Chromebooks are often considered affordable Windows laptop replacements, and while there are some budget Chromebooks, there are also some high-end models that are extremely capable, with the ability to harness powerful productivity tools for video editing, music creation, gaming, and more. But consumers don't always need more power, and having less power doesn't necessarily mean that it's a bad product. If you go out to your local Best Buy, it might be hard to distinguish models that provide a great experience, from models that don't. That's where Google's Chromebook X program could help differentiate these types of products, reserving the label for premium ChromeOS devices.

What is Chromebook X?

The news of Google's Chromebook X program comes from the folks at 9to5Google, who share that the company has been working on the new branding for the past few months now. While the news outlet uses the "Chromebook X" label, it does state that this could change before its public reveal. But if it does come to fruition, then products that fall under the Chromebook X label will feature a prominent "X" next to the traditional Chromebook logo, and those devices will have a special boot screen as well.

What kind of hardware will be required?

As far as what kinds of devices will be categorized under "Chromebook X" will remain to be seen, but as you might expect, these products will need to have better than average specifications, and there will certain guidelines in place for RAM configurations, camera, display resolutions, processors, and more. As of now, Google is focused on supporting AMD's Zen 2 and Zen 3 processors, along with 12th Gen Intel Core processors.

One thing that the source notes is that within the CPUs, there is also a more budget-friendly chip in the group, which could indicate that Chromebook X won't be used to label expensive products but will instead be more focused on distinguishing quality products. As you can imagine, with the array of Chromebooks already out on the market, many would already qualify as a Chromebook X product. As such, it looks like Google is looking for ways to incorporate these products when the branding goes live while also providing updates for those products as well.

Exclusive software features

In addition to having capable hardware, these models would also be able to take advantage of special software features with some examples being live caption, voice isolation, and portrait blur effects with video calls. The products will also receive exclusive wallpapers that can change their appearance throughout the day to match the sunrise and sunset. And if you're thinking about using these features on a non-Chromebook X product, think again. Google will have parameters in place to prevent that.

When is Chromebook X launching?

Of course, these features are just the tip of the iceberg, and there are more being developed that will elevate Chromebook X devices from their peers. As far as when these products will arrive to market is anyone's guess, but the source does state that they should come by the end of the year. While this all sounds exciting, as of now, Google will not offer its own Chromebook X laptop or tablet when this program goes live, which is a shame considering how beautiful its past ChromeOS products have been.