Is this €750 laptop actually better than your MacBook?

I never thought I’d say this, but my main computer is no longer a sleek, expensive MacBook. I’ve just bought the new Lenovo Chromebook Plus with the MediaTek processor, and it has completely rewritten my rulebook for what a daily driver should look like.

The "Power User" Paradox

Most people struggle with a modern computing paradox: we are drastically over-served and under-delivered.

You likely spend hundreds, if not thousands, of euros on "Pro" level hardware. You convince yourself you need the i9 processor, the discrete graphics card, and the 32GB of RAM. You tell yourself it’s for "future-proofing" or for that one video editing project you might do next year. But look at your actual daily workflow. What are you really doing?

If you are like 95% of professionals, you are living in the browser.

You are in Google Docs, Slack, Canva, HubSpot, and Zoom. Yet, to access these lightweight, cloud-based tools, you are lugging around a heavy, heat-generating machine that requires constant maintenance. You are paying a premium for computing power that sits idle, while the operating system itself—whether Windows or macOS—consumes vast resources just to keep itself running. You are paying a "complexity tax" every single day for capability you rarely touch.

The Weight of "Pro" Computing

This situation leads to a distinct kind of friction that slowly grinds you down.

Think about the last time you opened your laptop to quickly check an email or fire off a memo. Did you have to wait for a system update? Did the fans spin up like a jet engine because a background process decided to index your files right then? The worst part is the battery anxiety. You walk into a meeting room without your charger, and you're already sweating, watching the percentage tick down because your "powerful" Intel chip is guzzling watts just to display a spreadsheet.

Every day this continues, you are losing money and focus. You are tethered to wall outlets. You are dealing with driver incompatibilities, blue screens, or the spinning beach ball of death. You have spent a small fortune on a machine that promised freedom, but instead, it has given you a heavy backpack and a hot lap. The sheer mental load of managing a complex operating system gets in the way of the actual work you are trying to do.

The "Plus" Factor You Missed

But here’s what most people don't realize: the Chromebook landscape has quietly undergone a massive revolution while we weren't looking.

For years, "Chromebook" was synonymous with "cheap, plastic, and slow." It was the device you bought for a third-grader. However, Google recently introduced the Chromebook Plus standard. This isn't just a marketing buzzword; it's a guaranteed hardware baseline.

Even more intriguing is the shift to MediaTek processors. We usually obsess over Intel and AMD, but MediaTek is bringing mobile-first architecture to the laptop form factor. This means these chips aren't trying to be desktop towers shrunk down; they are designed from the ground up for efficiency, instant connectivity, and silence. This combination—the "Plus" certification and efficient ARM architecture—creates a device that punches so far above its weight class, it feels like cheating.

Imagine Pure Focus

Picture this: You open your laptop lid, and it is on. Instantly. No resume bar, no spinning circle. You are working in less than a second.

Imagine leaving your charger at home—permanently. You head to a coffee shop at 8:00 AM, work through lunch, run three Google Meet calls, edit a presentation, and stream music, and when you get home at 6:00 PM, you still have 35% battery left.

This is life with the Lenovo Chromebook Plus. The device is dead silent because it doesn't need aggressive cooling. It runs your mobile apps natively alongside your desktop browser. It feels less like a computer and more like a direct extension of your brain. You aren't "managing an OS"; you are just getting things done. The friction disappears. You realize that by stripping away the bloat, you haven't lost power—you've gained speed, focus, and fluidity.

How to Make the Switch (And Why the Lenovo Wins)

The Lenovo Chromebook Plus with MediaTek is the sweet spot of this new era. It offers a premium screen, a fantastic keyboard, and AI-powered features, all for a fraction of the price of a standard laptop.

Here is how you can successfully make it your main computer starting today:

  • Embrace the PWA (Progressive Web App): Stop looking for ".exe" files. Most major tools (Spotify, Zoom, Microsoft 365, Adobe Express) now offer PWAs. These install like native apps, run in their own windows, and offer offline capabilities. On the Lenovo, these load instantly thanks to the optimized MediaTek chip.
  • Leverage the "Phone Hub": Since you are likely using an Android phone, the integration here beats the Apple ecosystem. You can reply to texts, check notifications, and even stream your phone’s apps directly on the Chromebook screen without picking up your handset. It keeps you locked in.
  • Activate Linux for the "Pro" Stuff: If you are a developer or need heavy-duty tools, turn on the Linux development environment in settings. This allows you to run full desktop applications (like VS Code or GIMP) in a secure container. It’s the best of both worlds: a secure, fast web OS with a full Linux terminal just a click away.
  • Trust the "Plus" AI: The new Chromebook Plus models come with built-in AI for video calls. It automatically adjusts lighting and noise cancellation at a system level, so you look and sound professional on any platform without tweaking settings.

The Lenovo Chromebook Plus proves that you don't need to spend €1,500 to get a world-class experience. You just need the right tool for the job.

Are you ready to ditch the bloat and optimize your workflow?