The Chromebook Flip is one of the first Chrome OS machines to support Android apps, but it's gotten a little long in the tooth, not having seen an update since Asus released it in the summer of 2015. Fortunately for Flip fans, NewEgg appears to have leaked a new version of the notebook, dubbed the Asus C302CA, and it's a substantial upgrade, with an all-metal design, bigger screen and faster processor.
Newegg has since removed the listing (which is still cached by Google) for the C302SA, which it priced at $499, so we suspect someone hit the wrong button at the online retailer. Likely a part of the company's announcements at next week's CES events, it's a 12.5-inch bend-back notebook featuring a 1080p touchscreen display that allows it to support Android apps.
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This C302SA may cost twice as much as the original Flip, but its 2.2-GHz Core m3 processor is a big step up from the Flip's 1.8-GHz Rockchip 3288 CPU, which gave it below-average performance in our testing. Its larger size (the original featured a 10.1-inch panel) will likely fix our other grievance with the Flip, allowing for a larger, less cramped, keyboard.
At the same time, the 2.7-pound C302SA is heavier than the 2.0-pound Flip, so it's not as light in your bag. It's also got slightly fewer ports (two USB 3.1 Type-C ports and a headphone jack) than the Flip (two USB 2.0 ports, a micro HDMI port and a headphone jack) that might leave you browsing Amazon for dongles.
