In brief: Samsung last week started taking orders for its Galaxy Chromebook Go, an entry-level offering starting under $300. This week, Asus is taking a crack at the premium market with its Chromebook CX9.
First announced at CES 2021, the CX9 is a 14-inch Chromebook equipped with your choice of 11th gen Intel CPU (up to an Intel Core i7-1165G7) and as much as 16GB of LPDDR4 RAM. Elsewhere, you'll find up to 512GB of PCIe gen 3 SSD storage, Intel Iris Xe graphics, Wi-Fi 6 connectivity and a host of other amenities such as a physical webcam shield, a microSD card slot and two Thunderbolt 4 USB-C ports.
Asus' latest is constructed of aluminum-alloy with structural reinforcements, and meets MIL-STD-810H US standards for keyboard durability and port durability as well as shock, pressure and hinge strength. It's also backed by a five-year warranty.
The 50Wh, three-cell lithium-polymer battery is reportedly good for up to 14 hours of battery life between charges.
Asus' Chromebook CX9 starts at $749.99, which gets you an Intel Core i3 processor, 128GB of SSD space and 8GB of storage. For a bit more coin - $1,149.99 - you'll get a CX9 equipped with a Core i7 chip, 512GB of storage and 16GB of RAM.
Both are expected to be available for purchase soon.