How to get a free year of Google Gemini Advanced

 Google Gemini Advanced logo.
Google Gemini Advanced logo.

Launched in February, Gemini Advanced is Google's "most capable, state-of-the-art AI model," and a year's worth of the experience can be yours for free when you buy a new Chromebook Plus — that's a value of $240.

That's particularly notable as Chromebook Plus laptops start at just $349, so if have been considering a Chromebook for yourself or anyone in your life, this added incentive makes it really enticing. You can get the latest ChromeOS hardware and a free year to explore everything Google's Gemini Advanced offers.

Here's a closer look at what makes a Chromebook eligible for the Chromebook Plus certification, how to claim the free year of Google Gemini Advanced, and what you can do with it.

What is a Chromebook Plus?

According to Google, Chromebook Plus computers offer "double the performance" compared to traditional Chromebooks, as well as "best-in-price display and camera, built-in Google apps and powerful AI capabilities."

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With a starting price of $349, every Chromebook Plus offers these minimum guaranteed hardware specs:

  • Processor: Intel Core (i3), or AMD Ryzen (7000 series)

  • Memory: 8GB

  • Storage: 128GB

  • Display & webcam: 1080p IPS display and webcam with TNR (Temporal Noise Reduction)

Keep in mind, these are the minimum specs, some Chromebook Plus laptops will offer a more powerful CPU, more memory and storage, or a higher-res display.

How to claim your free year of Google Gemini Advanced

According to Google, a shortcut for Gemini "will be installed in the ChromeOS Launcher and Shelf for Chromebook Plus devices." When you open Gemini on or after May 28 "on newly activated Chromebook Plus devices," a notification will pop up that says Get Gemini Advanced.

From there, click Get perk to be redirected to the Chromebook Perks page. Once on the page, you find Gemini Advanced again, select Get perk one more time, and follow the on-screen instructions.

After that, your 12-month free trial for Gemini Advanced will begin, and you can start exploring all the new features your Chromebook Plus offers, both AI-powered and not.

What is Google Gemini Advanced capable of?

Gemini Advanced uses Google's next-gen model, Gemini 1.5 Pro, with a "1 million token context window." TechTarget defines a context window as "a textual range around a target token that a large language model (LLM) can process at the time the information is generated."

Put simply, a massive 1M token context window allows for better performance, reduced errors, and more accurate results.

With Gemini Advanced, you'll be able to use Gemini in Gmail, Docs, and other services, as well as upload Google Docs, PDFs, and other files to get quick, easy-to-read summaries and feedback. You can even upload spreadsheets "for faster data cleaning, charts, and insights" and "edit and run Python code."

And if you're not in the market for a new Chromebook Plus, you still have the option of a free two-month trial for Gemini Advanced. You just won't get some of the bonus AI features for ChromeOS.

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