Asus Chromebook CX15 evaluation: Get the fundamentals for underneath $200

Finest Costs At the moment: Asus Chromebook CX15

Need to purchase a laptop computer for lower than $200? If that’s the case, you’re in for a tough time. Laptops offered within the excessive price range class usually battle with sluggish efficiency, unhealthy shows, and questionable construct high quality.

Asus Chromebook CX15 doesn’t keep away from the primary downside (efficiency), but it surely does dodge the others. That makes it a good selection if you need a just-the-basics laptop computer for the worth of dinner, drinks, and a film.

Asus Chromebook CX15: Specs and options

The Asus Chromebook CX15’s specs are as fundamental as you’ll discover in any new laptop computer. It has a dual-core Intel Celeron processor paired with simply 4GB of RAM and 128GB of eMMC storage. The show is 1080p, at the least.

• Mannequin quantity: CX1505CKA
• CPU: Intel Celeron N4500 (2 cores, 1.1GHz as much as 2.8GHz)
• Reminiscence: 4GB LPDDR5X
• Graphics/GPU: Intel Built-in
• NPU: None
• Show: 15.6-inch 1080p LCD
• Storage: 128GB eMMC
• Webcam: 720p with privateness shutter
• Connectivity: 1x USB-C 3.2 with DisplayPort and Energy Supply, 1x USB-A 3.2, 1x HDMI 1.4, 1x 3.5mm combo audio
• Networking: Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.4
• Biometrics: None
• Battery capability: 42 watt-hours
• Dimensions: 14.5 x 9.14 x 0.79 inches
• Weight: 3.51 kilos
• Working System: ChromeOS
• Worth: $159.00 MSRP

The fundamental specs include a low value connected. The Asus Chromebook CX15 I reviewed retailed for simply $159. That’s MSRP, not a limited-time sale. It’s attainable (even, I’d say, probably) that the laptop computer will likely be cheaper sooner or later.

Asus Chromebook CX15: Design and construct high quality

IDG / Matthew Smith

I unboxed the Asus Chromebook CX15 anticipating the worst. $160 isn’t a lot for a laptop computer, and lots of fashions on this class undergo horrible construct high quality. Thankfully, the Chromebook CX15 defies that pattern.

Don’t get me fallacious: it nonetheless feels cheap. The laptop computer is constructed from easy plastics that lack a particular texture and really feel hole. On the upside, although, the laptop computer is surprisingly stable total. The show hardly flexes when opened and the decrease chassis feels inflexible when held from a nook.

It’s not unhealthy to have a look at, both. The silver exterior and inside present a easy, minimalist look that’s inoffensive and matches in properly with most house décor. You could possibly simply spend $500 on a laptop computer and find yourself with a machine that appears no extra engaging than this humble $160 Chromebook.

There are practical advantages to the design, as properly. The laptop computer weighs simply 3.51 kilos and measures about eight-tenths an inch thick. Whereas loads of thinner and lighter 15-inch laptops can be found, from the MacBook Air 15 to the LG Gram lineup, they are usually far more costly.

Asus Chromebook CX15: Keyboard, trackpad

IDG / Matthew Smith

I used to be once more stunned by the Asus Chromebook CX15’s keyboard. It gives good key journey, cheap tactile really feel, and a few audible suggestions with every keystroke. The plastics used for the keycaps do really feel hole, which cheapens the expertise, but it surely’s not horrible. I fortunately wrote most of this evaluation on the keyboard.

A numpad is included, as properly. The numpad keys are barely undersized, nonetheless, so it may well show a cramped expertise. A keyboard backlight isn’t included. That’s at all times disappointing, but it surely’s anticipated at this value level.

The touchpad, however, hints on the Chromebook CX15’s excessive price range value. It measures about 4 inches huge and three inches deep, which makes it the smallest touchpad I’ve tried on any 15-inch (or bigger) laptop computer in 2025. Multi-touch gestures are responsive however could be troublesome to execute contained in the touchpad’s restricted space.

Asus Chromebook CX15: Show, audio

IDG / Matthew Smith

The Asus Chromebook CX15 has a 15.6-inch show with full HD (1920×1080) decision. That’s not a headline function in 2025, but it surely’s not assured at this value level. A fast look at Amazon reveals loads of Chromebooks with an inferior show decision of 1366×768. A laptop computer with a 1366×768 show isn’t price shopping for in 2025, regardless of the worth, so I’m glad Asus prevented that mistake.

The CX15’s 1080p decision, paired with a matte show coat, helps the laptop computer present a crisp, clear picture in most conditions. It’s not a vibrant show, so don’t anticipate to make use of it open air or close to a completely sunlit window, but it surely’s effective for many indoors use.

Shade efficiency is the place the show reminds you of the laptop computer’s low value. The show has a uninteresting, flat look with muted colours. Intense reds are likely to look orange; intense greens are likely to look pastel. It’s tolerable however not the best choice for streaming Netflix or enjoying a sport over Amazon Luna or GeForce Now.

Viewing angles are restricted, too. Brightness and colour shifts noticeably when viewing barely off-axis in all instructions. Vertical viewing angles are significantly tight with only some levels of tilt separating a picture that appears effective and one which’s almost unusable.

The Chromebook CX15’s audio system proceed the pattern of beating the expectations set by the laptop computer’s value. They supply good quantity and respectable readability in much less advanced content material, like video calls or podcasts. Music rapidly overwhelms them, significantly at most quantity, however the audio system are workable for informal use.

Asus Chromebook CX15: Webcam, microphone, biometrics

The Asus Chromebook CX15’s webcam and microphone, however, aren’t nice even for a reasonable laptop computer.

The laptop computer has a muddy, grainy 720p webcam and a mediocre dual-array microphone that picks up satisfactory however barely smooth audio. A bodily privateness shutter is included to cowl the digital camera when it’s not in use.

Biometric login isn’t accessible on Chromebook CX15. That’s hardly a shock given the worth. Most laptops offered under $500 don’t embrace facial recognition or a fingerprint reader.

Asus Chromebook CX15: Connectivity

You’ll cost the Asus Chromebook CX15 with the laptop computer’s sole USB-C port. It additionally helps DisplayPort, so it may be used to attach with an exterior show. An HDMI-out port can also be accessible, although, which makes it simple to attach the Chromebook to a TV, projector, or older screens. A single USB-A port and a 3.5mm combo audio jack spherical out the choices.

It is a modest number of ports even for price range Chromebooks. Many alternate options, just like the Lenovo Ideapad 3 and Acer Chromebook 315, supply an additional USB-A port. Some even have a microSD card reader. HDMI-out is usually omitted, although, particularly on Chromebooks which have USB-C with DisplayPort, so it’s good to see it included right here.

Asus Chromebook CX15: Efficiency

At this level you is likely to be scratching your head in regards to the Asus Chromebook CX15’s $160 price ticket. It’s not an incredible laptop computer but it surely gives a slim design, pleasant keyboard, and 1080p show. So, why is it so reasonably priced?

As a result of it’s sluggish.

• CrXPRT 2: 82
• Speedometer 2.0: 101
• Basemark Internet 3.0: 506
• Kraken: 1298.4
• Jetstream: 111.289

The benchmark outcomes don’t look nice. The Asus Chromebook Plus CX34 is way faster with scores that always doubled the Chromebook CX15’s outcomes. Even the Lenovo Chromebook Duet, which has a MediaTek Kompanio 838, usually obtained the higher of the Chromebook CX15. General, the Chromebook CX15 is the slowest ChromeOS machine PC World has reviewed in a number of years (although additionally, to be truthful, the least costly).

The Intel Celeron N4500 processor is partly in charge. It’s a dual-core chip with a base clock of 1.1GHz and a most increase clock of two.8GHz. That’s not a lot, and it exhibits.

Nonetheless, I feel the laptop computer’s RAM is the place it actually drags. 4GB of reminiscence is extremely slim for any fashionable laptop computer, even a Chromebook, and rapidly turns into an issue. The laptop computer’s efficiency is appropriate with a pair browser tabs open however, because the tab depend grows to a half-dozen or extra, it begins to sluggish. Opening too many tabs could cause the laptop computer to utterly freeze up for a number of seconds, and it stays sluggish till some tabs are closed.

Efficiency is more likely to be the deal breaker—or the explanation to purchase—relying on what you want. Individuals who simply wish to browse the net with a number of tabs open, watch YouTube, and ship emails will discover the Chromebook CX15’s efficiency satisfactory, if not superb.

However if you wish to multitask, the laptop computer’s 4GB of RAM will maintain you again. Even when your “multitasking” consists of nothing greater than two internet apps open side-by-side within the Chrome browser.

Asus Chromebook CX15: Battery life and portability

Asus ships the Chromebook CX15 with a small 42 watt-hour battery–that’s not very huge. By comparability, most 15-inch Home windows laptops have a 60 to 80 watt-hour battery.

I recorded 10 hours and 57 minutes within the CrXPRT 2 battery check. That’s significantly lower than the Asus Chromebook CX34, which topped 13 hours, or the Asus Chromebook Spin 314, which endured 14 hours.

Whereas the Chromebook CX15’s battery life isn’t nice, it nonetheless gives a full workday of stable use. I additionally observed that the laptop computer’s real-world battery life held up, enduring 5 hours of sunshine use (largely internet shopping) with 51 % of the battery remaining.

As talked about earlier, the Chromebook CX15 is slim and light-weight for a 15-inch price range laptop computer. It additionally ships with a small USB-C energy brick that delivers simply 45 watts. Which means the CX15 could be adequately powered by all kinds of USB-C energy bricks.

Asus Chromebook CX15: Conclusion

The Asus Chromebook CX15 is a $160 laptop computer that gives the necessities with none obvious flaws that might make it unappealing. It’s not quick sufficient to deal with something past informal internet shopping and doesn’t final as lengthy on battery as dearer Chromebooks. Nevertheless it nonetheless affords a crisp 1080p show, slim design, and an honest keyboard.

Think about the Chromebook CX15 the minimal viable laptop computer. It’s not nice at something, however it may well deal with the fundamentals at a particularly low value.