7 of the best Chromebooks you can buy right now

As the laptop market has grown over the last few years, Chromebooks have too often been shoved into a niche as a cheaper device that isn’t quite a full featured laptop but gives you a little more juice than a tablet. Well, guess what? Chromebooks have outgrown that label and it’s time to give them some real consideration as a primary laptop.

Here’s what is still true about Chromebooks. In general, they run smaller and lighter than your standard laptop. They run on Chrome OS, as opposed to MacOS or Windows. And they rely on connectivity a bit more than your average machine, with smaller hard drives that get supplemented with cloud storage. Read more…

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IMAGE: Amazon

BEST CHROME OS EXPERIENCE

Google Pixelbook

The best-looking one of the bunch, the Pixelbook is an understandably pricey premium Chromebook that’s genuinely fun to use.

CPU: 7th Gen Intel Core processor
RAM: 8GB-16GB
Storage: 256GB-512GB
Battery life: Up to 10 hours
Screen: 12.3-inch
Display: 2400 x 1600 FHD

$849 from Amazon

IMAGE: Amazon

BEST FOR TRAVELING

Asus Chromebook Flip

A well-reviewed 2-in-1 with better specs than others at its price point, yet still small enough for any and every excursion.

CPU: 10th Gen Intel Core i3 Processor
RAM: 8GB
Storage: 64GB
Battery life: Up to 12 hours
Screen: 14-inch
Display: 1920×1080

$791.47 from Amazon

IMAGE: Amazon

BEST BANG FOR YOUR BUCK

HP Chromebook 13

A high performance, sophisticated-as-hell Chromebook from HP that gives expensive traditional laptops a run for their money.

CPU: Intel Core m5
RAM: 8GB
Storage: 32GB
Battery life: Up to 8 hours
Screen: 13-inch
Display: 3200 x 1800

$279 from Amazon

IMAGE: Newegg

BUDGET PICK

Acer Chromebook 14

A huge FHD screen and 12 hours of battery, packed into a full metal body that’s built to last — all for significantly less than competitors.

CPU: Intel Celeron N3160
RAM: 4GB
Storage: 32GB
Battery life: Up to 12 hours
Screen: 14-inch
Display: 1,920 x 1,080

$209.99 from Newegg

IMAGE: Amazon

BEST FOR ANDROID LOYALISTS

Samsung Chromebook Pro

A laptop that converts to a tablet and gives you the Android experience on a bigger screen, this convertible device is great for anyone who loves the Google Play Store.

CPU: Intel Core m3-6Y30
RAM: 4GB
Storage: 32GB
Battery life: Up to 9 hours
Screen: 12.3 inches
Display: 2400×1600

$499 from Amazon