Affiliate links on Android Authority may earn us a commission.Learn more.

Samsung’s Chromebook Pro could top the Pixelbook by adding this missing feature

July 22, 2025

Over the years, Chromebooks have built a reputation for being affordable, streamlined alternatives to regular Windows-powered laptops. Recently, however, we’ve seen the rise of premium Chromebooks that pack top-tier hardware on top of the fuss-freeChrome OSexperience.

The sheer existence of a high-end Chromebook hasbaffled some consumers, especially following Google’s reveal of its $999 flagship hardware, thePixelbook. Meanwhile, Samsung debuted its beefed-up Chromebook range earlier this year with the launch of theChromebook Pro.

Article image

On paper, Samsung’s 12.3-inch convertible laptop has everything. The lightweight metal Pro sports a stunning LED display with a 2400 x 1600 resolution, comes with an “S Pen” stylus, and is powered by an Intel Core M3 processor backed by 4 GB of RAM and 32 GB of storage.

At time of writing, you’re able to pick up the Pluson sale for $449(originally $549), which is a nice saving on an already reasonably priced piece of kit. It’s also one of first of the new wave of Chromebooks thatsupport Android appswhich, after several months’ worth of teething issues, are finally starting to play nicely with Chrome OS.

The only downside? Samsung’s almost-perfect Chromebook Plus doesn’t have a backlit keyboard. This may sound like a minor omission, but if you’ve ever tried to write on a laptop in dim lighting conditions you’ll know how essential even a tiny bit of keyboard light can be.

Thankfully, it seems like Samsung has listened to customer feedback and will implement the feature in either a second run of the current Pro, or in a more powerful successor.

There’s not much to go on at this stage, but the folks over atChrome Unboxedfound a reference to a keyboard backlight and lamp driver in relation to “Caroline”, which is reportedly the codename for an unspecified model of Samsung’s Chromebook Pro.

While we’ll have to wait for official word from Samsung, the prospect of a new Chromebook Pro should excite Chrome OS fans, especially after the original model was so well received.

Would you consider picking up an upgraded Chromebook Pro? Let us know in the comments.

Thank you for being part of our community. Read ourComment Policybefore posting.