Skip to main content

These are the best Black Friday Chromebook deals

Christmas decorations are going up and Chromebook prices are going down, which can only mean one thing: Black Friday is almost here! While last year's Chromebook shortage didn't give us quite as many deals as we'd like, this year, you can already get hundreds off many of the best Chromebooks around. There are tons of choicese to consider such as the bright and beautiful Acer Chromebook Spin 713 (both generations are on sale), to the compact and kid-friendly Lenovo Flex 3 and Flex 5. There's a Chromebook deal for everyone this Black Friday, and we're here to help you find the best one for you or your little munchkins.

Where to find the best Black Friday Chromebook deals

Chromebook deals are found everywhere, from retail giants like Amazon and Best Buy to your local electronic stores and mega-marts (I miss you, HEB), but they come more reliably from a few outlets. The stores below are known for their Chromebook deals, and they usually have one or 10 on sale right now.

When do the Black Friday Chromebook deals begin?

When it comes to Chromebook deals, there may be some stellar deals between November 25 and December 1, but Chromebook deals tend to cycle through various models essentially all year. Especially Best Buy, which hosted most of the best Black Friday Chromebook deals last year, already boasts impressive deals on budget Chromebooks, business-class Chromebooks, and everything in between.

While shipping constraints have pinched supply for everything from phone cases to couches, Chromebooks have generally managed to stay well-stocked at most retailers. This means that unlike a Pixel 6 or an Oculus Quest, you could probably wait until Black Friday itself for the deepest price cuts — but retailers might also start rationing their Chromebook supply to ensure they don't sell out by 8 a.m. Black Friday morning.

If you're after a Chromebook model that's a year or three old — say a Google Pixelbook Go or a Samsung Galaxy Chromebook — you're better off buying as soon as you see discounts of $200 or above. For 2021 models, you'll either want to buy early (the weeks before Black Friday) or wait for Black Friday's day-of deals.

Black Friday Chromebook deals: Acer

The Acer Chromebook Spin 713 is almost always on sale at Best Buy, between the three configurations of the CP713-2W (2020) and the CP713-3W (2021). The Spin 713 with 4GB of RAM is a steal at $329 just for the 13.5-inch 2K-resolution touchscreen; its 400 nits of brightness make it easier to use in lighter environments and even outdoors. The 8GB/128GB configuration of the CP713-2W has mostly sold out this fall after earlier Black Friday deals in October, but if it comes back in stock below $450, I recommend snapping it up.

The current 2021 Chromebook Spin 713, with the 11th Gen Intel Evo Core i5, has been discounted from $700 down to $619 about twice a month since it launched this summer, and the Black Friday deals have it down to a quite respectable $529. Could it drop as low as $500 or $469 on Black Friday? Maybe, but I doubt it'll last long if it does. If you want a new Chromebook and you demand an excellent screen, the Acer Spin 713 is absolutely the best one to buy.

Every Black Friday, we see every model Acer Chromebook 311 and Chromebook Spin 311 ever produced go on sale, and this year will be no different. Make sure you go for a 311 model, not a Chromebook 11 model — the older 11 models are closer to their expiration dates — and if it has 16GB of storage, close the tab and walk away. Also, touchscreen models will undoubtedly be available for under $200 (possibly under $125), so get the touchscreen for easier interaction with apps and games.

Black Friday Chromebook deals: ASUS

The previous two years, the ASUS Chromebook Flip C434 was always a reliable Black Friday deal, but alas, it's too outdated now, with its 8th-Gen Intel processors, and the same goes for the C433. These days, the ASUS Chromebooks you'll want to pay attention to are large laptops with a few distinct purposes, starting with the easy-to-love ASUS Chromebook Flip C536.

The C536 is normally $569, but Best Buy has already brought it down to $399, which is pretty phenomenal for a 15.6-inch touchscreen 2-in-1 with an 11th Gen Intel Core i3, 8GB of RAM, and a full, backlit keyboard complete with a number pad. This is the Chromebook I'm actually writing this guide on right now because the large screen makes split-screening and setting out all my work easy, even when my eyes are mad at me for not getting enough sleep.

ASUS Chromebook Flip C536

$399 at Best Buy

This stellar supersized Chromebook features the latest 11th Gen processors powering your experience, 8GB of RAM for multitasking, and a full keyboard with a number pad for typing in all those lovely, lovely quarterly report numbers. The 1080p touchscreen wonderfully split-screens your emails and the baseball game you're missing because you had to work.

If 15.6 inches is a bit too big for your backpack, another ASUS model to catch on sale is the 14-inch ASUS Chromebook Flip CX5. It has the same processor, RAM, and storage, but the CX5 is usually sold at $725, steep even with the built-in USI stylus, Thunderbolt 4 USB-C ports, and sleeker design. If it drops to $600 or below, hop on it. Otherwise, the C536 is a bigger, better bang for your buck.

One of the best Chromebooks for students, the 2.5-year-old ASUS Chromebook Flip C214, will hopefully see some deals this Black Friday, especially on the frequently price-gouged stylus model, but I wouldn't pay more than $260 for it. It's only guaranteed Chrome OS updates until June 2025 (though it could get extended to June 2026), and it's the same platform and powerset as most $160 to $230 Chromebooks like the Lenovo C330, Dell 3100 2-in-1, or Acer Spin 311. You just pay more for extra kidproofing, and if you need that, head down to the student section at the bottom of this guide.

Black Friday Chromebook deals: HP

Before we dive into the bulk of HP Chromebooks, you'll see them discounted for Black Friday. The just-released HP Chromebook x2 11 is the deal to really watch. This 11-inch Chrome OS tablet has a premium build, gorgeous 2K touchscreen, a magnetic keyboard, and kickstand in the box, and debuted priced about $175 too high. Black Friday has already brought it down to a quite reasonable $399, and I'm cautiously optimistic to see it drop further to $350 sometime during the extra-long weekend of Black Friday. This is the Chrome OS tablet experience that feels every bit as premium as Samsung or Apple, and its Snapdragon 7c processor will sip battery while you read, watch Netflix, or browse Reddit.

HP Chromebooks are legion, which complicates the process of buying one on Black Friday. Approximately 40 versions of the HP Chromebook 11 between the 11 generations, two processor types (Intel and AMD, and EE Education Editions. The HP Chromebook 14 is almost that bad, but not quite. While you can only really tell how old an HP Chromebook is by checking the model number against its expiration date for Chrome OS updates, here's the quick and dirty version you can use on Black Friday:

If a Chromebook has a barrel plug instead of USB-C, it's too old to be worth any amount of your money. For HP 11/14 models with a Generation, if it's before G6, it's about to expire (or already has).

The HP Chromebook x360 14c has 2020 and 2021 models which can be solid Chromebooks (with slightly dim screens) at the right price. 10th Gen Intel processors are in the 2020 model, which you should buy below $450. 11th Gen processors are 2021 models and should earn their keep at $550 and below.

HP also makes some of the only current-generation desktop Chrome OS solutions: the HP Chromebase 21.5-inch All in One Desktop might get down into a reasonable price range like the x2 11 mentioned before, and the HP Chromebox G3 will likely see its first significant deals this Black Friday. So if you want a Chromebook for Nana, but she needs a big screen with Big Font, HP is what you want.

Black Friday Chromebook deals: Lenovo

Lenovo makes three of our Best Chromebook selections and a small army of education, business, and consumer Chromebook models. From the compact couch-friendly Lenovo Chromebook Duet to the tough-but-handsome ThinkPad C13 Yoga Chromebook, Lenovo knows how to deliver a Chromebook for every size, function, and budget. Here's what the short version

The Lenovo Duet went for $200 last Black Friday, and this year I'm hoping to see it come down towards $150 and impulse-buy territory. The Duet offers a better overall experience than any sub-$300 Android tablet, and it'll get security updates until June 2028 while also coming with the keyboard and kickstand in-box.

For student-friendly and budget-friendly 11-inch Chromebooks, the Lenovo C330, C340-11, and Flex 3 are all the same, so just pick your color and your storage size when they drop below $160. I highly recommend 64GB, but if you don't really do Android apps on your Chromebook and just use it as a browser, 32GB should be fine. Unless you can find a 3rd Gen model under $300, skip the 100/300/500e education models; the regular models are pretty tough already, and the e-series models aren't discounted that heavily because they're harder to find.

Lenovo Flex 5

$300 at Amazon $425 at Walmart

Snap this Chromebook up once it drops below $250.

This is the best overall Chromebook on the market and a great all-around choice for anyone and everyone in your life (except maybe your clumsy 6-year-old). The touchscreen is crisp and responsive, up-facing speakers surround the backlit keyboard for better sound during video calls and Netflix marathons, and the latter should last you the full workday and then some.

Moving up to the 13-inch space, the Lenovo Flex 5 has been on the market for over a year and has routinely dropped into the $330 to $270 deal range regularly over 2021. I'm hoping Black Friday deals will get it down towards $230 or even $200 on November 26, but for an i3 Chromebook with a backlit keyboard, up-facing speakers, and a 13.3-inch 1080p touchscreen, anything lower than $250 is a bargain.

The ThinkPad C13 has a price tag like a roller coaster: list prices sit around $700, but configurations can go for as little as $480 or as high as $1300. You'll only really find it at Lenovo's website, though, and it's 45% off right now, if you're as much of a sucker for those bigger key labels and the TrackPoint nub. I highly recommend the Ryzen 5 configuration for 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage.

Black Friday Chromebook deals: Premium Chromebooks

The premium Chromebook you want to buy this Black Friday is the Acer Chromebook Spin 713 (2021) that I spoke of earlier in this guide for three reasons: it has the latest-generation i5 processor for plenty of power, the 2K, its 400-nit touchscreen is one of the best on a Chromebook ever, and Best Buy has it for $529 and may drop even lower.

The Google Pixelbook Go and the Samsung Galaxy Chromebook have fine touchscreens and ultra-thin designs, but they're both two years old and see fewer and fewer discounts. Amazon had a Pixelbook Go sale that dropped it down to $200 last year, but it sold out within seconds of going live at 3 a.m. ET (Midnight PT), and I doubt it's coming back considering how hard it's getting to keep the Pixelbook Go in stock.

The Samsung Galaxy Chromebook is the best screen ever to grace a Chromebook, but even on sale, it's usually $600 to $750, and it can overheat more easily thanks to that ultra-thin design. So rather than discounting the Galaxy Chromebook, Samsung instead debuted a cheaper Samsung Galaxy Chromebook 2 earlier this year, seeing sales instead. While the screen was slightly downgraded on the second generation, it still looks better than the vast majority of Chromebooks, but I'd steer clear of the Celeron model unless you're only buying it to check email and binge Netflix — and even then, there's a discounted 2020 model of the Acer Spin 713 going for $329 right now with a higher resolution and brightness screen, so long as it hasn't sold out already.

Black Friday Chromebook deals: Student Chromebooks

Chromebooks dominate the education space for a reason: even the affordable ones work well. They're made for every budget, and since they use Google's cloud services, you won't lose your work if it breaks. Instead, just log in on another Chromebook, and you're right back to work.

The best student Chromebooks are mostly 2 to 3 years old at this point — almost none of the ten education models announced back in January have reached consumer retailers, just B2B (business-to-business) channels that school districts and vendors use to buy tens of thousands of laptops in bulk.

Of the currently available models, I wouldn't recommend spending more than $260 on the ASUS Chromebook Flip C214, Dell Chromebook 3100 2-in-1 (or the clamshell variant), Lenovo 300e (1st/2nd Gen), or the older Acer Chromebook 511 or 512. The new Acer Chromebook 511 and 512 can be decent buys depending on the discount, for example, the Snapdragon 7c-powered 511 would be a decent kid-friendly Chromebook with 4G LTE support for $450 or less, but that's still steep to most parents — and it would need a data plan to make proper use of the connectivity.

Walmart has last-generation's Acer Chromebook Spin 511 for $290, which is pretty decent for a Chromebook with a built-in stylus if you need a Chromebook that can go through the wringer. However, even with that, the durability isn't significantly higher than the $130-$190 crowd for anything beyond spill-resistant keyboards.

The Samsung Chromebook 4+ is a decent large-screen Chromebook for kids so long as they don't have eye issues, as the screen's low resolution is especially noticeable at 15.6 inches.

Samsung Chromebook 4+

$209 at Walmart

Using standard 45W USB-C Power Delivery Charging and the same software and features as Chromebooks twice its price, the Samsung Chromebook 4+ can feel like a steal, but the lackluster screen spoils the experience for weaker, older eyes. 4GB of RAM combine with the Celeron N4000 for easy homework but not easy video calls with the whole class.

If you need to go bottom of the barrel, here's a rule of thumb: If it has a barrel plug instead of USB-C, don't pay more than $100 for it (if you pay for it at all). Anything with a proprietary charger instead of USB-C Power Delivery charging means that if the kid breaks or loses the charger, you're up a creek, and Chromebooks that old are also close to their expiration dates, while most USB-C-charged Chromebooks have AUE dates of June 2025 or higher.



Source: androidcentral

Popular posts from this blog

The hidden cost of food delivery

Noah Lichtenstein Contributor Share on Twitter Noah Lichtenstein is the founder and managing partner of Crossover , a diversified private technology fund backed by institutional investors, technology execs and professional athletes and entertainers. More posts by this contributor What Studying Students Teaches Us About Great Apps I’ll admit it: When it comes to food, I’m lazy. There are dozens of great dining options within a few blocks of my home, yet I still end up ordering food through delivery apps four or five times per week. With the growing coronavirus pandemic closing restaurants and consumers self-isolating, it is likely we will see a spike in food delivery much like the 20% jump China reported during the peak of its crisis. With the food delivery sector rocketing toward a projected $365 billion by the end of the decade, I’m clearly not the only one turning to delivery apps even before the pandemic hit. Thanks to technology (and VC funding) we can get a ri

Cyber Monday Canada: Last-minute deals for everyone on your list

Best Cyber Monday Canada deals: Smart Home Audio Phones, Tablets & Accessories Wearables Laptops & PC Components Amazon products Gaming Televisions Cameras Lifestyle & Kitchen Toys & Kids Cyber Monday Canada is here, and retailers are rolling out the red carpet for customers who want to shop for everything from tech to kitchenware to games and everything in between. Unlike years past, Cyber Monday Canada deals look a bit different than normal. Instead of retailers trying to pack their stores with as many shoppers as possible, we're seeing tons of online deals that you can take advantage of from the comfort of your home. We've rounded up our favorites below, so feel free to browse through the best of what Canada Cyber Monday has to offer! This list is being updated with new Cyber Monday deals all the time, so check back often. Spotlight deals It's a Switch Nintendo Switch Fortnite Edition bundle $399.95 at Amazon It's a Switch.

Slack’s new integration deal with AWS could also be about tweaking Microsoft

Slack and Amazon announced a big integration late yesterday afternoon. As part of the deal, Slack will use Amazon Chime for its call feature, while reiterating its commitment to use AWS as its preferred cloud provider to run its infrastructure. At the same time, AWS has agreed to use Slack for internal communications. Make no mistake, this is a big deal as the SaaS communications tool increases its ties with AWS, but this agreement could also be about slighting Microsoft and its rival Teams product by making a deal with a cloud rival. In the past Slack CEO Stewart Butterfield has had choice words for Microsoft saying the Redmond technology giant sees his company as an “existential threat.” Whether that’s true or not — Teams is but one piece of a huge technology company — it’s impossible not to look at the deal in this context. Aligning more deeply with AWS sends a message to Microsoft, whose Azure infrastructure services compete with AWS. Butterfield didn’t say that of course

iPhone 13 Pro vs. iPhone 15 Pro Buyer's Guide: 50+ Differences Compared

The iPhone 15 Pro brings over 50 new features and improvements to Apple's high-end smartphones compared to the iPhone 13 Pro, which was released two years prior. This buyer's guide breaks down every major difference you should be aware of between the two generations and helps you to decide whether it's worth upgrading. The ‌iPhone 13‌ Pro debuted in 2021, introducing a brighter display with ProMotion technology for refresh rates up to 120Hz, the A15 Bionic chip, a telephoto camera with 3x optical zoom, Macro photography and photographic styles, Cinematic mode for recording videos with shallow depth of field, ProRes video recording, a 1TB storage option, and five hours of additional battery life. The ‌iPhone 13‌ Pro was discontinued upon the announcement of the iPhone 14 Pro in 2022, but it is still possible to get hold of it second-hand. Our guide helps to answer the question of how to decide which of these two iPhone models is best for you and serves as a way to c