Best Black Friday Chromebook deals

With Black Friday less than a week away, we’re already seeing loads of Chromebook deals popping up all over the place.

We’ve listed our recommendations for the best Black Friday deals below, which we’ve separated out into budget picks, mid-range choices, and premium offerings. They’re listed in order of price (from low to high) but we also explain which ones we’d pick ourselves and why.

If you need more guidance when shopping for Black Friday Chromebook sales, scroll down to the FAQ at the end where we explain what prices to look for, the specs we prefer, and more.

Best Black Friday budget Chromebook deals

Acer Chromebook 315 (Celeron N4500/4GB RAM/64GB eMMC/15.6-inch 1080p display), now $139.00 (22% off at Walmart)
Asus Chromebook CX1 (Celeron N4500/4GB RAM/128GB eMMC/14-inch 1080p display), now $159.00 (31% off at Walmart)
HP Chromebook 14 (Intel N100/4GB RAM/64GB eMMC/14-inch 1080p display), now $159.99 (20% off at Amazon)
Asus Chromebook CM14 (Kompanio 520/4GB RAM/64GB eMMC/14-inch 768p display), now $168.95 (40% off at Amazon)
Asus Chromebook C424 (Celeron N4020/4GB RAM/128GB eMMC/14-inch 1080p display), now $196 (22% off at Amazon)
Lenovo 14-inch Chromebook (Kompanio 520/4GB RAM/64GB eMMC/14-inch 1080p display), now $202.00 (33% off at Amazon)
Samsung Chromebook 4 (Celeron N4000/4GB RAM/64GB eMMC/15.6-inch 1080p display), now $214.99 (33% off at Amazon)
Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 3i, (Pentium N6000/8GB RAM/128GB SSD/15.6-inch 1080p touch display), now $299.99 (25% off at Amazon)

Budget Chromebooks are all about the tradeoffs. In this case, there aren’t any deals with 8GB of RAM, which is what I’d prefer.

Among these, the Acer Chromebook 315 gives you the most for your money, including a nice big display and a relatively modern processor. The Intel Celeron N4500 is faster at single-threaded tasks than the Arm-based MediaTek Kompanio with slightly less battery life.

Best Black Friday mid-range Chromebook deals

Lenovo Flex 3 (Pentium Silver N6000/8GB RAM/64GB eMMC/15.6-inch 1080p display), now $328.99 (31% off at Best Buy)
Google Pixelbook Go (Core m3-8100Y/Intel HD Graphics 400/8GB RAM/64GB SSD/13.3-inch 1080p display), now $329.99 (49% off at Amazon with Prime)
Asus Chromebook Flip CR1 (Celeron N5100/8GB RAM/32GB eMMC/11.6-inch 768p touch display), now $439.99 (20% off at Adorama)
HP Chromebook Plus x360 (Core i3-N305/8GB RAM/128GB UFS/14-inch 1080p touch display), now $509.99 (7% off at Adorama)

The HP Chromebook Plus x360 offers a versatile 2-in-1 form factor and a touch-enabled display, making it a solid choice if you want to swap between laptop and tablet styles. The Intel Core i3-N305 CPU should be fast enough for day-to-day tasks and the 14-inch 1920×1080 screen should produce crisp-looking visuals. The device itself also weighs just 3.03 pounds, so it’s super travel-friendly.

Best Black Friday premium Chromebook deals

Acer Chromebook Plus 515 (Core i3-1215U/8GB RAM/128GB UFS/15.6-inch 1080p display), now $279.00 (30% off at Best Buy)
Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5i (Core i3-1315U/8GB RAM/128GB SSD/14-inch 1200p display), now $369.00 (26% off at Best Buy)
Acer Chromebook 516 GE (Core i5-1240P/8GB RAM/256GB SSD/16-inch 1600p display), now $448.99 (30% off at Best Buy)
Acer Chromebook Plus Spin 714 (Core i5-1335U/8GB RAM/256GB SSD/14-inch 1200p display), now $449.99 (36% off at Best Buy)

Google thinks you’ll want to buy a Chromebook Plus laptop (what’s that?) to achieve the very best Chromebook experience. Do you need one? The experience is undoubtedly smoother and more powerful, without the caveats that typically accompany cheaper Chromebook hardware. That’s why we recommend the Acer Chromebook Plus 515, as it comes with a zippy processor as well as a roomy display.

FAQ

When is Black Friday?

Officially, this year’s Black Friday takes place on Friday, Nov. 29, 2024. Cyber Monday is the following Monday, or Dec. 2, 2024.

What should you pay for a Black Friday Chromebook deal?

Budget Chromebooks could be about $150 or so, perhaps less — but that can mean compromising on some of the features we think you’ll like. We try to include some of these models, though, in case you’re just looking for absolute bottom prices. (Refurbished models can cost even less, but we aren’t including them.)

Good mainstream Chromebooks now cost about $250 to $350, as noted above — that’s the floor for a Chromebook we’d recommend. A Black Friday or Cyber Monday steal could push prices down even further.

What features should I look for in a Black Friday Chromebook?

We still prioritize three things when looking for a Chromebook deal: memory, the size and resolution of the screen, and the CPU. There’s also one big wrinkle for this Black Friday and that’s the Chromebook support window.

You will still find retailers trying to unload Chromebooks with 4GB of RAM, a 768p screen, and an ancient processor. We will still list products with those specs, if justified, as budget Chromebooks. But we really feel that you deserve a Chromebook with 8GB of RAM, a 1080p screen or better (with screen sizes above 13 inches if possible), and a relatively modern CPU. We don’t put a lot of weight on the CPU, if only because a Chromebook doesn’t need a lot of horsepower behind it.

Be aware that “HD” does not mean 1080p! It basically means 768p, which is going to be a bit hard on your eyes. “Full HD” or “FHD” equates to the 1080p display you should get.

Our recommended CPUs include Intel Celerons, Intel Pentiums, Intel’s Core chips, AMD’s Ryzen processors, and Arm chips from Mediatek or Qualcomm. All of those have their pros and cons, though the performance differences probably won’t matter as much as additional memory.

More memory (8GB rather 4GB of RAM) will allow for more browser tabs and a smoother browser experience. A 1080p screen will offer a comfortable laptop-like viewing experience. Onboard storage really doesn’t matter all that much, though an SSD of at least 32GB is preferable for storing apps, screenshots, and the like.

If you’re familiar with our lengthy laptops versus Chromebooks explainer, you know that one of the potential gotchas is buying a Chromebook whose support window expires soon. Google now supports new Chromebooks for up to 10 years, so this is less of a concern. We think this might push prices down, but for very old hardware. We’re trying to watch this.

Which Chromebooks does PCWorld rate highest?

Our editors regularly review Chromebooks, so make sure to check our rankings of the best Chromebooks. We recommend a wide range of price points, and the article offers a great primer on Chromebook shopping. What’s more, some of our top picks will likely go on sale before or during Black Friday.

https://www.pcworld.com/article/1383937/black-friday-chromebook-deals-2024.html

Created 6mo | Nov 25, 2024, 5:30:06 AM