Companies such as HP, Dell, Lenovo, Toshiba, Acer, and Samsung are all part of the Chrome OS devices market; hence, the competition grows each time a new Chromebook is released. According to market researcher NPD, Samsung ranks the highest in selling the Google Chromebook platform in the U.S. Samsung’s first Chrome OS device was in 2011, which was followed by the 2012’s $249 Chromebook; a Chrome computing concept that was new to much of the world at the time. It has been a year since its last Chromebook, with 60 percent of the market in 2013, but Samsung just announced its new line, called Chromebook 2. The line consists of two devices with massive updates, and the new systems are said to give the competition a run for their money.

Two models consist of an 11.6-inch display available in black or white, and a larger 13.3-inch dark gray option, costing $320 and $400, respectively. Besides size and display, both designs have most everything else in common, including a new sleek casing everyone seems to be excited about. The pebble grain, faux-leather texture is complete with false stitching around the edges. It’s described as holding that familiar black plastic construction but with a more leathery feel; and more sophisticated look. Additional external design features include updated Chrome OS keyboards with curved keycaps, and “enhanced” audio and speakers. They both have standard HDMI ports, USB 3.0 ports, and a micro SD slot.

Onto some of the changes and updates to the models. The 11-inch comes with a 1366 x 768 resolution (the norm for most Chromebooks), but it’s brighter, up 50-nits from the 200-nits seen before. The 13.3-inch option has a substantial bump in resolution, now at 1920 x 1080. Both options have improved performance, both using the Exynos Octa 5 ARM-based chip. This is the same type of chip usually seen in smartphones and tablets, particularly similar to the one found in a variant of Samsungs Galaxy S5. The majority of new Chromebook models are seen with Haswell-based systems. The smaller device comes with a 1.9GHz Samsung Exynos chip while the larger sports a 2.1GHz Exynos chip. Both come with 4GB of RAM, 16GB of storage, and a solid 8-8.5 hours of battery life.

The Chromebook 2 line ships with a “productivity software package” valued at $100. This includes “Little Bridge”, an English-learning app, a remote Android access app called “AirDroid Premium”, and “Wunderlist Pro”, a to-do list. Although the new Chromebooks will be launching in April, Samsung will continue to sell its $249 Chromebook until the end of the year.