ASUS - ExpertBook CX54 14" 2K Chromebook Plus Touch Screen Laptop with Google AI - Intel Core Ultra 5 - 16GB Memory - 256GB SSD - Fog Silver

I bought this Chromebook as an upgrade from my Lenovo 300e, which is a HUGE upgrade. The fingerprint sensor is really convenient, the major upgrade in cpu, ram, and the display is life changing compared to what I hard before. It’s by far the highest performance laptop I’ve ever had. And thankfully with zip I was able to actually afford it as well.

It had good battery life and works really good it was a good deal

I upgraded my daily laptop to the 2025 Asus Expertbook CX54 Chromebook Plus. After a week of use, here is my first hand impression. It's a great all-around machine with the simplicity of the Chrome OS but with premium hardware and specs for work, school, productivity, and entertainment. *Design & Build* The shiny aluminum silver chassis really stands out, and it just has a professional, premium looking build. The build is smooth and sturdy, and according to Asus it has military grade durability. Chassis and hinges feel solid and strong. It opens up to 180 degrees and has a touch screen that's responsive and receptive. It comes with a 45 Watt charger and the packaging is Eco friendly. *Specs* I'll list the specs that standout for its class: It's powered by and Intel Core Ultra 5 Series 1 Processor (14th Generation) with an NPU for AI, 16GB of Memory, 256 GB of Total Storage, and a 2K 2560x1600 resolution. What's impressive is it's powered by blazing fast LPDDR5X memory at 6400 megahertz. There are 2 Thunderbolt 4 display connectors and 4 USB inputs (2 USB-A, 2 USB-C). There's an HDMI 2.1, MicroSD slot, and a headphone/audio jack. The wireless standard is AX 6e which has a theoretical speed of about 10 GB so even though it's not Wifi 7 it's more than adequate considering most of us top out at about 1 Gig speeds. The CPU system is air-cooled and does a great job of keeping the heat off. I never felt this laptop heat up so it benefits from the 45 Watt CPU and the air cooling is sufficient. There's an 8MP Webcam which is great for video/conference/meeting calls. The battery life is about 10 hours which is great for a 2K display and an Intel Core Ultra Processor. The keyboard is also backlit. *Webcam* There's an 8MP HD Webcam that looks great in low-light, you can also grab high-res photos with the Full 8MP mode. AI will help you blur the background when necessary. Microphone sounded good and work meeting was smooth and clear. *Sound* There's Harmon Kardon tuned speakers which are more than adequate to listen to music or watch a movie. I would recommend headphones because if you're using the external speakers they lack bass and don't get as loud as I typically like to hear. They will absolutely get you through a meeting if you need them. *Performance* The ASUS Expertbook flies with the 8-core Intel Core Ultra 5. It doesn't matter if I have 25 tabs open or 5 different apps running, I didn't notice any significant slowdowns or lag. Heavier tasks such as photo editing were smooth too. The display is top of the line for Chromebooks at 2560x1600, 500 nits and visuals looked smooth. A 16:10 aspect ratio and 100% DCI-P3 coverage is great for designers/creatives. The keyboard is responsive with about 1.5 mm of travel. There's not wobble or flex at all with the display and hinges, among the most sturdy builds I've seen. There's an integrated AI NPU that helps with AI tasks. The memory is soldered but it's more than enough and fantastic for heavy multitasking. Running multiple apps and lots of tabs it didn't miss a beat. I tried out one of my favorite games, Minecraft, and this machine handled it with ease, very impressive. The battery estimate of 10 hours is very accurate. If you're using it indoors you most likely won't be at 100% brightness so with normal use you will get right around 10 hours. Chrome OS is efficient coupled with the Intel CPU optimizations. *Pros* * Extremely fast processor and Memory for Chromebook * Stays Cool * Touch Screen * Beautiful Design * Blazes through games, No lag * Tons of ports * 120 Hz Display, 2560 x 1600 Resolution, 500 Nits * Secure: Fingerprint Sensor, Kensington Lock, Webcam privacy shutter *Suggestions/Needs Improvement* * Keyboard and tracking pad are good for Chromebooks but there's room to be a little better * Sound by Harmon Kardon, but lacks bass and high volume * Wish the USB-A port was on the left side (for a mouse) The ASUS Expert CX54 Chromebook Plus is the near perfect portable laptop. And I won't limit this one to just the chromebook category, I believe this Chromebook Plus can compete directly with Ultrabooks. It's an exceptional laptop for work, productivity, creativity, play, and entertainment. It's easy to carry, has a beautiful touch screen, and absolutely flies through any productivity task. This machine was well thought out and it shows. Highly Recommended!

Very satisfied with the performance. Build quality is superb. Screen is awesome I can do much of what I am expecting from a high end Chromebook.

I was never the biggest fan of Chromebooks. They were always slow and lacked modern ports. The Asus Expertbook CX54 has been the only one I would use myself. It's a good-looking device. It feels better than most Chromebooks. You get a decent CPU, a good screen, and a good selection of ports. The CPU is an Intel Core Ultra 5 Series 1, which is fine for this device. You even get Intel graphics. This is great so you get decent performance without the battery drain. It doesn't come with the new Intel graphics, which is fine. This is not that kind of device. The CPU will breeze through basic tasks such as checking emails, browsing the web, and streaming content. The 16GB of RAM is more than enough to cover the average experience. The best part is the screen. It looks amazing for a Chromebook. You get a 2k resolution (2560 x 1600) with 120Hz which is crazy for this device. That is up there with some of the gaming laptop LED screens. Amazingly, ASUS put a good screen on the device. The colors looked good and were very vibrant. The screen even gets bright as well. So, good job on ASUS for doing so. The keyboard reminded me of one of their gaming laptop-style keyboard. It felt good to me. There was more travel and a click with each press. Which I very much enjoyed because you know you are clicking the keys with each press. You get the standard layout of ports. You get Thunderbolt 4 ports on both sides. Yes, that is correct, you get Thunderbolt 4 (x2) on both sides. This is good for charging the device. You can pick a side based on whether you are left or right-handed. You get an HDMI 2.1 port. Cons are the mini SD card reader. Why not just put a standard SD card reader? The battery doesn't last as long as advertised. For your average use, depending on what it is. Look at maybe 6-8 hours. It still has Chrome OS which is limited to certain functions and applications. It's a Google device... Google Gemini Feature is new to me. All the AI talk that is going on is far beyond my understanding. It is neat seeing what all it can do. But honestly, I need more time to make up my mind on this. As far as Productivity, if you are a user of the Google Chrome applications. This will be great. You can also connect your phone as a HUB to the device. This is with an Android phone, allowing you to check notifications and images. You also get access to some Android apps as well. You also get all the standard Google services that come with Chrome OS. One of the best features of the Chrome OS is its very low powered so the device is quiet. You will not hear any noise coming from the Chromebook. You can also have multiple accounts on the same device making this great for a family. This has always been one of the best features of Chrome OS. Overall, the experience was one that I was shocked because I was never a fan of Chromebooks. I will give credit when it is due. This is the one I would recommend for a everyday or light productivity user. Will it be my daily driver? No, but it may be yours. If you want a Chromebook this may be one of the better ones on the market.