Best Black Friday Chromebook deals: November 28

28.11.2024 08:00

PC World

Black Friday Chromebook deals are almost here, and some of the early Chromebook deals on Thanksgiving are truly excellent.

I’ve listed our official recommendations for the best Black Friday Chromebook deals below, which we’ve separated out into budget picks, mid-range choices, and premium offerings. More importantly, I’ll tell you why it’s a good deal. If you don’t want to wade through it all, that’s fine: the very best Chromebook deal for your money right now is Costco’s $199.99 Chromebook Plus, followed by the $279 Acer Chromebook Plus 515 and the $299 Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 3i.

If you need more guidance when shopping for Black Friday Chromebook sales, scroll down to the FAQ at the end where I explain what prices to look for, the specs we prefer, and more. Our list of the best Chromebooks also contains updated pricing.

Best Black Friday budget Chromebook deals

Lenovo IdeaPad 3i Chromebook (Celeron N4500/4GB RAM/64GB SSD/15.6-inch 1080p display), now $119.00 (52% off at Best Buy)
Acer Chromebook 315 (Celeron N4500/4GB RAM/64GB eMMC/15.6-inch 1080p display), now $139.00 (22% off at Walmart)
Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3 Chromebook (Kompanio 520/4GB RAM/64GB eMMC/14-inch 1080p display), now $159.00 (50% off at Best Buy)
HP 15.6-inch Chromebook Laptop (Intel N200/8GB RAM/64GB SSD/15.6-inch 768p display), now $179.00 (55% off at Best Buy)
Asus Chromebook CX1 (Celeron N4500/4GB RAM/64GB eMMC/14-inch 1080p display), now $144.99 (31% off at Amazon)

Budget Chromebooks are all about the tradeoffs. In this case, there is just a single deal (the HP Chromebook) with 8GB of RAM, which is what I’d prefer. Still, I look for budget Chromebooks to be in the neighborhood of $100, and the top two options deliver.

Among these, the Lenovo IdeaPad 3i, the HP 15.6-inch Chromebook and the Acer Chromebook 315 give 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.

I look for both 8GB of RAM (which allows more tabs and applications to be open) as well as a 1080p display. Lenovo’s IdeaPad 3i is tops on the list because of the price, but you’ll notice that it has 4GB of RAM. It’s rare that I see a budget offering with 8GB of RAM, as HP’s Chromebook offers. However, the 768p display may be a little grainy for some eyes, though the 250-nit brightness is just fine. The HP Chromebook does not include an external display connection, so just make sure to use it within the return window if this is a concern.

Amazon doesn’t always have great Chromebook deals, but the retailer has upped its game just in time. I’m not convinced you need 128GB of storage. If you do, you can swap the Asus CX1 listed here for another Asus Chromebook CX1, priced at $159.99 at Walmart.

I don’t think we’re going to see anything decent in this space on Black Friday for less than $100, but $119-$139 is actually as good or better than previous sales. Just be careful of merchants reselling products: this $77 Asus Chromebook listing at Walmart is full of people complaining that the merchant is reselling used, subpar merchandise. All of my recommendations are sold brand new.

Best Black Friday mid-range Chromebook deals

Acer Chromebook Plus (Core i3-N305/8GB RAM/512GB SSD/14-inch 1080p display), now $199.99 (43% off at Costco)
Lenovo Flex 3 (Pentium Silver N6000/8GB RAM/64GB eMMC/15.6-inch 1080p display), now $328.99 (31% off at Best Buy)
Acer Chromebook Plus 514 (AMD Ryzen 3 7320C/8GB RAM/128GB eMMC/14-inch 1920×1200 display), now $299.99 (25% off at Amazon)
HP Chromebook Plus x360 (Core i3-N305/8GB RAM/128GB UFS/14-inch 1080p touch display), now $509.99 (7% off at Adorama)

Thanks to fellow deal-hunter Alaina Yee for discovering the Costco deal, which ticks all the boxes. Costco usually requires a membership, but Alaina reports that it’s available, even to non-members. (Non-members pay 5 percent more on this item, or $210.) With 8GB of RAM, a solid 1080p screen and a battery-sipping processor, this Chromebook Plus becomes our top Chromebook deal.

Of these two, the HP offers the faster processor but the Lenovo will probably provide the best experience with the larger screen. It’s also substantially cheaper.

Acer’s Chromebook Plus 514 will likely offer the fastest performance, if that matters, with its Ryzen 3 processor. AMD’s Ryzen typically trades faster performance for lower battery life, but the recent Ryzens are top-notch.

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 3i, (Pentium N6000/8GB RAM/128GB SSD/15.6-inch 1080p touch display), now $299.99 (25% off at Amazon)
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 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.

As noted above, the Acer 515 and the Lenovo 3i are the best all-around choices. I’d bet that the Lenovo will prove to have the longer battery life, based upon the (lower-power though less powerful) Pentium chip inside. Just think about whether it will always be plugged in or not.

Don’t forget crucial accessories!

Picking up a Chromebook during Black Friday sales can save you hundreds. But why stop there? You can save even more money by accessorizing your Chromebook with the extra things it needs while the sales last. We’ve detailed must-have laptop accessories here, but here’s a cheat sheet with three especially crucial items.

USB hub: Get a USB hub to expand the number and kind of ports available for your laptop. Hiearcool’s USB-C hub is a very affordable and capable USB-C hub with myriad ports, including 2 x USB-A ports, microSD and SD card slots, and a HDMI port. Get if on Amazon.
Mouse: Using a mouse instead of just your laptop’s trackpad can speed up productivity if your laptop is mainly used for work, and it’s crucial if you plan on doing any gaming. A mouse you can rely on for all your needs and that feels oh-so-comfortable in your hand is the Razer DeathAdder V2 X HyperSpeed. Find it on Amazon.
Laptop sleeve: A good quality sleeve will protect your laptop from the inevitable bumps, scratches, and drops that happen over time. Amazon’s choice for laptop sleeve is the BOOEUDI, which is shockproof and made from neoprene. Browse sizes at Amazon.

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.

Black Friday: The best PC deals around

Check out our roundups for the best PC-related deals in a wide variety of categories!