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Lenovo leaks the world’s first gaming Chromebook — but there’s a catch

Alan Truly
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Lenovo recently leaked information via its product specification website about a new IdeaPad Chromebook with the model listed as IP 5 Chrome 16IAU7 (Gaming). The inclusion of gaming — even if it’s parenthetical — is startling. Could this be the world’s first gaming Chromebook?

While the product link currently redirects to the specification reference website again, ChromeUnboxed managed to dig up some information about this model. Lenovo’s unreleased IdeaPad Gaming Chromebook is interesting, but might not have what it takes to earn its name.

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Lenovo leaked a gaming Chromebook.
ChromeUnboxed

This yet-to-be-announced gaming Chromebook features a 16-inch, 1440p display with a fast 120Hz refresh rate, four speakers with Waves MaxxAudio, a full-size four-zone RGB keyboard, and an eye-catching graphic design on the lid. That seems like a gaming laptop so far, but the rest of the specifications are underwhelming. The top configuration is apparently an Intel Core i5-1235U, with the entry model using an Intel Core i3-1215U. Rounding out the details of this interesting but unsatisfying Chromebook are 8GB memory and up to 512GB of storage.

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The timing for a gaming Chromebook is also disappointing with Google recently announcing the impending doom of its Stadia cloud gaming system. However, there are still cloud gaming options that would work well with this Lenovo IdeaPad Chromebook such as GeForce Now and Amazon Luna. Google is also supposedly still working on Steam for ChromeOS. Since most Chromebooks can run Android, you can play games designed for smartphones and tablets as well.

That means there is still value in a low-power gaming Chromebook, but serious gamers will probably want to stick to Windows laptops to get the full speed and resolution needed for fast action and crisp visuals.

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