Before the beginning of summer, it was a little easier to shop for a basic productivity laptop. You could choose from a single version of Windows (x86), an Apple macOS device, or a Chromebook. Sure, there were still a lot of options from multiple laptop manufacturers, but if you knew what brand or operating system you wanted, especially if you were limited by a budget, it probably wouldn\u2019t have taken too long to narrow down your choices, especially if you had specific preferences. (I know I do<\/a>.)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n But then Copilot Plus PCs arrived. Now there was a new type of less expensive productivity machine occupying shelf space between lower-end old-school Windows laptops and Chromebooks. If you thought you had already narrowed down your choices, you just got handed more research.\u00a0Depending on what else you need a laptop to do \u2014 and how much you\u2019re willing to spend \u2014 there are a few more things to look into now.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n However, Copilot Plus PCs and Chromebooks are still positioned for different types of users. Selecting one or the other, then, isn\u2019t actually more complicated \u2014 just more nuanced. Let\u2019s dig into both of these systems and narrow down the list of options.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Copilot Plus PCs are Windows systems but with a difference. Copilot Plus PCs run Windows on Arm (Arm64) with Qualcomm\u2019s latest Snapdragon chips<\/a>, while Intel and AMD-configured laptops run Windows x86. This isn\u2019t the first time any laptop has run the Arm version, but it is the first time they have been worth buying<\/a>. They are just as powerful as other Windows laptops and come with the same features, but they have longer battery lives and are more power efficient \u2014 and are generally a little cheaper. But their operating system is less versatile.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Though Windows on Arm has native support for nearly all the same major programs as the x86 version of Windows, some crucial ones are still missing, like Adobe Premiere Pro and Google Drive for Desktop. Those apps also can\u2019t be emulated with Microsoft\u2019s new Prism emulator (which is a lot better than its previous iterations). Many other apps without native Arm64 support can, but they might run noticeably slower.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n If you\u2019re considering buying a Copilot Plus PC but are unsure about your favorite app\u2019s compatibility, there\u2019s a website that can help you check<\/a>. Just keep in mind that it\u2019s not an exhaustive list of everything that is or isn\u2019t compatible, and the website itself doesn\u2019t guarantee 100 percent accuracy. It\u2019s always best to check compatibility yourself.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Chromebooks run ChromeOS and generally have slower and older Intel or AMD processors. Their operating system is primarily designed to run apps in the cloud, so it\u2019s stripped down to handle just the basics. (In some ways, it feels more like navigating a smartphone than an actual computer.) What it can handle on-device is saving and editing<\/a> Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides files offline, saving and retrieving files from local storage, and playing mobile games, among other lightweight apps. Chromebooks\u2019 simplicity and ease of use in the classroom have made them a popular choice for students in high school and elementary school, especially during the pandemic<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Google has recently added a few quality-of-life features to ChromeOS, like customizing keyboard and mouse shortcuts<\/a>, which have been available in Windows for a long time.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n There are several ways that Copilot Plus PCs and Chromebooks are similar. Not only are they both productivity laptops, but they also share some of the same features: both come in traditional and 2-in-1 form factors (although as of now the only convertible Snapdragon laptop is the Lenovo Yoga Slim 7x) and both have models with touchscreens and a host of port options, like USB-A, USB-C, and sometimes even HDMI or a microSD slot.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n They both have their own AI ecosystem. Copilot Plus PCs have Microsoft\u2019s<\/a> Cocreator, Live Captions, and Recall (which is not yet widely available but is accessible in Microsoft\u2019s latest Windows 11 build<\/a>). The newest Chromebooks<\/a> have Google Gemini and come with a free 12-month subscription for Google One AI Premium that includes access to Gemini Advanced and a few other features.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n As of right now, both operating systems can run Android apps. On ChromeOS, you can download them directly from the Google Play Store, which comes installed on the device. For Copilot Plus PCs, you\u2019ll have to download the Windows Subsystem for Android app from Amazon\u2019s Appstore first.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n (Microsoft is deprecating this feature in March 2025<\/a>, so if you want to \u201crun\u201d Android apps on Windows, you\u2019ll have to use Phone Link<\/a> to mirror them starting next year.)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n However, that\u2019s where the similarities end. In addition to much more powerful processors and a versatile operating system, Copilot Plus PCs are generally better-looking and come with brighter, more color-accurate OLED displays compared to the Chromebooks\u2019 IPS displays. They also usually have faster and larger storage drives, more memory, and a few more hours of battery life. A Wi-Fi 7 adapter is also a common feature, whereas Chromebooks have slower Wi-Fi 6E or earlier adapters. iPhone users can also now link their phone to the Windows OS<\/a>, but ChromeOS is currently only compatible with Android.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n However, ChromeOS is nicer to use on a touchscreen device compared to Windows. The user interface is also more streamlined and easier to navigate \u2014 I\u2019ve had way better experiences using 2-in-1 Chromebooks in this way compared to Windows laptops with the same form factor.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Finally, there is a price difference. Copilot Plus PCs are more expensive than Chromebooks because they can do much more and handle more than Chromebooks. The cheapest one available is Microsoft\u2019s Surface Laptop 7<\/a>, which starts at $1,000 for the base model, while something like the Acer Chromebook Plus Spin 514 with the same amount of memory and storage capacity and a similar display goes for $850 or less \u2014 and that\u2019s one of the pricier Chromebooks.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n If you need to use your laptop for both work and personal tasks but are looking to save some cash, Copilot Plus PCs are the better alternative to Chromebooks \u2014 assuming that they can handle all the apps you require. They\u2019re cheaper than other Windows laptops, have longer battery lives, and can run most power-heavy apps. But if you don\u2019t need to manage data-stuffed spreadsheets or edit videos for a film class, a Chromebook will handle the basics just as well for much less.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nCopilot Plus PCs 101<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n
Chromebooks 101<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n
Small similarities<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n
Big differences <\/h3>\n<\/p>\n
So, which should you get?<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n