Samsung Chromebook Pro Gets Backlit Keyboard One Year Later

Laptops are made for typing and Chromebooks are really no different, be it traditional, convertible, or even detachable. But typing on the go doesn't always happen in the most favorable conditions and you might find yourself fumbling in the dark for the right keys. So it was terribly baffling when Samsung launched its Chromebook Pro last year without one critical feature: a backlit keyboard. And now just as baffling, Samsung has very silently sneaked in a new Chromebook Pro model that adds exactly that but at an unsurprisingly higher price.

How much should adding a keyboard backlight cost you? If you ask Samsung, around $100. And that's for a feature that all but the cheapest and oddest "laptops", like the GPD Pocket or Gemini PDA, have.

And that's exactly what Samsung is expecting you to pay. Which is probably why it was silent when it put the new Chromebook Pro with Backlit Keyboard on its online store. It probably new that the price for this much-expected feature might not sit well with Chromebook fans.

For $599, Samsung is offering a Chromebook Pro that is exactly like last year's Chromebook Pro, with an Intel Core m3 processor, 4 GB of RAM, and a stylus. And that's for the 32 GB model. Retailers are selling that same model for around $430, with the 64 GB model just slightly higher than that.

Samsung's move comes on the heels of the recent stream of news where it is seeing fiercer competition from both other Chromebook makers like Acer and HP but from the 6th gen iPad 2018 as well. Although Samsung has admittedly been one of the bigger innovators in the Chromebook market, it doesn't seem to be too much in a hurry to capitalize on its lead.

VIA: Chrome Unboxed