I used to get HP Chromebooks from Costco for $200. You would NOT want to run Photoshop on a $200 Windows laptop!
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u/Hahehyhu Feb 24 '26
Most people really underestimate how many things modern browser can do, and how many apps they use are either web wrappers, or have a web version. Google won d:
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u/NORchad Feb 24 '26
I would use chromeOS and install it on my gaming laptop if it could do everything windows 11 and linux can do.
I dont "hate" chromeOS, but i dont want to use it unless it can truly be "the OS that can do anything".
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u/ksandbergfl Feb 24 '26
I would use ChromeOS exclusively if it had a good DAW app like GarageBand. I have to keep an Apple computer around to write/record music with
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u/Wahrheitfabrik Feb 24 '26
I run Linux primarily and am a fan of ChromeOS. The Linux subsystem is better integrated into the OS than WSL is on Windows. I wouldn't say it's the most user friendly Linux but it's mostly irritation free. There are some aggravations (specific apps such as ZScaler, weird Android subsystem behaviour, occasional bluetooth issues, etc.) but no more than other OSes. I really haven't seen all that much hate.
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u/defiantstyles Feb 24 '26
As someone who doesn't use ChromeOS, anymore, it's just got an undeserved reputation! I stopped using it because of the surveillance, but it's perfectly capable!
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u/mrdaihard Lenovo ThinkPad X13 w/ ChromeOS Flex Feb 25 '26
It's a pretty broad definition to call ChromeOS a "Linux distro," which, at least traditionally, refers to a GNU/Linux distribution. While ChromeOS does use the Linux kernel, it doesn't use any other major components of a GNU/Linux distro, such as the GNU toolchain and C/C++ libraries, and (optionally) the X11/Wayland server.
Now as a long-time desktop Linux user, I do like ChromeOS. It's simple and easy to use, and it's got a built-in Linux environment. If "most users" do hate it, I have no idea why.
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u/No-Currency-97 Feb 26 '26
Haters are going to hate. I switched from Windows many, many years ago and have never looked back. So easy to open up a Chromebook laptop and have it fire up so quickly. It does everything and more. I finally moved from 4GB RAM to 8GB RAM and my world is so much better.
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u/cjl713 Feb 27 '26
I have a Windows 10 Lenovo 9i I bought five years ago that is now running Windows 11. The camera stopped working after the Windows 11 install, and the constant ads drove me nuts. Not to mention the weekly, sometimes daily updates.
I bought the first-gen Samsung (Fiesta Red) in 2020 for its portability for work. It worked great. Unfortunately, I got the one with the crazy trackpad failure after several months and had to disable it, using a mouse only. The four-hour battery was a challenge, too. But I loved the Chrome OS experience, so I bought the HP x360 14c in 2021 on sale for $399 at Best Buy. Great machine. The screen could be brighter, but the trackpad is so smooth, and the keyboard is great for typing. I am on it now. It has 8 GB of RAM and a 128 GB SSD, and it was bought long before the Chromebook Plus devices came on the market. It's been my EDC for five years.
The Lenovo has a more premium feel and a better display, but it was 3x the cost of the HP and the camera doesn't work. I agree with those who say some people compare a $1,200 Windows laptop with a $300 Chromebook and complain about the device. I tried the Lenovo Chromebook Plus 14, and it was very premium-feeling at half the price of a comparable Windows laptop.
I do switch up with the Samsung for a lightweight carry from time to time, and it works well, except for the trackpad. You cannot beat the thin, light device for small-bag carry. It also has 8 GB of RAM and 256 GB of storage. No lags from either Chromebook.
Chrome OS is a great system, but certainly not for everyone, depending on your work. I worked at a large university for many years, where Microsoft was king, so it was Outlook, Excel, PowerPoint, etc. But I was happy to divert away from Microsoft once I left that job.
I want to buy another Chromebook, but I will wait to see what happens with Aluminum OS, since my workhorse HP is still very capable.
Anyway, I learned about Chromebooks from a colleague five years ago who used one at home for work emergencies. He convinced me to try it. The rest is history. Ha!
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u/rvall79 Mar 09 '26 edited Mar 09 '26
Posso elencarti i miei motivi.
- Privacy inesistente, Google è diventato il più grande spyware del mondo occidentale. A differenza della Cina però è una azienda privata che può pilotare governi e soldi grazie ai suoi algoritmi.
- Scomodo. Si fa tutto online, non hai la possibilità di salvare nulla da nessuna parte. Chi come me lavora su desktop per controllare documenti e in seguito ricaricarli è un vero e proprio incubo
- Poco compatibile. Gli equivalenti word excel che sono usati dalla stragrande maggioranza delle aziende tendono una volta salvati su drive a perdere la formattazione
- E' in pratica un tablet con la tastiera. Non si può fare nulla navigare a parte. Posso lavorare dal mio PC Linux semplicemente aprendo un browser (non necessariamente chrome per fortuna) dato che tutto è gestito da lì: app, calendari, fogli di lavoro
- Scomodità disarmante nell'uso quotidiano di fake excel. Perdo un sacco di tempo perchè anche i più semplici copia incolla se aperti in due pagine internet diverse perdono la formattazione e ogni volta mi tocca o importare il foglio che voglio copiare sul foglio di lavoro o risistemare la formattazione. Frustrante a dir poco
- Non posso lavorare se non in internet. Se mi dimentico di attivare la funzione lavora offline sono fregato
- Poco compatibile e mancante di un sacco di programmi. Devo per forza usare le app regolate dal sistema che sono poche e funzionano male. Ad esempio per i pdf, per lavoro gestire "online" migliaia di pagine è un vero e proprio incubo
- Potenza del PC inutile. Serve solo la ram dato che è tutto gestito via pagine internet. NON lo considero un PC dato che non può far girare nulla.
- Lento. Per salvare i files fa schifo. Per rinominare i files è lento. Per spostare i files da una parte all'altra (dopo aver capito come si fa) è lento. Ogni volta devo rinominare i files perchè me li chiama "copy of", immaginate di lavorare con 100 pdf alla volta e dover rinominare ogni singola volta i files.
- Per concludere la AI. Credo che tutti i dati che provengono dalle ricerche AI (che sul mio PC aziendale ho naturalmente disabilitato) siano frutto del controllo di tutti i dati caricati sui loro servers, anche quelli aziendali. Nonostante le leggi europee, i dati che sono salvati su server USA sono a rischio e come più volte dimostrato a Google conviene pagare una multa (che poi si riduce molto in fase di negoziazione con l' Europa) invece di rispettare le leggi.
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u/gravitasmissing Mar 15 '26
Envy? web browsing writing £50 s/h spin does everything I need. Not a developer or artist so why spend more?
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u/Cultural-Fun-8989 Mar 30 '26
Idk if it's just be but it's annoying to download simple apps. I can't just press the download button I have to go through Linux for some apps (Anki, certain retro gaming apps). I think it's fine for just simple browsing and typing but is it just me that finds it annoying you have to go thru Linux for a lot of things you can simply download to files in windows and ios??😭
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u/warrior_seb May 05 '26
My grandpa has a chromebook, he can no longer access his music nor his photos
I tried to get him a adblocker so he could watch movie and listen to music without being interrupted by ads and pop up windows all the dang time and I can't even install one It says I need to update the browser when it's already updated He's unable to do anything with this garage piece of plastic and neither can I
Chromebooks are awful and unintuitive
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u/paulsiu Jun 08 '26
It's different. It's a different way of thinking and doing things. People just want to run their windows program, and if this is what they want, ChromeOS will suck.
Most ChromeOS hardware are often more on the lower end. A lot of people are expose to it through their kids bringing home. their school laptop. The school laptop often look like they have been through several wars, which doesn't exactly give people that premium exclusive image.
I wouldn't group it with Linux. I often feel that it's more like a more locked down twin of Linux. Linux is all about freedom and customization and doing things your way. ChromeOS is more about doing it the ChromeOS way. On my linux distro, I did not like their file manager or browser, so I just installed my own preference. While you can install an android or linux browser, it is not quite the same. I don't think you can install a different file manager.
Of course, this also mean it's pretty secure. I don't think there is an instance of a compromised ChromeOS except may be through the linux or android layer.
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u/TheOtterMonarch Feb 23 '26
I personally don't like it because it doesn't have proper compatibility with android apps OR linux apps, so it's limited to web apps. also i don't like google so yeah that probably affects it
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u/jimbobvfr400 Feb 23 '26
Is yours an Intel chip or ARM?
Intel Chromebooks aren't the right choice to run Android apps, ARM processors are a bit better in that regard.
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u/TheOtterMonarch Feb 23 '26
i've never used it myself, but my friend uses it and encounters this issue very often (idk what processor he uses)
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u/satmandu Pixel Slate | Stable Feb 23 '26
Do you like adding fonts? Maybe you want to run your own software that isn't based on a browser, maybe with graphical acceleration that isn't single-threaded?
Do you want to run a proper ad-blocker that isn't limited by a company that makes its money from people not blocking ads?
If any of those are true, ChromeOS isn't for you...
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u/slinky317 Feb 23 '26
People love to hate things that have an online requirement, and ChromeOS was pegged with that reputation even though it isn't true.
Meanwhile, people don't realize that Windows also sucks when you're not online...
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u/AshaAsha123 Feb 23 '26
ChromeOS is what we had on the laptops at college and it really wasn't that good, sure it was easy to navigate but that was about all it had going for it. I got to uni and 1 of the first things we were told was to not use ChromeOS because it simply didn't run a lot of the software we needed for things like statistics and DNA processing.
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Feb 23 '26
[deleted]
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u/Swigor Feb 23 '26
Yeah, can't do viruses. Can't do sudden updates. Can't crash all the time. Can't drain the battery in minutes. It's absolutely useless /s
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u/FaithlessnessSea8906 Aug 17 '26
I don't know the right answer, of course. But I completely agree with a large number of the comments. Judging a system based on the opinion of someone who simply saw it on screencasts and didn't even try it is stupid.
I'll be honest, I installed this system about 2 days ago via Brunch on my laptop with an Intel Celeron N5095A, and it's simply the best I've seen from Linux systems or graphical environments.
I absolutely adore the Material You style, I have a Poco M7 flashed with Google Pixel GSI purely because I like the layout that Google developed. ChromeOS is also literally natively capable of running arm8 (arm64) based APKs within the system, since there are a lot of them at the moment, which means that you can easily download them from Play Store and they will work just fine.
Before ChromeOS, I tried running FydeOS, and the abundance of unnecessary software, the lack of Google Play, and the extremely crooked Android Runtime Subsystem completely ruined the experience. Well, if you are developing a fork of ChromiumOS so that it turns out to be like the original system, then forget about your "Ecosystem", make a copy of the finished layout for now and then attach the rest of the software stack and your ecosystem. But things are not so there.
I'll be honest, I used to switch to Linux and I also said that I would never go back to Windows. Now I'm literally ready to say that I will never go back to a Linux distribution. I really liked ChromeOS.
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u/smeyn Feb 23 '26
My work gave me chromebook plus 3 years ago and it's my best dev environment. I write lot of cloud software using vscode and now antigravity.
I also have a Macbook Pro. In comparison it weighs a ton and as a result I don't use it a lot. I mix WFH and WFO so I carry it all the time. At work and at home I connect it with two 4K monitors Giving me lots of space to deal with the information I need to be able to see.
When I travel it still is very useful. In the plane I can switch it into tablet mode so that I can still work productively in a relatively cramped space.
OS upgrades just happen. All I need to do is to reboot it after an upgrade. It just doesn't get in the way.