Lenovo Chromebook Plus 14 review: A radically delightful AI Chromebook

At a glance

Expert's Rating

Pros

Lovely OLED display
Surprisingly strong performance for a fanless Chromebook
Loud, clear speakers
Competitive battery life

Cons

Hard-to-read function keys
AI tools feel unnecessary in everyday use

Our Verdict

With its eye-catching OLED screen and snappy MediaTek chip, the Lenovo Chromebook Plus 14 is a standout midrange machine that delivers.

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I’ve used a lot of Chromebooks over the years, and most of them tend to fall into one of two categories: either very affordable and sometimes forgettable or super premium with a price tag to match. The Lenovo Chromebook Plus 14 wants to land somewhere in the middle. It’s got an OLED display, a brand new MediaTek chip with AI capabilities, and a design that’s sophisticated and understated.

So I spent a week using it for work and play to see if it actually holds up and I’ve got thoughts. Let’s get into it.

Lenovo Chromebook Plus 14: Specs

The Lenovo Chromebook Plus 14 comes in two configurations. Both include the new MediaTek Kompanio Ultra 910 chip and UFS storage, but the base model offers 12GB of RAM and a non-touch OLED display, while the upgraded version (the one we reviewed) bumps that up to 16GB of RAM and 256GB of storage. It also adds touchscreen support. While the $649 starting price may seem steep, it’s a good value for what you’re getting. Most Chromebooks, for instance, come with only 8GB of RAM, and UFS storage is faster than eMMC. It’s also future proof thanks to Wi-Fi 7.

But the real standout is the 14-inch 1920×1200 OLED touchscreen display. You don’t see many laptops with OLED panels (touch or not) at this price.

Model number: 83MY0000US
CPU: MediaTek Kompanio Ultra 910
GPU: Immortalis-G925
RAM: 16GB RAM
Storage: 256GB UFS
Display: 14-inch 1920×1200 OLED touchscreen, 16:10, DCI-P3
Ports: 2 USB 3.2 Gen1 Type-C, 1 USB 3.2 Gen1 Type-A, 1 audio jack
Networking: Wi-Fi 7
Dimensions: 12.37 x 8.63 x 0.62
Weight: 2.78 pounds
Price: $649

After spending a week with the Lenovo Chromebook Plus 14, I can confidently say it’s one of the best Chromebooks I’ve used.

Lenovo Chromebook Plus 14: Unboxing

The unboxing experience can set the tone if done well. Though I’d like to see fewer packaging materials (I’m a stickler for sustainability), the Lenovo Chromebook Plus 14 made it clear from the start: this is a more premium device, where design and user experience matter.

The box reminded me a bit of the ones Google PixelBooks usually come in. It’s mostly white with lilac-purple borders, giving it a clean and simple look. Inside you’ll find the laptop securely tucked into place. There’s also a separate compartment containing a visual overview of the dimensions and port types.

Lenovo Chromebook Plus 14: Exclusive new ChromeOS AI features

Ah, AI. Hello again, old friend? Nemesis?

Since the Lenovo Chromebook Plus 14 is the first Chromebook to feature a processor with an NPU, I had to give the new ChromeOS AI features a try. That said, I focused on features I’d actually use, starting with Live Captions. I used this feature during a meeting I was leading and found it helpful, especially when the landscapers were outside my window and the roar of their leaf blowers occasionally drowned out what my colleagues were saying. Having the words pop up on screen in real time helped me stay on track and not miss anything important.

I also tried Smart Grouping, which organizes your tabs and apps for you in a virtual desktop. Again, this is one of the more useful AI features. The idea is to reduce visual clutter so you don’t have to drag things around yourself or go hunting for a tab you can’t find. Admittedly, it was kind of nice having an invisible assistant that tidied up my personal open tab chaos.

The Quick Insert button, which replaces the Caps Lock key, brings up a tool that lets you drop AI-generated images into whatever you’re working on. It also offers writing suggestions, so if you want to sound more formal or shorten a sentence, you can do that with this tool. I played around with it some, but there was no place for it in my day-to-day workflow. Local AI is a cool addition, but most of the features felt more like bonuses rather than must-haves.

Lenovo Chromebook Plus 14: Design, build quality

The design is exactly the type of minimalism I gravitate towards, so it’s earning major brownie points from me. Lenovo calls the colorway “Seashell” and it’s genuinely unique—it changes slightly depending on the lighting. At first glance, it looks standard silver, which is fine, but it’s nothing unique. It wasn’t until I was looking at the lid near an open window that I noticed the gold undertone in the chassis. It’s subtle, but it’s there and it’s really beautiful. But the most interesting thing about this design is not on the top of the laptop, but on the bottom.

Underneath the laptop you’ll find a 3D wave corrugated pattern, which feels nice to run your fingers along–I’m a big textures person. It looks cool, but it’s also functional: the design helps you get a better grip on the laptop. This is great, because there’s nothing quite like the horror of dropping a laptop onto the floor.

The metal build quality feels strong, too. You can tell straight away that it’s made of aluminum. The screen hardly had any flex when I gave it a gentle twist and the keyboard deck didn’t creak or groan when I pressed my hands down on it. This is exactly what I expected from a Chromebook in this class and it definitely lives up to those higher standards.

Lenovo Chromebook Plus 14: Keyboard, touchpad

The keyboard feels nice to type on for extended periods, and I found that I adjusted to it quickly. However, compared to my usual laptop, this one skews a little more to the right, which threw me off at first. While the typing experience is definitely comfortable, I had a few tiny gripes with the keys themselves.

Why are the function keys (F1 to F12) so itty bitty? I mean, they’re really small compared to the other keys. Any time I used them, I had to lean forward and squint a bit to see the icons on them. I’d also occasionally fat finger them because of their size. My other gripe is that the keys themselves attract some smudges. This is minor, as it’s nothing a microfiber cloth can’t fix.

I liked the touchpad a lot. Not only did it feel nice and smooth, like glass, beneath my fingertips, but it also quickly registered all my taps and swipes. I adapted to it pretty instantly and I don’t think I ever accidentally triggered it with my palms.

Lenovo Chromebook Plus 14: Display, speakers

The 14-inch 1920×1200 OLED display produces a luscious-looking picture that blew my socks off. It’s not totally unexpected, though, as OLED panels produce deeper blacks and richer colors. The Chromebook Plus 14’s OLED display also offers 100 percent DCI-P3 color accuracy, meaning more saturated colors, especially reds and greens. When I re-watched Netflix’s Titan documentary, I was impressed by the depth (ugh, sorry) of contrast in the many dark scenes—unsurprising in a documentary about a submersible. Image editors would love this screen.

I’m also loving the 16:10 aspect ratio, which this Chromebook has. It’s far superior to the usual 16:9 and I’m not afraid to shout it from the rooftops. The extra vertical space makes a huge difference because you can see more of a webpage or more of a document without scrolling. This is especially useful for someone like me, who writes and edits on the daily.

The 5MP RGB webcam is nice, too. I’ve got very fair skin, so I usually appear lifeless—or so pale I glow—on video, but that wasn’t the case here. I used the webcam for a work meeting and I was surprised at how warm (color temperature, not body temperature) the picture looked. It made me look more natural and not at all like some sun-starved vampire.

The Dolby-certified speakers are shockingly loud and punchy. When I played Jack White’s Archbishop Harold Holmes, his edgy guitar playing sounded fantastic. I didn’t have to crank up the volume much–I could still hear the music from a room or two away. What can I say? Upward-firing speakers just sound better than the downward-firing kind.