The Samsung Chromebook 4 (2019) is a Chrome OS laptop with a good, tough-feeling build. It's remarkably portable, with more than 10 hours of battery life for light productivity tasks and a small and lightweight design. It's completely silent since it's fanless, and the keyboard doesn't get uncomfortably hot even under load. The keyboard feels alright to type on but isn't backlit, the touchpad tracks decently but is a bit small, and there's a decent webcam and microphone for video calls. Also, the speakers sound satisfactory overall, though they don't get very loud. Unfortunately, like most budget Chromebooks, the screen doesn't get very bright, and its poor color gamut makes content look washed out. It also has a disappointing selection of ports, so you'll need to use a dongle or USB hub if you intend to use multiple wired peripherals.
All variants use an 11.6 inch, 720p TN display and an Intel Celeron N4000 CPU with integrated Intel UHD Graphics 600. You can opt for either 4GB or 6GB of RAM and 16, 32, or 64GB of storage. They're all capable of performing light productivity tasks and playing back video without issue, although the laptop will hiccup if you have many tabs open unless you upgrade to 6GB of RAM. None of the models are well-suited for 3D rendering or computational workloads, nor for playing graphically intensive games.
Our Verdict
The Samsung Chromebook 4 is an adequate school laptop. It's outstandingly portable and has a battery that can last more than 10 hours of light productivity. It feels well-built and durable, with a decent webcam and microphone for video conferences or online classes. Unfortunately, its keyboard feels alright to type on but isn't backlit, and although the touchpad tracks decently, it's a bit small. The screen also isn't bright enough to comfortably use in well-lit environments, which can limit the places where you can comfortably work.
- Plastic and metal build feels sturdy.
- Battery lasts through an entire workday of light productivity.
- Outstandingly light and portable.
- Webcam and microphone have decent quality.
- Sub-par, non-backlit keyboard.
- Small touchpad with occasional tracking hiccups.
- Slows down during heavy multitasking.
- Screen doesn't get very bright.
The Samsung Chromebook 4 is bad for gaming. It runs on Chrome OS, so you won't be able to play DirectX games. Also, even though you can run Linux applications in a container, the power-efficient, dual-core Intel Celeron CPU with integrated graphics performs terribly in demanding games. There's only a 60Hz screen option with no support for VRR, and because there aren't any user-replaceable parts, you can't upgrade the memory or storage capacity. We expect you'll only be able to run basic games from the Google Play Store with good performance.
- Stays completely silent, and keyboard doesn't get hot.
- Celeron CPU and integrated graphics perform badly overall.
- Can't run DirectX games.
- Only has a 60Hz refresh rate with no VRR support.
- No replaceable parts.
The Samsung Chromebook 4 is sub-par for media consumption. Its TN screen doesn't get very bright, has a poor contrast ratio, and its narrow color gamut makes content look washed out. It also has poor viewing angles, so you'll need to keep the screen facing you directly for an accurate image. The speakers don't get very loud, but on the bright side, they sound decent overall. The battery lasts through two full feature-length films with charge to spare, and since it's very light and portable, it's easy to hold and carry around.
- Outstandingly light and portable.
- Speakers are satisfactory and have a neutral profile.
- No full sRGB coverage.
- Screen doesn't get very bright.
- Poor viewing angles, with chroma inversion at oblique vertical angles.
The Samsung Chromebook 4 performs poorly as a workstation. You can only get it with a dual-core, low-power Intel Celeron N4000 CPU with integrated Intel UHD Graphics 600, so it isn't suitable for performing tasks like 3D modeling, rendering, or physics simulations. It also uses a slow eMMC drive that makes file transfers and installing large programs take very long. On the bright side, because it's fanless and uses a power-efficient CPU, it stays completely silent and doesn't get very hot.
- Stays completely silent, and keyboard doesn't get hot.
- Awful performance in 3D rendering and similar tasks.
- Can't run x86 applications.
- Poor port selection.
- No replaceable parts.
The Samsung Chromebook 4 is passable for business use. It's remarkably lightweight and portable yet feels well-built and sturdy. The battery lasts through an 8-hour day of light productivity with charge to spare. Unfortunately, although the screen handles reflections very well, its low brightness makes it hard to use in very bright environments. The screen is also small, so it's hard to multitask unless you output to an external display. The keyboard feels alright to type on but can get tiring over long periods, and the port selection is disappointing and very limited.
- Plastic and metal build feels sturdy.
- Battery lasts through an entire workday of light productivity.
- Outstandingly light and portable.
- Webcam and microphone have decent quality.
- Sub-par, non-backlit keyboard.
- Small touchpad with occasional tracking hiccups.
- Slows down during heavy multitasking.
- Poor port selection.
Differences Between Sizes And Variants
We tested the Samsung Chromebook 4 with an 11.6", 720p TN display, an Intel Celeron N4000 CPU, integrated Intel UHD Graphics 600, 6GB of RAM, and 64GB of storage, in the Platinum Titan color scheme. There are no variants with different screen, CPU, or GPU options, but there are a few models with different memory and storage sizes. The variant with 64GB of storage is only available with 6GB of RAM. This laptop is related to the Samsung Chromebook 4+ with a 15.6 inch, 1080p TN display with an extra USB-C port, but to avoid confusion, we consider it a completely different model. You can see the available configurations in the table below.
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Our display and performance results are only valid for the configuration that we tested. If you come across a different configuration option not listed above, or you have a similar Samsung Chromebook 4 that doesn't correspond to our review, let us know, and we'll update it. Some tests, like black uniformity and color accuracy, may vary between individual units.
You can see our unit's label here.
Popular Laptop Comparisons
The Samsung Chromebook 4 (2019) and the Acer Chromebook 315 (2020) are both Chromebooks that use power-efficient Intel Celeron CPUs. However, the Acer performs better overall, with a larger, crisper touchscreen display, a much better keyboard, and a better webcam and microphone. Also, it has a much better port selection, and its battery lasts far longer. On the other hand, the Samsung is much more portable, and although its speakers don't get as loud, they sound much better.
The Samsung Chromebook 4 (2019) and the Thomson NEO 10 (2020) are both ultraportables with power-efficient CPUs, but the Samsung is a much better laptop for all practical uses. The Samsung feels significantly more responsive thanks to its use of Chrome OS, and it has a far superior battery life. Also, its screen displays more accurate colors, it has a significantly better keyboard and touchpad, and its webcam, microphone, and speakers perform significantly better. On the other hand, the Thomson uses Windows 10, which might be necessary for some people.
The Samsung Chromebook 4 (2019) and the HP Chromebook 14 (2021) are both Chrome OS devices, but the Samsung is an 11-inch ultraportable, whereas the HP is a compact 14-inch laptop. The Samsung is more portable and feels better built, and its webcam and microphone are superior. On the other hand, the HP's keyboard feels much better to type on, its speakers are better, and it has a better selection of ports. It also has a significantly longer battery life.
The Lenovo Chromebook Duet (2020) and the Samsung Chromebook 4 (2019) are both ultraportables with power-efficient CPUs running Chrome OS. The Lenovo has a tablet-like form factor with a kickstand and is better for multimedia viewing, whereas the Samsung has a traditional clamshell design and is better for business use. The Lenovo's IPS display has a much better resolution, gets far brighter, and displays far more accurate colors. On the other hand, the Samsung's keyboard and touchpad feel much better to use, while its speakers, webcam, and microphone are significantly better. It also has more ports.
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