Five Reasons I Prefer My Chromebook Over Windows or macOS

As a tech journalist, I've got Windows, macOS, and ChromeOS devices at home—not because I'm especially wealthy, but because I need to write about all of these platforms, all of the time—and it's my trusty Chromebook that I find myself turning to more often than not.

The usual argument against Chromebooks is that they're just a Chrome browser: Windows and macOS give you the same Chrome browser, and much more besides. However, sometimes less is more, as I'll get to below.

Sadly, it seems Google is less keen on Chromebooks than I am. The last Google-made Pixelbook launched in 2019, and it's been left to the likes of Asus, Acer, HP, Samsung, and others to keep new Chromebooks coming in. If you're reading, Google, it's high time we had a new Pixelbook.

Chromebooks cut down on the clutter

There is the argument that Windows and macOS give you the Chrome browser plus a lot more, but most of the time, I don't really need the "more"—unless I've got some detailed image edits to do, or want to play some games. Almost everything I need runs on the web.

There are a lot fewer software updates, background programs, app assistants, and system utilities to think about. While ChromeOS does have updates, they're mostly done seamlessly in the background, and applied whenever you next reboot your Chromebook.

Another chore I don't have to regularly take care of on my Chromebook is tidying up the desktop or my local folders, because there isn't really anything to download, save, or sync. The laptop file system and internal storage is tidier by default, because I never use it.

Chromebooks save everything instantly

No save button required. Credit: Lifehacker

All the work I do on my Chromebook is inside a browser, and usually inside Google apps like Google Docs and Gmail. That means everything is instantly saved—should a power cut or a system crash happen, I don't have to worry about losing what I've been working on.

I don't need to check for open programs and files in the background that I might have forgotten about, and if I need to jump up and do something else quickly, I can just shut my laptop and I'm done—I'm not clicking through dozens of save dialogs first.

Chromebooks put everything on the web

When you're working inside web apps all the time, without the option of locally installed tools, syncing is seamless. To work on a document that I need to access across Windows and macOS, for example, I need to think about saving, syncing, and app compatibility.

When I'm working in Google Docs in a Chromebook, everything syncs automatically. I can even have a document open simultaneously across ChromeOS, Windows, and macOS, and jump between them as needed to make edits—something which saves a lot of time.

Chromebooks tie in tightly to the Google ecosystem

Android phones and Chromebooks play nicely together. Credit: Lifehacker

I can understand that Chromebooks may have less appeal if you're not always using Gmail, Google Maps, Android, Google Docs, Chrome, and everything else Google makes—but for someone heavily invested in the Google ecosystem (like me), they make a lot of sense.

If you've got an Android phone, for example, you can use it to set up a Chromebook, share files across both devices, respond to text messages from ChromeOS, and get hotspot access with a click. There's a level of integration you don't get on other platforms.

Chromebooks actually work as distraction-free devices

One of the criticisms leveled at Chromebooks is that they're pretty much useless without an internet connection, but that's only partly true. Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides, and even Gmail actually work perfectly well offline now.

If I'm traveling without steady wifi, I enjoy using my Chromebook as a distraction-free device, getting through a ton of writing and email replying without constantly switching tabs. When wifi returns, everything I've done gets synced back to the web automatically.

While we're on the subject of ChromeOS being useless when it's not online, I think it's fair to say internet access is almost ubiquitous now (via public wifi or phone hotspots), and that Windows and macOS aren't particularly useful either when the web is cut off.

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