Google unveils ‘first laptops designed for cloud gaming’ shortly after Stadia was killed

Well this is awkward. Google has announced what it calls “the world’s first laptops for cloud gaming” less than two weeks after announcing plans to shut down Stadia. It worked with Acer, ASUS, and Lenovo on three gaming-focused Chromebooks.

According to Google, the Acer Chromebook 516 GE, ASUS Chromebook Vibe CX55 Flip, and Lenovo Ideapad Gaming Chromebook all have refresh rates of at least 120Hz, displays with resolutions up to 1600p, immersive audio, and, crucially for cloud gaming, WiFi 6 or 6E connectivity. Some models also have RGB keyboards. Subject to availability, you may receive a SteelSeries Rival 3 gaming mouse at no additional cost when purchasing one of these Chromebooks.

All three laptops have been benchmarked by GameBench to ensure they can run games at 120 frames per second and 1080p resolution. You should also get an input latency of under 85ms. Google notes that this is a “console class” input latency.

Let’s take a look at the specs for each of the Chromebooks (or at least the details I got ahead of time).

Acer Chromebook 516GE

• 16 inch, 120Hz 1600p display
• RGB anti-ghosting keyboard
• WiFi 6E
• Ethernet connection
• Four DTS and Force Canceling speakers
• 12th generation Intel Core i5 or i7 processor
• Intel Iris Xe graphics
• Up to 16GB RAM
• Up to 256GB Solid State Drive storage
• Two microphones
• combo audio jack
• 1080p webcam that records video at up to 60 frames per second
• DisplayPort support
• Two USB-C, USB-A and HDMI ports
• 65 Wh battery with up to 9 hours of battery life
• 3.75 pounds (1.7 kg)

The Acer Chromebook 516 GE starts at $650 and will be available this month from Best Buy in the US. It will be available in EMEA in December, starting at €999.

ASUS Chromebook Vibe CX55 Flip

• Convertible 2-in-1 Chromebook that can be used in tablet mode
• 144Hz Full HD (1080p) display.
• Anti-ghosting keyboard
• wifi 6
• Two Harmon Kardon certified speakers
• Up to an 11th Gen Intel Core i7 CPU
• Up to 16GB of memory
• Up to 512GB of storage
• HDMI 2.0 output
• Up to 10 hours of battery life on a single charge

Pricing and availability for this model weren’t available at the time of publication, but it should also go on sale this month.

Lenovo Ideapad Gaming Chromebook

• 16 inch WQXGA display with 120 Hz
• RGB anti-ghosting keyboard
• WiFi 6E
• Quad speaker system
• 12th Gen Intel Core i3 or i5 CPU
• 8GB of memory
• Up to 512GB SSD storage
• 1.82kg
• Up to 11 hours of battery life

The Lenovo Ideapad Gaming Chromebook starts at $599 and is expected to be available later this month.

For clarification, it should be noted that these are all ChromeOS devices, not Windows machines. They’re decently specified for the prices, assuming the ASUS model is in the same range, and they offer a whole new breed of Chromebook.

However, one could argue that you could buy a cheap Windows laptop for the same price and still access cloud gaming services. You could also buy an Xbox Series S and get 20 months of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate access for $600, but you couldn’t use that for work or anything else. Alternatively, you can get yourself a Steam deck and set up cloud gaming services on that device.

Still, these Chromebooks could be a decent entry point for those intrigued by the idea of ​​cloud gaming — even though one of cloud gaming’s main selling points is that it works on virtually any modern device. The displays feel solid and WiFi 6E should prove particularly handy as long as you have a capable router.

Google is bringing some nice cloud gaming features to these Chromebooks. For one, the devices will support Xbox Cloud Gaming, Amazon Luna, and NVIDIA GeForce Now. In the latter case, Google has worked with NVIDIA to ensure these Chromebooks will support GeForce Now’s highest RTX 3080 tier. This enables cloud gaming at 120 fps at 1600p resolution on systems that come with the GeForce Now app preinstalled.

You can also install Xbox Cloud Gaming as a web app on your Chromebook. Additionally, these Chromebooks come with three-month trials for both the GeForce Now RTX 3080 tier and Amazon Luna.

In the meantime, you might find it pretty easy to find and play games on these services via ChromeOS. If you search for a game in the launcher (i.e. via the “Everything” button) you will see where it is available. You can then load the game with a single click. Initially, this feature will be compatible with GeForce Now and the Play Store.

It’s good to see that Google hasn’t completely abandoned cloud gaming. Still, the timing of this announcement comes at a very strange time.

That Chromebook announcement was certainly a long time in the works before Google said in late September that it was ending its own cloud gaming service. The news reportedly took most Stadia teams by surprise, just like everyone else. That department will certainly be separate from the ChromeOS team (I wouldn’t be surprised if those folks were caught off guard by the news too).

I’m a fan of cloud gaming and it’s a shame Google didn’t stick with Stadia. Despite the criticism of the business model, the lack of features and the lack of important exclusives, the core technology of game streaming works great. You have to imagine that at least up until a few weeks ago there were plans to offer a few months of Stadia Pro access at no extra cost with these Chromebooks instead of GeForce Now or Luna.