Like everything else in life, Chromebooks too have their own drawbacks, which may not make them suitable for all users. Hence it is necessary to be aware about the limitations and disadvantages of Chromebooks before buying them.
Once you have gone through the disadvantages of Chromebooks, it is recommended that you also take a look at the Advantages of Chromebooks, in order to get an overall picture of this breed of computers.
Disadvantages of Chromebooks
Following can be listed as the disadvantages of Chromebooks.
1. Limited Storage
Low priced or Budget friendly Chromebooks are generally sold with limited local storage capacity, with an option to extend the storage capacity by using SD Card.
This means you will have to get used to the idea of storing your files on Google’s Cloud Storage service or manage with the available built-in storage and whatever can be extended by using SD Card or another form of external storage.
2. Cloud Storage
Chromebooks are basically designed to perform all their computing and storage functions on Google’s Cloud platform. In order to make the full use of a Chromebook, you need to get comfortable with the idea of having your files, books, pictures and music on Google Drive.
Cloud storage is practically unlimited and not at all expensive. Google offers 100 GB of free storage on Google Drive for 2 years, after which you will be paying a small fee.
However, not everyone is comfortable with the idea of having files with a cloud storage service. The concept of having files stored and available locally is somewhat hardwired into our system, it will take a while to get comfortable with the idea of storing files away on the cloud.
3. Chromebooks Can Be Slow!
Although Chromebooks are known for their ultra-fast boot up times, they can get slow while performing tasks like working on spreadsheets or retrieving and saving files.
This is usually due to your internet connection, since all the processing is done on the Cloud, the speed of your internet connection also has a bearing on the speed of Chromebooks.
4. No Microsoft Office
Chromebooks may not be suitable for you, if you are totally dependent on Microsoft Excel and other Microsoft Office products.
Chromebooks have their own version of free online suite of office-like services that allow you to work on Documents, Excel like spreadsheets and presentations.
5. Other Professional Software Programs
Do not go for Chromebooks, in case you are thinking of using professional productivity software programs like AutoCAD, Primavera, Timberline or professional Accounting Programs.
Chromebooks do not support such software programs; it may be a while before such programs become available in online version.
6. Video Editing
There are certainly some good online video editing services like WeVideo and others that can be used on a Chromebook.
However, Chromebooks do not support professional video editing programs like Movie Plus, Cyberlink Power Director, Adobe Premier Elements and others.
These programs require on device local processing power which is present in traditional computers, but not in Chromebooks.
7. No Photoshop
Photoshop, Photoshop Elements and other Adobe desktop software solutions are not supported by Chromebooks. You will be relying on online photo-editing applications like Pixlr, online version of Photoshop Express Editor and others.
These online photo-editing tools are good enough for most casual photo editing functions but not meant for professional photo editing.
8. Limited Gaming
With Chromebooks you will be limited to playing online games like Cut the Rope, Bejeweled and other games available on Google Chrome Store – you will not be able to play high intensity PC games.
It must also be mentioned that Cheaper Windows computers that are trying to compete with Chromebooks are also not suitable for playing power intensive games.
9. Limited Offline Use
While Chromebooks do have offline capabilities, they are designed to work at their best when you are connected to the Google Drive via an internet connection.
10. Optical Disk Drives
Chromebooks do not come with optical drives, this means you will not be able to play your favorite DVDs and Blu-Ray Discs. Also, there is no way of getting around this limitation as Chromebooks do not support external optical drives.
This is not a major disadvantage as optical disk drives have almost been phased out and computers no longer support optical disc drives.