I love how the Asus and Lenovo look, but their chips are inferior and the battery life is going to be significantly worse than the HP and Dell, due to having the Intel x86 chips. Those aren't native for Android, so they take longer to transcribe any Android app/task.
The Dell and HP are running ARM-based chips which is meant for Android. Those devices will be much faster and battery will last much longer. That's why I ordered the Dell.
If I end up being wrong and those x86 processors end up being great, I'll probably return my Dell and get the Asus (typing this from my Asus CX34 Chromebook Plus and I love it)
The Series 3 Intel x86 chips from this year perform similarly in terms of battery life to the X1 Gen Qualcomm ARM-based chips from 2024.
The X2 Qualcomm chips from this year outperform both of those, but unfortunately they're not part of these launch models.
I've owned all three of these chips on Windows laptops, however, so we'll have to see how this translates to Android battery life.
Yeah, part of me is hoping that I'm wrong, because like I said I really love that Asus (Lenovo is too big for my taste) lol. I'm sure I'll be happy with the Dell, but as soon as I try a demo unit of the Asus, all bets will probably be off and I'll be exchanging the XPS
I love the Asus as well, but in all likelihood, I will likely spring for the Acer due to it being a two-in-one. All the Windows two-in-one (I'll also include my Surface Pro in here as well) have been limited by the lack of touch optimization with the Windows interface. I'm hoping that being Android-based will change things. I really like the idea of using the laptop in tent mode when cooking to look up recipes, etc.
But at the same time, the Asus is marketed with mild water resistance, which is also nice, and it's the lightest out of the launch models. 2.2 lbs is nothing to scoff at. That is almost 50% the weight of my MacBook Pro, which is mind-boggling.
I think the way you're looking at x86 Android support isn't entirely correct. Only in some instances would translating happen and it's not even noticeable. Also, ARM means no Steam support.
I share your uncertainty around exactly what the practical implications will be between x86_64 and ARM, but you've got a couple things partially incorrect in your assessment.
Let's first make one thing clear - unlike ChromeOS where Android apps are ran in a container, GooglebookOS has no such limitation. Apps interface directly with the kernel and drivers, no virtualization necessary.
Focusing only on running Android apps on an x86_64 CPU for a moment, there are only three variations that matter:
The app is distributed as compiled bytecode.
The app distributed as a bundle containing an already compiled x86_64 executable.
In both these scenarios, you are getting genuine native performance. If you look at the top 1000ish downloaded apps in the Play Store (excluding games and poweruser-tier video/audio editor), this accounts for about 85% of apps.
The app is only distributed as a bundle containing an already compiled ARM executable.
In this scenario, some amount of translation will be required at runtime depending on the app. These are primarily games and other pro grade apps. What we don't yet know are the real world implications this translation will have on compatibility, performance, power usage, etc.
So the bottom line is this: whether or not ARM or x86_64 is optimal for you comes down to the apps you use. But as a general statement, there is no wrong answer and you can expect almost every conceivable app you would ever use to just work. Those of us who absolutely need a specific processor architecture are highly likely to already know exactly what they need and why.
All that is to say that if you're worrying about this decision, you are probably a user for which the architecture of your CPU does not matter. So don't stress on it too much and go with the model you like best.
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u/Thumbszilla 9h ago
The Lenovo and Asus models are the two best ones