HP's new Chromebook 13 is thin and made out of brushed aluminum

HP has unveiled a new Chromebook today. It's called HP Chromebook 13 and was apparently designed in partnership with Google. That kind of shows when you look at it, as its brushed aluminum construction and 12.9mm thinness pretty much scream "high-end".

That said, the Chromebook 13 is more of a Chromebook Pixel for the masses, as it starts at just $499. At that price you do get the looks, but only a measly Pentium processor.

If you can pay more, then you'll get a choice of Core m3, m5, or m7 CPU, up to 16GB of RAM, and up to 3,200x1,800 resolution for the 13.3-inch non-touch display. HP quotes 11.5 hours of battery life, which is similar to what Apple's new MacBook achieves (and it too uses Intel's Core m).

The HP Chromebook 13 sports two USB Type-C ports, one plain old USB 3.0, a headphone jack, and a microSD card reader. It weighs 1.29kg. It will become available at some point in May, with pre-orders opening today.