Thanksgiving is over, and the most effective Black Friday Chromebook offers have lastly arrived! We’re up early to take a look at Chromebook offers on Amazon, Best Buy, and different websites to search out the most effective Chromebook gross sales.
We’ve listed our suggestions for the most effective Black Friday offers under. They’re listed so as of desire, adopted by an evidence of why we picked them. If you’re in search of extra context, scroll all the way down to the FAQ: We’ll inform you what costs to search for on Chromebooks this Black Friday, the specs we favor, and extra. We’ve separated them out into funds picks (the place value issues most), midrange decisions (what we’d select, ourselves) and premium choices (simply the most effective).
Prices are plunging. I actually just like the Lenovo Slim 3 funds Chromebook value, and the Asus Chromebook Plus in our premium listings. If you’re in search of different nice tech offers, try PCWorld’s complete Black Friday/Cyber Monday coverage.
Best Black Friday funds Chromebook offers for Nov. 24
- Lenovo Slim 3 (MediaTek Kompanio 520/4GB RAM/64GB SSD, 14-inch 1080p show), $149.00 (53% off at Best Buy)
- Acer Chromebook 315 (Celeron N4500/4GB RAM/64GB SSD, 15.5-inch 1080p show), $179.00 (21% off at Walmart)
- Acer 2022 Chromebook 315 (Celeron N4020/4GB RAM/64GB SSD, 15.6-inch 1080p show), $234.00 (61% off at Amazon)
- Lenovo 2023 Slim 3 (MediaTek Kompanio 520/4GB RAM/64GB SSD, 14-inch 1080p show), $194.99 (34% off at Amazon)
- Acer Chromebook Spin 513 (Qualcomm Snapdragon 7c/4GB RAM/64GB SSD, 13.3-inch 1080p show), $219.00 (22% off at Amazon)
- Samsung Chromebook 4 (Celeron N4020/4GB RAM/64GB SSD, 11.6-inch 768p show), $129.00 (18% off at Walmart)
- Samsung Chromebook 4 (Celeron N4020/4GB RAM/32GB SSD, 11.6-inch 768p show), $79.99 (68% off at Target)
I’m more than happy with the highest picks, that are ranked so as of desire: The Lenovo Slim 3 and Chromebook 315 are most popular, although the highest 4 are all high-quality decisions. All have roomy 1080p screens and loads of storage. I want to see all of those funds Black Friday Chromebook offers at about $150 or so, however we’ll see how issues play out.
The Celeron N4500 is the quicker chip, serving to the Acer Chromebook 315 rise close to the highest of our really helpful offers. (The Snapdragon 7c, particularly, is a stable CPU, and the Kompanio is correct behind it.) Avoid listings with an Intel N3350 inside, as Intel has discontinued the processor.
Note that we’re seeing almost equivalent Chromebooks at varied distributors (the Acer 315s and the 2 Lenovos), besides in value. There’s a 3rd Acer Chromebook 315, at Best Buy, for an awesome $139 price. But it has a 15.6-inch display screen and a decrease 768p decision, so I’m formally passing it by — it appears too grainy. Target can also be carrying the killer Lenovo Slim 3 deal, for $1 more at $149.99.
Just keep in mind that funds Chromebooks make sacrifices: 4GB of RAM, usually, which might considerably restrict efficiency and the variety of obtainable browser tabs. Because some consumers need low, low costs, I’ve added the 2 Samsung Chromebook 4s. That Target deal is absolutely iffy, due to absolutely the rock-bottom specs, however the value is improbable.
Best Black Friday midrange Chromebook offers for Nov. 24
- Lenovo Flex 3 (Pentium Silver N6000/8GB RAM/15.6-inch 1080p show) $249.00 (48% off at Best Buy)
- Acer Chromebook 315 (Celeron N5100/8GB RAM/64GB SSD, 15.6-inch 1080p show) $279.99 (29% off at Amazon)
- Acer Chromebook 514 (Kompanio 828/8GB RAM/14-inch 1080p show) $349.99 (24% off at Amazon)
- HP 15.6-inch Chromebook (Intel Core i3-N305/8GB RAM/128GB SSD, 15.6-inch 1080p show) $349.99 (30% off at Best Buy)
- Asus Chromebook Flip C433 (Core m3-8100Y/8GB RAM/64GB SSD, 14-inch 1080p show) $319.99 (20% off at Amazon)
If I used to be shopping for a Chromebook for a member of the family, I’d select considered one of these, particularly one from the highest 4. I’ve added and bumped up the Lenovo Flex 3 to the highest spot on our listing due to the stable value and specs; clients adore it, as did our review of the related Lenovo Flex 5. Note that Amazon does not listing the Acer 315 as a reduction, nevertheless it’s 29 p.c off of the Acer list price. I don’t have something actually optimistic or damaging to say concerning the Asus Flip C433; it’s an excellent Chromebook, however the low cost isn’t a lot.
Of the highest 4, the HP’s Core i3 is the quickest processor, adopted by the Kompanio 828, a a lot quicker variant of the Kompanio 520 within the funds Chromebook offers. Processor pace isn’t as essential as it’s in a Windows machine.
Best Black Friday premium and Chromebook Plus offers for Nov. 24
Google believes that you simply’ll need to purchase a Chromebook Plus laptop computer to realize the perfect Chromebook expertise. Do you want one? The expertise is undoubtedly smoother and extra highly effective, with out the caveats that may accompany cheaper {hardware}. Note the higher-quality 1920×1200 shows, which will likely be even nicer than the standard 1080p.
HP’s 2-in-1 is basically Windows-class specs at a Chromebook value. But the Asus is a fair higher deal: comparable specs, inside a premium Chromebook at a midrange value!
If you’ve determined {that a} Chromebook isn’t for you and also you’d favor a laptop computer as an alternative, try our Black Friday laptop deals or our Black Friday deals shopping page.
FAQ
When is Black Friday?
Officially, Black Friday takes place on Friday, Nov. 24, 2023. Cyber Monday is the next Monday, or Nov 27, 2023. Note that, no less than for Amazon, “Black Friday” gross sales have already begun.
What do you have to pay for a Black Friday Chromebook deal?
Chromebook offers haven’t been as nice as we’d like within the lead as much as Black Friday, however the Black Friday gross sales aren’t unhealthy.
We’re anticipating the kind of Chromebooks we suggest (see under for extra element on that) to be priced at about $250 to $350 within the weeks main as much as Black Friday. Prices ought to drop a bit extra as Black Friday approaches. Budget Chromebooks might be about $150 or so, maybe much less — however that may imply compromising on a number of the options we predict you’ll like. We attempt to embody a few of these fashions, although, as a result of folks nonetheless search for the bottom costs. (Refurbished fashions can value even much less, however we normally keep away from these.)
Good mainstream Chromebooks now value about $250 to $350, as famous above — that’s the ground for a Chromebook we’d suggest. A Black Friday steal might push costs down even additional.
In normal, we put our prime picks on the prime of our lists.
What options ought to I search for in a Black Friday Chromebook?
We nonetheless prioritize three issues when in search of a Chromebook deal: reminiscence, the scale and backbone of the display screen, and the CPU. There’s additionally one massive wrinkle for this Black Friday: the Chromebook help window.
You will nonetheless discover retailers attempting to unload Chromebooks with 4GB of RAM, a 768p display screen, and an historical processor. We will nonetheless listing merchandise with these specs, if justified, as funds Chromebooks. But we actually really feel that you simply deserve a Chromebook with 8GB of RAM, a 1080p display screen or higher (with display screen sizes above 13 inches, if attainable), and a comparatively trendy CPU. (These are normally out mainstream picks.) We don’t put loads of weight on the CPU, if solely as a result of a Chromebook doesn’t want loads of horsepower behind it.
Be conscious that “HD” doesn’t imply 1080p! It principally means 768p, which goes to be a bit arduous in your eyes. “Full HD” or “FHD” equates to the 1080p show you’re used to.
Our really helpful CPUs embody Intel Celerons, Intel Pentiums, Intel’s Core chips, AMD’s Ryzen processors, and Arm chips from Mediatek or Qualcomm. All of these have their execs and cons, although the efficiency variations most likely gained’t matter as a lot as further reminiscence.
More reminiscence (that’s, 8GB moderately 4GB of RAM) will enable for extra browser tabs and a smoother browser expertise. A 1080p display screen will supply a cushty laptop-like viewing expertise. Onboard storage actually doesn’t matter all that a lot, although an SSD of no less than 32GB is preferable for storing apps, screenshots, and the like.
If you’re accustomed to our prolonged laptops versus Chromebooks explainer, you realize that one of many potential gotchas is shopping for a Chromebook whose support window expires quickly. Google now helps new Chromebooks for as much as 10 years, so that is much less of a priority. We assume this would possibly push costs down, however for very previous {hardware}. We’re attempting to observe this.
Beware of offers like this: a $41 Lenovo Chromebook on Walmart. Support for this Chromebook resulted in 2021, which implies that it’s not protected whereas browsing the online. Too good to be true, certainly! Walmart does supply some low cost, good Chromebooks, however they’re infamous in my ebook for squeezing loads of junk in, too. Target’s typically a house for affordable, refurbished Chromebooks — we favor new.
Which Chromebooks does PCWorld charge highest?
Our editors repeatedly evaluate Chromebooks, so be sure that to test our rankings of the best Chromebooks of 2023. We suggest a variety of value factors, and the article gives an excellent primer on Chromebook purchasing. What’s extra, a few of our prime picks will possible go on sale earlier than or throughout Black Friday.
We’ve up to date our picks and proposals on Nov. 23, 2023 at 10:01 PM PT, or 1:01 AM ET on Nov. 24.