Does your old laptop run slowly, hold a charge poorly, and annoy you with its terrible Windows OS? There is a solution — Chrome OS Flex. However, not everything is as simple and obvious as it may seem. In fact, there are many nuances in the Google system, although there are many serious advantages. Let’s figure out when you should install Chrome OS Flex and for which audience it is best suited.
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Google’s operating system has long been known among consumers, but it is worth distinguishing between the optimized Chrome OS and the universal Chrome OS Flex. There are not many differences, but they are there. If briefly, the Flex prefix removes the responsibility from developers for perfect compatibility with the selected computer.
Chrome OS Flex can be installed on any laptop or desktop PC, but no one guarantees stable operation and full compatibility, especially with specific, rare hardware, discrete video cards, etc. For the experiment, we installed this system on Acer Aspire Go 15 AG15-31P, with which it is recommended to use Windows 11.
Installing the Chrome OS Flex system is easy: download the Chromebook Recovery Utility browser extension, insert the flash drive into the computer, follow the instructions, select Chrome OS Flex in the list of devices, and wait for the download.
Then we reboot the laptop, go into the BIOS, set the priority for booting from the external drive we need, and go through a quick installation process. It seems to be nothing complicated and everything is similar to the Windows 11 installation process.
At the first launch, we log in to our Google profile, synchronize documents, and immediately work at the computer in a convenient, simple, attractive, and understandable operating system for everyone. Owners of Android smartphones who actively use Google services will be pleased with the synchronization in the ecosystem of the good corporation.
| Technical characteristics | |
| Screen | 15.6″ IPS 1920×1080 60 Hz |
| Processor | Intel Core i3 N305 8 cores |
| RAM | 16 GB DDR5 4800 MHz |
| Drive | 512 GB PCI-E 3.0 x4 |
| Video card | UHD Graphics Xe 32EUs |
| Wireless interfaces | Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.1 |
| Card reader | no |
| USB connectors | 2 x Type A 3.2 gen1 |
| 2 x Type C 3.2 gen2 | |
| Video connector | HDMI 2.1 |
| Audio jack | 3.5 mm jack |
| Camera | HD 720p |
| Audio | 2 speakers |
| Power supply | 65 W |
| Battery | 50 W*h |
| Additionally | USB Power Delivery |
| kensington / noble castle | |
| Housing material | matte plastic |
| Weight | 1.75 kg |
| Dimensions | 363x240x19 mm |
| Operating system | without OS |
We have already reviewed the laptop Acer Aspire Go 15 AG15-31P and in short, it is the most productive laptop in the price category up to UAH 20,000. Inside, there is 16 GB of DDR5 memory, 512 GB SSD, and an 8-core Intel Core i3 N305 processor, which in benchmarks works at the level of flagships Intel Core i7 of the ninth generation, and of the H series, not the U series, while consuming less energy.
It’s also interesting that this laptop costs less than chromebooks with identical characteristics. Still, laptops without an operating system are still the best deal, although not everyone wants to install an OS on their own, even one as simple as Chrome OS Flex.
That is, the hardware is strong, as for Chrome OS Flex, which means that Windows 11 was put in the most favorable conditions, we can say that they gave the operating system from Microsoft a head start. It would seem that why put a «cut», «inferior», «browser» system when there is a «excellent» Windows 11? Not everything is so simple, and now we’ll figure it out.
Windows 11 doesn’t have a unified interface, so some settings and program menus look the same as in Windows 7, Vista, or XP. For example, the Device Manager, Control Panel is in the old, classic style, and the new system settings are in «material design».
Microsoft has never been concerned about the visual appearance of its operating systems, so Chrome OS Flex looks more beautiful: neat fonts, proper scaling, a single style for the entire system, a clear menu, and a beginner-friendly interface.
Every Android smartphone owner has a Google profile, which greatly simplifies the work with Chrome OS Flex. The user immediately receives synchronized files, documents, images, etc. Joining the Android + Chrome OS ecosystem is as pleasant as iOS + Mac OS, but Windows does not fit into any combination.
For a more detailed look at the capabilities of Chromebooks and the Chrome OS system itself, we suggest you read the editorial reviews for 2024:
Acer Chromebook Plus 514 (CB514-3HT) review: A laptop for a healthy person
Acer Chromebook 314 review: a breath of fresh air, or the perfect laptop for non-IT
Chrome OS Flex is based on Linux, but this subsystem is disabled by default. In the settings, you can switch to developer mode and activate the Linux environment by allocating a certain amount of disk space for it. Working with «penguin» is as convenient as ever, but it requires a considerable entry threshold. Developers will be happy, but a typical Linux user will never need it.
In the terminal, we update the repositories, having previously mentioned the commands «sudo apt get update» and «sudo apt get install». A few commands later, and we have Steam, graphic editors, third-party browsers, office programs, audio processing software, and much more on our laptop.
Not all games are available, only those adapted for Linux. Additionally, you can play with Wine, but definitely not on such a non-gaming device. With Windows 11, the Acer Aspire Go 15 AG15-31P laptop allows you to play a much larger library of games.
Minecraft, Dead Space, Asphalt, and other undemanding games run without any problems. In theory, such hardware allows you to play most of the hits of the Xbox 360 era. After all, 60-80 FPS in Dead Space in 1080p resolution with low-medium settings is a good result for integrated graphics.
It’s definitely better to choose Windows 11 for gaming, as Google does not guarantee Play Market support for all devices. In this particular case, the Android app store was not available.
Fans of Brawl Stars and other mobile projects will be disappointed with Chrome OS Flex, and on Windows, they will immediately go to download heavy Android emulators on a search query: «download brawli stares to your computer for free online to play endless money».
We will place a significant emphasis on this point because this topic needs to be discussed more often. It is of great importance, but is ignored in a society that has a low level of technical literacy.
Almost every Windows laptop of a person who has children born in 2010+ has an Android emulator installed (maybe more than one). Like any virtual machine, emulators consume a lot of RAM, and cunning developers set them to automatically load with the default system.
It’s easy to clog Windows with junk, so over time, an inexperienced user’s laptop turns into a real dump. When you have 20 programs (emulators, plug-ins, players, torrent clients, game launchers, little-known browsers) on autorun, the laptop turns into a slow turtle. The weaker the laptop, the more the impact of clutter on the user experience is felt.
That’s why a 15-year-old Apple MacBook performs better than an Acer, Asus, MSI, Lenovo, Sony, Samsung, or any other Windows laptop. Not because Chrome OS / Mac OS has some kind of «magic», but because the user cannot insert spokes in the wheels, loading the conditional music in *exe format.
If the owner of the laptop is not an IT specialist or just a person with a high level of technical awareness, then Chrome OS Flex will be as clean, neat, and fast in 5-10 years as it was after installation, and Windows will turn into a perfectionist’s hell with slow performance and freezes.
Definitely, for the vast majority of the population, Chrome OS Flex or Mac OS is a much better choice than Windows 11 because of the low entry threshold, security, and the absence of junk software (which is as harmful as viruses) in such large quantities.
The system bootup speed is about the same — it takes only 9-11 seconds from the moment you press the button to the desktop. This is something that premium desktop PCs can only dream of.
| Browser performance | ||||
| Benchmark / Power mode | Windows | Chrome | ||
| BATTERY | PSU | BATTERY | PSU | |
| Speedometer 3 | 11,7 | 13,1 | 10,7 | 11,7 |
| Google Octane 2.0 | 49873 | 50434 | 55203 | 56714 |
| WebXPRT 4 | 174 | 192 | 185 | 194 |
In the Chrome browser on Windows 11, the laptop is not much slower, but it is definitely not as stable. On the contrary, some benchmarks show better results. For example, Speedometer 3.0 gives out more points, but in Google Octane 2.0 and WebXPRT 4 Chrome OS Flex comes out ahead.
The difference is minimal, but let’s not forget that the test sample is quite productive by Chromebook standards. Most Chromebook models have much weaker processors, 4-8 GB of RAM, and smaller storage (sometimes Flash memory, not SSD).
When watching high-quality streaming video, the laptop occasionally skips frames. This happens more often on Windows OS, but with Chrome OS Flex it’s almost impossible to see a skipped frame of 4K video. Only when switching between programs and background work will one frame per thousand be lost occasionally.
As already mentioned in the review Acer Aspire Go 15 AG15-31P this model has a special feature in the form of a constantly running fan. It works even at a processor temperature of 35 °C, which negatively affects battery life.
In the Chrome OS Flex operating system, the processor has a lower temperature under the same loads, the fan is quieter, and it also turns off more often when idle. Yes, the laptop could be silent with such a frugal CPU. It’s a shame that the cooler remains active in both operating systems, when it should only turn on after it has heated up to 70 °C.
In resource-constrained environments, Chrome OS Flex can increase the performance gap because the system itself is much lighter, simpler, and more optimized than Windows 11. Next time we’ll take a 2-3 times weaker laptop for a test to verify this definitively and dispel the myths.
With Windows OS laptop holds a charge for 10-11 hours in light office scenarios (editing documents, for example) at maximum screen brightness and 17-18 hours if you save on everything. Watching 4K YouTube will drain the battery for 5-6 hours with 100% backlighting. If you switch to eco-mode, the battery lasts 9 hours and 30 minutes.
Using Chrome OS Flex, the same laptop shows the following results: YouTube 6+ hours with maximum brightness and 10+ hours with minimum brightness, and up to 20 hours of battery life in office programs!
It seems that x86 architecture is not so bad in 2024. Of course, the flagships are losing out to Apple’s ARM Silicon, but the budget Intel N-Series models are very successful and consume little power with adequate performance. For inexpensive laptops, this is what you need.
The difference is expected, but not too great. The Windows system is heavy, unoptimized, and cumbersome after Chrome OS Flex, always doing something in the background and loading the system. An additional 10-15% of battery life will definitely not be superfluous. For older Windows laptops, Chrome OS Flex can be a chance for a second life, as this system can improve battery life, especially for outdated models.
In addition, a laptop with Chrome OS Flex wakes up instantly and does not lose 10+% of its battery power overnight, as almost half of Windows machines like to do. Given all this, after the Google system, it is unlikely that you will want to return to Microsoft’s masterpiece, unless some almost unknown proprietary software makes you do so exclusively for work purposes.
Let’s summarize all of the above in the form of a list of advantages of each operating system. Note that this applies specifically to our example (Acer Aspire Go 15 AG15-31P) because with weaker hardware, the list may differ in favor of Google’s OS.
Advantages of Chrome OS Flex:
Advantages of Windows 11:
With a processor as efficient as the Intel Core i3 N305 and 16 GB of DDR5 RAM, the advantages of Chrome OS Flex are almost not felt in practice, and in some ways Windows 11 performs better. Still, this inexpensive CPU behaves at the level of the flagship Intel Core i7-9850H, but the lower you go in terms of specifications, the more advantages Google’s system will get.
Chrome OS Flex — is a good choice for weak laptops and will also appeal to inexperienced users. Despite the smaller «zoo» software, this OS has a lower entry threshold and is literally more convenient than Windows in almost everything.
Owners of older laptops are advised to try Chrome OS Flex, but for a laptop like the Acer Aspire Go 15 AG15-31P, it offers almost no significant advantages other than ease of use. With this system, the laptop will remain up-to-date and fast for years, even if it is used by inexperienced people or small children, which will never happen with Windows 11.
