This is a pretty amazing Chromebook laptop. First, the screen is big and wide with excellent visuals. I have noticed no visual issues, like when the screen darkens from a certain angle. Also, the screen doesn't reflect light back so it's easy to see and work in just about any kind of lighting.
It's comfortable to use, too. The keys have a nice shape, size, height, and feel to them. It's all really easy to type on, even if you have larger hands, like my husband. I can type as fast on this Chromebook as I do on my PC keyboard. There is a generous touch pad area (no mouse needed) and a wide wrist-rest area, too.
I like that all that size doesn't make it heavy, it's about three and a half pounds. The case is some kind of heavy duty plastic, which looks very upscale, with a fancy metallic look. At its thickest, it's about three quarters of an inch and on the thinner edge, it's only about a half an inch. And yet, they found enough room for several ports, including two of the faster, blue USB ports, two superfast USB-C ports (so I can charge it with the included USB-C power cord on either side), a Security Lock slot, and a micro SD card slot to enlarge storage and save and access files. Note that it has no HDMI slot, so this may not be ideal for an entertainment center (if you don't have a USB-C to HDMI converter).
It also has a regular 3.5mm micro-stereo plug for earphones, but I usually use my wireless ear pods since the Bluetooth on this Chromebook pairs and connects almost instantly with great sound. The speakers aren't bad, either with clear audio making it easy to talk back and forth via video chat or online conferencing. Zero problems with the microphone, which has good sound according to those I've chatted with. And the camera is every bit as good as my office camera, even in less than ideal lighting.
Also, I used to have a laptop where the fan would start up during video chats, ruining the audio (it sounded like an airplane taking off). This Chromebook has a special processor that runs cool and has no fan, so I really appreciate that. It said that it has super fast Wi-Fi, so I ran multiple speedtests to check it out and I got download speeds over 200 Mbps, and nearly the same for uploads. To be clear: That's 200 megabits per second for wireless Wi-Fi, not plugged-in ethernet.
I was a little unsure about relying on the Chrome OS so much, as I've used Windows my whole life, but it has been really easy and intuitive to use. Setting it up was very simple. I plugged it in, turned it on (boots up in seconds), and logged into the Chrome browser, which is what I always use anyway. And... that's it. Moments later, there was my Chrome browser, set up the just the way I like it, with all my bookmarks and everything. I tried to overload it for this review, to see how it would handle lots of tabs open and videos playing, but it just ran smoothly.
There are two icons on the bottom screen menu bar. The one on the left accesses files, the Chrome browser, and such. The one on the right, which also displays the time, battery, and Wi-Fi strength, has all the settings right there -- volume, screen brightness, and everything else.
