Which chromebook should i buy

Read the full review: Acer Chromebook Spin Versatility is a key feature of the best Chromebooks, so the Acer Chromebook Spin definitely makes the list on that account. This all-rounder has all the makings of a great Chromebook, from its good battery life to its robust build and solid usability. The Acer Chromebook Spin takes its versatility even further with an abundance of ports, especially when considering its size, its convertible 2-in-1 design, a high level of portability, and an excellent touch display.

Its keyboard and touchpad are also not just reliable, but they're also satisfying to use, which is a pretty rare thing for a Chromebook at this price point. Its size also means that it's really easy take with you, making it one of the best Chromebooks for taking with you on a trip. However, that small size may mean some people find it uncomfortable to use for long periods of time, especially if you're more used to larger laptops.

Premium Chromebooks occupy their own space in the laptop market, bridging that gap between powerful traditional laptops and super lightweight Chromebooks. During our time with the Asus Chromebook Flip CF, we were really impressed with its gorgeous design, with a magnesium alloy body, stunning p screen, and wonderful keyboard.

This could easily rival premium laptops like the Dell XPS 13 or MacBook, and it even comes with features like Wi-Fi 6 support and a fingerprint sensor. Still, given that the best Chromebooks rolling out this year are fully convertible, thanks to the wide adoption of Android app support, the Acer Chromebook 15 had to prove itself with more than great style. Beyond its aptitude for laying flat using a degree hinge, this beautiful inch Chromebook also makes a great impression with its battery life, lasting nearly 17 hours in our battery test.

Read the full review: Acer Chromebook The best Chromebook for professionals currently available might just be the Acer Chromebook whose premium and seriously solid chassis is just the ticket for the business-oriented bunch.

In fact, the quad-core processor is good enough for light content creation tasks, making it a boon for those starting out in the content creation industry as well. But, what is a Chromebook exactly, and how is it different from other notebooks?

A Chromebook is a device that runs the more lightweight Chrome OS. Finally, the lightweight nature of the operating system also lets the best Chromebooks beat out traditional laptops in some key areas, like portability and battery life. In such a case, a cheaper yet still capable option is the better value — one of the best cheap Chromebooks , perhaps. Of course, if you have more demanding needs, there are pricier options as well, and they will come with higher-end specs like more RAM, better processors like Intel Core CPUs, and perhaps more storage space.

You have to consider its design. Others come with that 2-in-1 form factor and touchscreen capability that makes them so versatile. Just like with the laptops, size is a crucial factor as well. You might want a larger display for more screen real estate or you might want something smaller for easier portability. Knowing which is better, a Chromebook or a laptop with a more traditional OS like Windows of macOS, really comes down to your needs and how you intend to use your laptop.

If you do almost all of your work online using web apps like Google Docs, SalesForce, GeForce Now, or other similar products, then a Chromebook is just as good at handling that kind of work as a more traditional laptop, since all of the actual application processing takes place in the cloud, which then displays the contents in a browser.

If you have a fast enough internet connection, you're not going to tell the difference between a Chromebook and a fully-featured Windows laptop or a MacBook. If you plan on using locally installed apps like Microsoft Office, Adobe Photoshop, or Steam, then you're going to find Chromebooks simply can't do that. The Android apps available through the Google Play marketplace are great, but they aren't as fully featured as similar desktop software.

In most cases, Chrome OS simply can't run most of the installable software you'd find on a Windows laptop or a MacBook, so a Chromebook would be a bad choice for anyone hoping to use major flagship software offline. Since Chromebooks rely heavily on the Chrome browser, we push that browsing prowess to its limits, opening 20 or more browser tabs on different types of websites, from productivity ones like Google docs to streaming sites like Netflix and Hulu.

For good measure, we try to play media on those streaming services simultaneously. It's easily one of the cheapest and best Chromebooks you can buy.

See our full Samsung Chromebook 3 review. The Pixelbook Go is easily one of the best Chromebooks you can buy. Google's laptop is superslim and light at just 2 pounds, and it sports an easy-to-grip design. The extreme portability extends to this Chromebook's battery life, as it lasted a very impressive 11 hours and 29 minutes on our web surfing battery test.

Other highlights include a vibrant The speakers aren't stellar, but overall the Pixelbook Go is a great option. See our full Pixelbook Go review. And with the ThinkPad name, it also offers durability and security.

It has so much going for it that it could potentially transform a Windows loyalist into a Chromebook convert. When we reviewed the ThinkPad C13 Yoga Chromebook, we raved about its colorful display, great performance and durable chassis. It has a military-tested chassis, which means if you're the clumsy type, this Lenovo Chromebook can handle some drops and shocks within reason, of course.

This laptop can also last more than 8 hours on a charge, which means it should endure the whole work or school day.

The Acer Chromebook is a premium Chromebook that offers a durable aluminum chassis packed with great performance and over 10 hours of battery life. Its integrated numpad is also a boon for students. And even though its If you like buying from Acer, this is among its best Chromebooks.

See our full Acer Chromebook review. The Lenovo Chromebook Duet is one of the best Chromebooks because it is a low-priced 2-in-1 that is a tablet, but can also transform into a laptop with an accompanying twill-like kickstand cover and detachable keyboard.

The most spectacular feature of the Lenovo Chromebook Duet is its battery life -- you can get almost 13 hours of battery life on the Duet. It also has an ultraportable design. You can close it shut into a book-like form, and no one will ever know you're carrying a laptop -- they'll assume you're holding a notebook or a journal. Read our full review of the Lenovo Chromebook Duet. The HP Pro C has excellent military-grade durability.

This means that if you or one of your employees drop this Chromebook on the floor, there's a very good chance that it will remain intact. Another reason why the HP Pro C landed on our best Chromebooks page is its incredible security features. Security is important for many business owners, and the HP Pro C will put your mind at ease with its fingerprint scanner.

And with Chrome Enterprise running on the Pro C, the odds of security breaches and system-update wreckages are low, especially in comparison to systems running Windows Lastly, HP Pro C is on our best Chromebooks page due to its incredible variety of ports, which offers users a wide variety of connection options.

We lauded the ThinkPad C13 Yoga Chromebook for its snappy performance, durable chassis, lightweight design and colorful display. It's also a 2-in-1, so it can bend and transform into many postures at your convenience. Choosing the best Chromebook for you depends on who you are and what needs you're hoping your next Chromebook will fulfill.

Are you a student who is mostly reliant on Google productivity apps? Are you a business seeking to provide Chromebooks for your employees? Are you a school hoping to snag the perfect Chrome OS systems for your students? Here's my easy-to-understand buying guide on how to buy the perfect Chromebook for you. Luckily for you, Chromebooks are known for being budget-friendly.

There are some premium Chromebooks out there such as the Google Pixelbook Go that command higher prices due to its long battery life and thin-bezel display. A Windows 2-in-1 laptop could be double or triple that price. When it comes to portability, we need to take a look at screen size and weight.

Most Chromebooks fall between 11 and 13 inches, so lugging Chromebooks around at school or in the office will be a breeze. Most of the time, Chromebooks are lightweight devices; Chrome OS sticks to the basics of providing favorite Google productivity apps with a few extras unlike Windows operating systems that can be bloatware hell.

If you need additional apps, you can download them from the Google Play store. Because many applications on Chrome OS operate using the cloud, this means more free space for your laptop and a speedier performance. Chromebooks have very good battery life. We run our own in-house Laptop Mag Battery test on Chromebooks, and on average, they last 10 hours.

A Chromebook will usually endure the eight hours that are necessary for a productive day at work or school. Otherwise, the Flex 5 offers excellent build quality. The charger that came with our review unit emitted an annoying coil whine when it was plugged in and charging the Flex 5. In our mid battery life tests, the Galaxy Chromebook 2 had solid battery life—the Core i3 model we recommend lasted 11 hours 8 minutes in our tests.

We expect it will last a full day of work or school without needing to be plugged in. The Galaxy Chromebook 2 is just a bit smaller all around than the Flex 5, and it weighs just 2. But the Galaxy Chromebook 2 is light enough to use comfortably in tablet mode, unlike any of our other picks.

The Like our top picks, it supports Wi-Fi 6 and it has guaranteed update support through June , a one-year warranty, and GB of Google One storage for one year. If you want a number pad and a bigger screen than our top picks now can offer, the Flip C is a great option.

We still love this model—and it has a better webcam than the Galaxy Chromebook 2—but its support runs out in June , two years sooner than Samsung Galaxy Chromebook 2 and the other premium Chromebooks in this section. The Acer Chromebook Spin CPW is an excellent Chromebook, with long battery life, a reliable keyboard and trackpad, and a vivid display.

Compared with the similarly priced Samsung Galaxy Chromebook 2 and Pixelbook Go, the Spin has a taller screen, more ports, and a degree hinge.

The Acer Chromebook CC85K could be a good option for young kids, if you can find it in stock, thanks to its durable body and spill-resistant keyboard. It also suffers from a terrible, low-resolution, non-touch screen, and its keyboard is mediocre.

Both have durable bodies, spill-resistant keyboards, and small, low-resolution displays. Acer also announced an updated version of the Acer Chromebook Spin that we plan to test soon, and a new Chromebook that will be available in October.

Its screen also had a blue cast and looked washed out. Even with two hands, I found it a struggle to open the lid every single time, and when I asked others to use the laptop, I overheard some choice words from them I used plenty of my own each time I tried to pry it apart.

The Asus Chromebook Flip C was a former pick because of its solid performance, reliable trackpad and backlit keyboard, excellent battery life, and spacious inch screen with tiny borders.

Its support also runs out in June Our upgrade pick is cheaper, lighter, thinner, and blessed with longer battery life and a better keyboard. Our upgrade pick is smaller, lighter, and cheaper. Several different versions of the HP Chromebook x 14b are available from various retailers.

But I found the cramped keyboard impossible to adjust to—even as someone who adjusts to weird keyboards for a living —and the processor a bit slow for everyday work. The Duet also lacks a headphone jack. Most people should spend a little more for the Flex 5, unless you just really want a Chrome OS tablet. While Windows laptops are available with newer and series Ryzen processors, these series options are the newest AMD processors that are optimized to work with Chromebooks.

Google guarantees six and a half years of updates for models released prior to Power testing , Git repositories on Chromium. Chromebook security , Chromebook Help Google Support. Kimber Streams is a senior staff writer and has been covering laptops, gaming gear, keyboards, storage, and more for Wirecutter since