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A new device from ASUS dubbed the Chromebook Flip C433 has now cropped up online, giving away hints at a powerful laptop with a classy, sharp-edged design. The images, provided by an unnamed source to About Chromebooks, offer the clearest look yet at the device.
ASUS is approaching its Chromebook Flip C433 with a very squared-off aesthetic in mind. The edge corners are still subtly rounded for comfort but anywhere surfaces meet that edge are flat and semi-sharp. The boxy look is accented by box-shaped hinges to match and square pads where the screen meets keyboard.
The rounded bevel for the keyboard and the surround on the touchpad share a similar rounded square design. In fact, the most ’round’ part of the entire design is likely going to be the footpads on the underside of the keyboard.
Because this is a 2-in-1 and ASUS has kept bezels slim around the entirety of the 14-inch screen — based on the naming convention — this likely to be a very comfortable device to hold.
Interestingly, ASUS appears to have opted to include oversized speakers in the edge of the frame. Those are packed between slim housing right alongside to ports and buttons. Ordinarily, speakers occupy the screen bezel, the keyboard, or the underside of that. That means the speaker sits right next to slim and elongated power and volume control buttons on the right-hand side.
For ports, the physical hardware keys are offset by a 3.5 audio combo jack, standard USB port, and USB-C port in that order. An LED occupies the space between. Opposing those, on the left-hand edge, an SD card reader and another USB-C port can be seen in the images.
Details still slim on ASUS Chromebook Flip C433
Now, details on the ASUS Chromebook Flip C433 are almost as slim as the laptop itself appears to be. Prior to this leak, the gadget had only been spotted in FCC listings alongside very pixelated photos. One image among those did give away that this model will ship with at least one variant offering 128GB of storage. Whether or not that’s going to be the only option remains to be seen.
The naming convention used here could give away at least a few details too. To begin with, the model designation bears a striking resemblance to another ASUS device that’s already available — the Chromebook Flip C434. That other model comes in a slightly less ‘gray’ hue ASUS calls “Spangle Silver” and has a similar design.
In fact, they both feature the same silver ASUS emblem, square hinge, and gray Chrome logo too. Even the bezel design, size, and ports are eerily similar.
Under the hood, the ASUS Chromebook Flip C434 utilizes an Intel Core m3-8100Y processor. That’s coupled together with either 4GB or 8GB LPDDR3 RAM and 64GB of storage.
Since the ASUS Chromebook Flip C433 drops down in terms of the numbers in its designation, but only by one, it will undoubtedly be very similar in other regards. It will certainly be lean more toward being a different device than a variant. Most likely, this will feature a somewhat less powerful processor or a different brand of processor.
If the latter is the case, it isn’t implausible the ASUS Chromebook Flip C433 could ship with AMD on the inside. Conversely, it might just ship with a weaker Intel chipset.
FCC listing means this shouldn’t remain a mystery for long.
The appearance of the ASUS Chromebook Flip C433 at the FCC seems to indicate it will be ready sooner than later. FCC listings generally happen just before a device is announced.
Adding some weight to that, there shouldn’t be any official renders unless the device is very close to being ready for market. If this is a weaker gadget, ASUS won’t necessarily put on a big event for it. There’s a chance it also wouldn’t show up at an already-planned event with it in tow. Instead, it will likely launch it via the official ASUS website quietly as it has in the past.
If it is a stronger device, it could be announced at any time.
