The stage has been set for a new Chromebook powered by Nvidia’s potent Tegra X1 CPU.
Most Chromebooks are powered by Intel Celeron or Atom chips, with very few leaning on the more mobile-friendly ARM examples.
In general, ARM chips are better suited to powering smartphone operating systems with their more linear flow of tasks. However, Google’s Chrome OS is a lot more forgiving of this ‘lesser’ hardware with its lightweight nature and focus on web-based applications.
A few recent changes in the background have paved the way for a Chromebook powered by the Nvidia Tegra X1 processor – a highly capable ARM chip that hasn’t found a home in many devices to date.
As Tom’s Hardware points out (via SlashGear), Google engineers recently added support for the X1 to Coreboot, the open source BIOS software found in its Chromebooks.
Support was then added for a Tegra X1-based board named “Smaug.” And yes, the board supports Chromium OS.
Read More: 10 Best Laptops, Ultrabooks and Hybrids 2015
It all paves the way to a Tegra X1-power Chromebook, which would also be the first 64-bit ARM-based Chromebook to hit the market.
Last year’s Acer Chromebook 13 was powered by the Tegra X1’s predecessor, the Tegra K1, and it sported class-leading battery life as a result. With the Tegra X1’s much improved performance (including a console-style GPU) a proper follow-up to that notebook could provide the best of boths worlds – stellar battery life with strong general performance.
Check out our view of the Toshiba Chromebook 2 in the video below.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
