Buying Guide - Body Build

Chromebooks have a reputation of being made of plastic. Acer comes to mind when I think of some of the cheapest plastic builds I have seen in Chromebooks. Samsung, HP, Dell, and Asus tend to have nicer looking plastics. Samsung even tried spicing up their plastic body with a soft faux-leather top cover on their Samsung Chromebook 2. Lenovo's plastic Chromebooks do no feel as cheap as Acer's, but they're not particularly pleasing.  Aside from cheap feel, plastic Chromebooks do not feel sturdy and can suffer from chassis flex (much like the early Chromebooks of 2012-2014). Thankfully manufacturers have gotten better at reducing chassis flex with plastic Chromebooks, so it is not much of a concern nowadays. 

In the past two years or so we have seen more Chromebooks being made with nicer materials such as metals (aluminum and magnesium) and carbon fiber. An aluminum body gives the Chromebook a premium feel. It also allows manufacturers to make a slim Chromebook while keeping it sturdy and reducing chassis flex. Some Chromebooks have all aluminum bodies such as the Asus Flip C302 and Acer Chromebook 14. Others Chromebooks have metal with magnesium such as the Samsung Chromebook Pro. Dell's Chromebook 13 has a soft touch carbon fiber top cover with a magnesium alloy body, which gives it a stealthy look. Some Chromebooks have metal added to the plastic bodies such as the Acer Chromebook R11 with an aluminum top cover, but it has plastic everywhere else.

Chromebooks with a metal (aluminum or magnesium) body:
Acer Chromebook R13
Acer Chromebook 14
Acer Chromebook 15 2018
Asus Flip C101
Asus Flip C302
HP Chromebook 13 G1 (has a plastic bottom cover)
Samsung Chromebook Plus
Samsung Chromebook Pro

Acer Chromebook 11  (aluminum plate top cover, plastic body)
Acer Chromebook R11 (aluminum plate top cover, plastic body)