The Lenovo Chromebook Plus 2-in-1 Gen 10 is one of the rare Chromebooks that I actually think is a great little device. Most Chromebooks are disappointing enough that not even the low price tag is enough to save them from ending up as a mediocre compromise.

Not only is the Chromebook Plus 2-in-1 a fantastic bargain with a low price of just $439, it’s also got Lenovo’s premium build quality and industry-leading keyboard, along with performance that’s reliable enough for your average ChromeOS user, and has access to all the web apps you could need, from the Google suite to TikTok and the GeForce Now app.

The only things holding the Chromebook Plus 2-in-1 back from pure perfection is its disappointing battery life and dim display. But how does it compare to the best Chromebooks?

Lenovo Chromebook Plus 2-in-1 Gen 10: Cheat sheet

• What is it?: The Lenovo Chromebook Plus 2-in-1 (2026) is a ChromeOS laptop with a 2-in-1 convertible chassis that can switch between laptop, tablet, and tent modes to meet a range of uses.
• Who is it for?: Students, employees, and individuals who need a laptop to access web applications like the Google suite, email, and social media sites.
• What does it cost?: The Lenovo Chromebook Plus 2-in-1 (2026) has a starting price of just $439.
• What do we like?: The luxurious build quality and sturdy convertible hinge, the fantastic keyboard, reliable performance, and incredible value.
• What don’t we like?: The battery life and display could be better, also, the Chromebook Plus label could do with a stronger identity.

Lenovo Chromebook Plus 2-in-1 Gen 10: Specs

Lenovo Chromebook Plus 2-in-1 Gen 10: The ups

While I may not be the target audience for a Chromebook, there’s plenty to appreciate in this particular 2-in-1, from a fully aluminum chassis with a sturdy convertible hinge, to a fantastic keyboard, and reliable computing power.

This chassis might just be too premium for a Chromebook

Oftentimes, Chromebooks offer low prices to offset mediocre specs and build quality. While the Lenovo Chromebook Plus 2-in-1’s Intel Core 3 N355 processor isn’t winning any benchmark races, it’s definitely got enough power in it to run all the apps you need, and the Chromebook’s chassis is fully aluminum, with a keyboard that feels like it belongs on a more premium laptop.

Not only does the Chromebook Plus 2-in-1’s chassis look like it belongs to a Lenovo Yoga laptop with its full aluminum paneling and camera hub bump along the top edge, it’s also got a ribbed pattern on the bottom panel that offers some nice detail on what is otherwise a standard Lenovo chassis. The Chromebook Plus 2-in-1 comes in the standard Luna Gray, but it’s also got a stunning Cosmic Blue color option which really helps set it apart from other, lackluster Chromebooks.

Lenovo used its sturdy convertible hinges on the Chromebook Plus, so opening and folding the laptop into tablet or tent modes feels smooth and secure. The inside of the hinge has some nice detailing on the vents which adds visual interest while also keeping the Chromebook operating at cool temps, and the bezels are nice and slim so the Chromebook Plus 2-in-1 Gen 10 looks and feels like a premium laptop.

As for the keyboard deck, there’s nothing to complain about at all. Between the top-firing speakers along the edges of the keyboard, nicely spaced keys with a crisp activation and comfy key travel, to a touchpad that’s just on the right side of large.

If you told me Lenovo simply re-used a Yoga chassis for this Chromebook generation, I’d believe you without question. It’s honestly way too good for a $400 Chromebook.

Dependable performance

Chromebooks aren’t exactly known for setting performance records, and that’s okay. ChromeOS laptops and tablets are intended to be budget devices that run web apps well, but some Chromebooks handle large workloads better than others.

Thanks to its Intel Core 3 N355 processor, the Lenovo Chromebook Plus 2-in-1 (Gen 10) is one of the more responsive laptops in its class. While it isn’t going to be doing much heavy video editing, the Lenovo Chromebook Plus 2-in-1 Gen 10 is more than capable of streaming video, managing your emails, and keeping a good 10 research tabs open without major slowdowns. Anything past that is just asking for trouble with how memory-hungry Chrome tends to be.

As for the numbers side of things, the Lenovo Chromebook Plus 2-in-1 fares well when compared to similar Chromebooks like the Acer Chromebook Plus Spin 514 (2025), Samsung Galaxy Chromebook Plus, and Lenovo Chromebook Plus 14 (2025). The Lenovo 2-in-1 Gen 10 underperformed on our Geekbench 6 benchmark on both single and multithreaded workloads, and its JetStream 2 and WebXPRT 4 scores were also behind its competition. However, Chromebooks don’t often need to leverage that much multicore performance given their app-bound usage.

So while the Lenovo Chromebook Plus 2-in-1 underperforms on benchmarks, its actual usability is not in question. While you can get more horsepower from any of the other three, that doesn’t equate to a huge difference in actual use. The 2-in-1 is powerful enough for what it is, without needing to be the most powerful Chromebook on the market.

And if you want to game on the Lenovo Chromebook Plus 2-in-1, it runs the Nvidia GeForce Now app just fine. Thanks to Nvidia’s recent upgrades to the GeForce server rigs, the base tier of Geforce Now gets access to RTX 3050 GPUs, allowing you to play games like Baldur’s Gate III on High to Ultra settings without stuttering or drastic frame drops.

Incredible value

Google’s Chromebook Plus tier is intended to be a more powerful, more premium product and that usually means Chromebook Plus models retail for about $600 or more. The Samsung Galaxy Chromebook Plus was $699 at launch, and is now selling for $799 at most retailers. The Lenovo Chromebook Plus 14 (2025) was originally $649 and the Acer Chromebook Plus Spin 514 (2025) was $699 at launch, though both are often on sale for as low as $389 now that the newer generations are available.

But the Lenovo Chromebook Plus 2-in-1 Gen 10, despite having the Chromebook Plus label, has a base price of just $439. That’s regular Chromebook territory in terms of cost. And yet the 2-in-1 has some serious premium chops thanks to its elevated build quality, crisp keyboard, and solid performance.

Finding a laptop of any kind for under $800 these days often feels like an impossibility, and yet here’s a Chromebook Plus for just about half that price. $439 would be an absolute bargain on a good day, when compared to the rest of the laptop market that’s suffering due to the RAM shortage, it’s practically a miracle of value.

Lenovo Chromebook Plus 2-in-1 Gen 10: The downs

Just about any laptop is going to have some downsides. It’s just part of the process in cramming as many features and performance into a constrained chassis. But some downsides are better or worse than others. And the Lenovo Chromebook Plus 2-in-1 Gen 10 does have some proper faults.

Chromebook battery life isn’t what it used to be

Chromebooks used to be the best option for folks who wanted a laptop with at least 8-hours of battery life. However, standard Windows laptops have gotten significantly better than they used to be, often averaging well over 10-hours of battery life for a 14-inch laptop.

Chromebooks, meanwhile, have stayed the same. And the Lenovo Chromebook Plus 2-in-1 Gen 10 is no different. The 2-in-1 lasted 8 hours and 32 minutes on our web surfing battery test. Which is disappointing but not particularly below the Chromebook average.

However, there are some Chromebooks that break the 9-hour threshold. Last year’s Lenovo Chromebook Plus 14 lasted over 13 hours on the same battery test while the Acer Chromebook Plus 514 Spin got over 14 hours, and even the Samsung Galaxy Chromebook Plus lasted over 11 hours.

While 8.5 hours of web surfing battery life looks like it’ll get you through a work or school day, chances are you’ll be doing more than just surfing the web in a single tab all day. Which means your actual battery mileage may be closer to 6.5 hours like mine was.

The display appears better than it is

In the right setting, the Lenovo Chromebook Plus 2-in-1 Gen 10’s display looks brighter and more vibrant than it actually is. It’s only once you take it near a window or out in the sunlight that it becomes obvious the display barely breaks the 200-nit threshold.

With a glossy IPS LCD panel, the Chromebook Plus 2-in-1 will catch a glare from any stray sunbeams or hanging pendant lamps, which isn’t ideal for a Netflix streaming binge.

The Lenovo 2-in-1 display is also a bit flat in color, covering just 65% of the sRGB gamut. So if you want to do any photo editing on your Chromebook, you’d be better off with the Galaxy Chromebook Plus, which has a far superior display.

Lenovo Chromebook Plus 2-in-1 Gen 10: Verdict

Lenovo’s Chromebook Plus 2-in-1 Gen 10 combines Lenovo’s fantastic keyboard, premium build quality, with dependable performance and fantastic value for a Chromebook that finally feels properly premium.

If anything, the 2-in-1 is such a good value, Google now has an identity crisis on its hands with the Chromebook Plus branding since the 2-in-1 is a good $150 cheaper than most other laptops in the Chromebook Plus bracket.

A large part of the appeal of Google's Chromebooks has been their lower price, but the new Googlebooks are launching at a premium, which means much higher pricing.

However, in a recent interview with Chrome Unboxed, John Maletis, Google's Vice president and GM of ChromeOS, confirmed that more affordable versions will be available down the line.

“We’ve always been about enabling technology and the ability to be productive and access information regardless of your price point,” Maletis said. “So over time we will come down, but these first devices are super premium.”

Outside of Apple's MacBook Neo, the trend for laptop makers in 2026 has been to ditch their budget laptops in favor of premium options, which command higher prices and avoid the RAM crisis. Unfortunately, that might be working, as The Register reported that Lenovo posted record numbers as it switched to premium PCs and dropped its budget lineup.

Which is why it's good that Google is even promising that more affordable options are on the roadmap.

What are your budget options?

Despite announcing the Googlebook series, Google has promised that Chromebooks aren't going anywhere yet. So the best Chromebooks are still available and an affordable option for those looking for something more wallet friendly.

Besides, Googlebooks are meant to compete with Apple's high-end MacBooks, not the Neo.

While the MacBook Neo is the best budget laptop, there are plenty of other options, including the Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3x and the Acer Aspire Go 15. Nicely, with the launch of the Neo, we now have options for every operating system from ChromeOS and Windows to macOS.

Maletis declined to provide a potential timeline for the more affordable Googlebook, so we may have to wait. Meanwhile, despite the memory crisis, you do have options.

It might get worse as we get deeper into 2026, though, so if you're in the market for a budget laptop, now might be the best time to pick one up.

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The newly announced Googlebooks will soon be here. Unlike the best Chromebooks, these laptops are meant to be high-end machines for professionals and power users. In that sense, Googlebooks could be direct competition for the best Windows laptops and best MacBooks.

As Google details in a blog post, Googlebooks are built from the ground up for Gemini Intelligence to provide proactive help. These laptops promise seamless compatibility with the Android ecosystem, and new customization features like Create your Widget. Right now, these are features that Chromebooks don’t have.

Based on what we know, Googlebooks could be Google’s next major laptop line. To that end, here are the biggest differences between Googlebooks and Chromebooks that we know about at the moment.

Googlebooks vs. Chromebooks: Design

We only got brief glimpses of the Googlebook, so we can’t yet say exactly what these laptops will look like. However, Google says it is working with manufacturers like Acer, Asus, Dell, HP, and Lenovo to make the first Googlebooks.

“Every Googlebook will be built with premium craftsmanship and materials, coming in a variety of shapes and sizes,” says Google’s press release. If they’re like current Chromebooks and Windows laptops, then it’s reasonable to expect traditional clamshells, convertibles, 2-in-1s, OLED models, and so on.

Googlebooks will also have a unique glow bar to set them apart from Chromebooks and other laptops. Based on the presentation, these laptops will have a Googlebook logo on their keyboard decks, but this may not be the case for every model.

Googlebooks vs. Chromebooks: Features

While Chromebooks were built to work in the cloud with a traditional operating system (ChromeOS in this case), Googlebooks are designed for an intelligence system that utilizes an operating system built for AI, in this case, Google Gemini. This way, the laptop can provide proactive help, according to Google.

A feature that’s currently not available on Chromebooks is called “Magic Pointer,” which has you wiggling the pointer to bring up contextual suggestions based on what’s on the screen. For instance, you can point your cursor over a date in an email to set up a meeting, or visualize placing items you want to buy in your living space to see how they’d fit.

Another feature that Chromebooks don’t have is “Create your Widget,” which lets you generate custom, prompt-based widgets that gather information from the internet and Google apps into a personalized dashboard. This isn’t exactly vibe coding, but it has a similar ring to it since you’re using natural language to create widgets.

Lastly, Googlebooks let you use your phone apps right on the laptop. This is reminiscent of the existing Quick Share feature, except you won’t have to download anything or use emulated touch controls to interact with apps. A feature called Quick Access allows you to view, search, or insert your phone’s files on your laptop.

Googlebooks vs. Chromebooks: Price

Since Google is marketing Googlebooks as premium laptops, it’s a safe bet that they’ll cost more than Chromebooks.

Right now, Chromebooks are some of the most affordable laptops available, ranging from $150 to over $600. This has long been a reason for their popularity, despite ChromeOS not being as robust as Windows or macOS. If you frequently work somewhere with a reliable internet connection and exclusively use Google’s suite of apps, Chromebooks are a solid choice.

It’s difficult to say how much Googlebooks will cost. If they pack comparable components to the latest Windows laptops, such as Intel Panther Lake chips, discrete GPUs, and a healthy amount of RAM and storage, their starting prices could land at around $1,000 for lower-end models. Of course, given the current RAM crisis, driving up the cost of electronics, starting prices might be higher than they would have been under normal circumstances.

Googlebooks vs. Chromebooks: Outlook

We don’t yet know enough to make direct comparisons between Googlebooks and Chromebooks. However, based on what Google has said, these laptops will have more robust integration into the wider Android ecosystem. The fact that the notebooks are built around Google Gemini is another major differentiator.

Googlebooks are expected later this year, so it shouldn’t be long until we can go hands-on with these machines and see what they’re all about. If they live up to Google’s promises, they could be a nice shakeup for the laptop world. And we’ll also see if Chromebooks can live alongside these laptops. Stay tuned for more!

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If you’re on a budget but need a laptop for work, or maybe you’re a student, a Chromebook is usually a great place to start, as they’re generally cheaper than Windows machines. For the past month, I’ve been testing what I initially thought could be one of the best Chromebooks.

Alas, it couldn’t be further from the truth, as the Acer Chromebook 311 is anything but. Don’t get me wrong: this is a decent Chromebook for light work, web surfing, and for Google Pixel owners as it offers seamless Pixel integration.

But its flaws are too jarring to overlook. Unfortunately, the Chromebook 311’s color coverage is poor and inaccurate, and its large bezels make the already small screen feel even smaller. Throw in a sizable price tag of $514, and because of these shortcomings, it’s hard to justify the premium it costs.

For the complete breakdown, read my full Acer Chromebook 311 review.

Acer Chromebook 311 (C725) review: Specs

Acer Chromebook 311 (C725) review: Cheat sheet

• What is it? A robust and portable laptop running ChromeOS
• Who is it for? For school and college students who need a laptop primarily for web surfing and light productivity
• How much does it cost? The Acer Chromebook 311 (C725) costs $514
• What do we like? The portable and rugged design, seamless integration with Pixel phones, long battery life, and its productivity-first capabilities
• What don’t we like? The large bezels, small SSD, poor color coverage, and steep price

Acer Chromebook 311 (C725) review: The ups

The Acer Chromebook 311 is a rugged and portable laptop. It’s suited to light productivity, and it boasts long battery life too.

Portable and rugged

If you want a laptop to use on the go, and one that doesn’t take up too much space in your backpack or handbag, the Acer Chromebook 311 is an excellent choice. Measuring 11.65 x 8.11 x 0.83 inches and weighing 2.57lbs (or 2.86lbs, depending on the configuration), it barely takes up any space in my bag, and I haven’t had any issues carrying it to and from work.

The Chromebook 311 boasts a rugged design too, and Acer claims it features Military Standard (MIL-STD 810H) durability. This means it’s impact-resistant and can withstand drops from 1.2m heights, as well as up to 132lbs of downward force. For students and young learners, this is a great feature to have, as users can rest assured the laptop will be protected against wear and tear over the years.

Ports-wise, the Chromebook 311 is stripped back, featuring two USB-A Gen 3.2 Type 1 as well as two USB-C ports (including one for charging). There’s also a 3.5mm headphones jack to plug in the best headphones for working from home or the office. Though not many, these ports should be plenty for students. Acer sells a 7-in-1 USB-C hub ($24) separately for those who want extra ports and an SD card reader.

Seamless Pixel integration

Similar to how Apple’s MacBooks offer seamless integration with iPhones and iPads, the Acer Chromebook 311 syncs perfectly with Google Pixel smartphones. I own a Google Pixel 10 Pro XL, and pairing my phone with the Chromebook 311 was a walk in the park. All I needed to do was sign in on the laptop with my Google account, and et voilà! I instantly had access to all my bookmarks, Google Chrome browsing history, passwords, and more.

In addition to that, I was able to receive notifications from my phone on the Chromebook 311, and even access recent photos and apps installed on my Pixel via Phone Hub. This made it easy to reply to WhatsApp messages directly from the laptop without picking up my phone or launching WhatsApp Web in a separate Chrome tab. Being able to access my recent photos was a boon too, as I take a lot of photos of products I’m reviewing, so being able to easily offload them without mailing them to myself saved me precious time.

Suited to light productivity

For casual typists and students, the Acer Chromebook 311 is a good laptop for light productivity, such as typing in Google Docs, making presentations, creating spreadsheets, and so on. To assist with that, the Chromebook 311 features a good, simple membrane keyboard. The keys’ short travel distance and soft bottoming out make typing feel effortless, and the keys are well-spaced out too, so you don’t accidentally hit unintended ones.

I took a typing test at 10fastfingers.com to see how the Chromebook 311’s keyboard fared, and I was able to achieve 87 words per minute with 91.09% accuracy. This is similar to how I type on my work-sanctioned MacBook Air M2, on which I have an average typing speed of 88WPM with 93.04% accuracy.

The Chromebook 311 also features a touchscreen integrated into its 11.6-inch (1366 x 768) display, so you can type on that too if you don’t fancy using the keyboard. I found the touchscreen responsive in my testing, and scrolling from the top to the bottom of a long spreadsheet was quick and easy. The screen doesn’t lag too much either, and I noticed some stuttering only after I had 30 tabs open in Chrome, including Google Docs, YouTube and other memory-eating websites.

On Geekbench 6, which tests overall CPU performance, the Chromebook 311 pulled in a multi-core score of 2,168. While it’s low compared to many other laptops, this is a Chromebook running a MediaTek Kompanio 540 CPU, and not an Intel or AMD CPU. It upstages the Lenovo Chromebook Duet 3 ($359) which has a multi-core score of 1,732, but it’s outdone by the MacBook Neo ($599) and its A18 Pro chip pulling in an impressive 8,920 multi-core score.

Looooong battery life

If you want a laptop that lasts a day’s worth of work, the Acer Chromebook 311 is a great choice. Acer promises 15 hours of battery life, thanks to the MediaTek Kompanio 540 CPU, and the fanless design means the laptop stays quiet when you need to focus on your studies or work. Fast charging is also supported too, with Acer claiming that it takes 30 minutes for the 45Wh battery to charge up to 50%, and an hour for 80%.

In my testing, it took the laptop just over an hour to go from zero to 100%, ascertaining Acer’s claims. I then conducted a battery test where I left the laptop playing an HD live video on YouTube until it ran out of charge, with the brightness calibrated to 150 nits. I timed it manually, and the laptop promptly died after 13 hours and five minutes, which is outstanding. As you can see from the table above, the Chromebook 311 upstages the Lenovo Chromebook Duet 3, and the Acer Aspire Go 15 ($299), and it comes close to the MacBook Neo.

Acer Chromebook 311 (C725) review: The downs

Unfortunately, the Acer Chromebook 311’s large bezels, poor color performance and small SSD massively let it down. Oh, and that eye-watering price tag!

Large bezels

While the Acer Chromebook 311 is great to type on and is good enough for low-stakes productivity, its large bezels take away from the overall user experience. A laptop bezel is the frame surrounding the screen, and it serves as a protective border and adds to the laptop’s structural integrity, and provides housing for components like a webcam. I remember when laptops sporting massive bezels when they first became popular, but we’ve come a long way since then, and many modern laptops feature thin bezels.

Not the Chromebook 311. The thick black bezels are too prominent for my liking, and make the laptop look clunky and cheap. The Chromebook 311’s 11.6-inch screen is already kinda small, and the large bezels do it no favors, making it appear even smaller than it is. Personally, I prefer the wafer-thin bezels found on the likes of the MacBook Air M5 ($1,099), but I also understand that the laptop I’m referring to is twice the Chromebook 311’s price. If you want thin bezels, I’d recommend the Lenovo Chromebook Duet 3 instead.

Poor color coverage and accuracy

The Acer Chromebook 311 is designed for students or those who partake in low-stakes productivity, but I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone who edits photos or deals with other creative work. That’s because the Chromebook 311 struggles when it comes to color coverage as well as accuracy.

My lab testing showed that the Chromebook 311 is not fit for any kind of work involving colors — or even watching movies and playing video games, really. Let’s talk about the brightness first. The Chromebook 311 achieved a peak brightness of 225.8 nits in my lab tests, which isn’t too bad, and in real-world use, I didn’t particularly struggle to see and read what was on the screen. But it’s worth noting that the Lenovo Chromebook Duet 3 and the MacBook Neo offer nearly double the brightness, alongside better color coverage and accuracy.

I then measured color coverage and accuracy. The Chromebook 311 covers only 59.7% of the sRGB color spectrum, and 55.3% of the wider DCI-P3 gamut. This means that colors appear washed out on the screen, and as the screen can’t produce deep, rich colors, the contrast between dark and light areas appears poor with blacks appearing more gray than black.

Delta-E, which determines color accuracy (the closer the score to zero, the better), measured at 7.2 is abysmal, for lack of a better word. This means that the human eye perceives vastly different colors than what was originally intended by, say, a videographer filming animals at sunrise. The World Wildlife YouTube video I always watch when testing laptops appeared washed out with poor colors, and it didn’t feel enjoyable.

Tiny storage

The last area the Acer Chromebook 311 let me down in is its internal storage. It packs a 128GB SSD which isn’t a lot in the grand scheme of things. Install a few heavy duty apps or games and that storage will fill up quicker than you can say “butterscotch.”

You can always buy one of the best external SSDs if you want extra storage, or opt for Google cloud storage, which you might already have if you own a Google Pixel smartphone.

Expensive for what’s on offer

Given the large bezels, poor color coverage, and small SSD, I find it hard to justify the Acer Chromebook 311’s steep price. It’s available for $514 at Amazon, which is quite a bit given the laptop’s shortcomings. If you’re willing to extend your budget that far, you should spend it on something actually worth the money.

If it’s a Chromebook you’re after, the Lenovo Chromebook Duet 3 ($359) is a great choice. Don’t mind a Windows laptop? Try the Acer Aspire Go 15. For Apple users, the MacBook Neo ($599) is the undisputed king of sub-$600 laptops. There’s no dearth of alternatives out there when it comes to the best laptops under $500, and Apple has made it very difficult for its other competitors to justify spending more on anything other than the MacBook Neo.

Acer Chromebook 311 (C725) review: Verdict

If you’re a student looking for a productivity-first laptop that lasts a day’s long worth of studying, then the Acer Chromebook 311 is a decent choice. It boasts more than 13 hours of battery life, and seamless Pixel integration for those already invested in Google’s ecosystem. The Chromebook 311 is fit for light productivity and web-surfing, and its keyboard feels lovely to type on too.

But this doesn’t mean the Chromebook 311 is perfect — far from it, actually. The laptop, unfortunately, sports large bezels which make the already small 11.6-inch screen look even smaller. Color coverage and accuracy are poor, making the Chromebook 311 unfit for photo and video editing. The small SSD leaves a lot to be desired, and the laptop is too expensive for what’s on offer.

In a crowded market where a giant like Apple has created a budget-friendly MacBook for students, why wouldn’t you just buy that? Or another Chromebook like the Lenovo Chromebook Duet 3? The Chromebook 311 faces a lot of fierce competition and, at the end of the day, struggles to come out on top.

With the MacBook Neo priced at $599, budget laptops now face stiff competition from Apple. For years, the best Chromebooks dominated the sub-$600 laptop space. That era is over, which begs the question: Is a Chromebook still worth buying?

While the MacBook Neo is arguably the best budget laptop right now, we shouldn’t completely dismiss Chromebooks. For some people, these ChromeOS-driven notebooks might actually be the smarter choice. This is doubly true if you mostly use Google's apps, like Docs, Drive, and YouTube.

Below, I'll detail some of the Chromebook options out there, along with the pros and cons of these budget laptops. Are Chromebooks worth getting over a MacBook Neo, or is Apple's affordable laptop the new budget king? Read on to find out!

The $200 tier

The MacBook Neo is the most affordable MacBook ever, but Chromebooks can still be significantly cheaper. Models like the Acer Chromebook 315 and HP Chromebook 14 cost $150–$250 less than Apple’s colorful new laptop, making the Neo two to three times as expensive at that price point.

One big advantage these cheap Chromebooks have is that they’re expendable. They’re the laptops you hand to a kid or toss in a backpack without a second thought. They handle Google Docs, YouTube, and email just fine.

That said, the daily experience isn’t great, thanks to their dim 250-nit screens, slow Celeron processors, and an overall cheap feel. The Neo’s brighter display and faster A18 Pro chip make it far more future-proof than a Chromebook you’ll probably replace in two years.

Unless you’re on an extremely tight budget, it’s worth spending a few hundred bucks more for the noticeably better experience the Neo delivers.

The $600 tier

This is where things get truly interesting. For the same $599, you can grab a more “premium” Chromebook Plus like the Lenovo Chromebook Plus 14. On paper, it can actually look like the wiser pick.

Chromebooks at this price give you several advantages the Neo skips: 2K OLED touchscreens, backlit keyboards, and even 2-in-1 designs that flip into tablet mode. The base Neo is a straightforward clamshell with no touch support and no backlit keyboard.

So if you work at night a lot or you’re an artist who wants stylus support, something like the Asus Chromebook Plus CX34 still offers more everyday versatility—even if macOS is the more robust operating system overall.

Chromebooks: Pros and cons

Here’s a quick breakdown of what Chromebooks give you over the MacBook Neo, and what Apple’s laptop delivers that Chromebooks can’t.

Pros: Why you’d still pick a Chromebook

• Hardware perks: Touchscreens, OLED panels, and backlit keyboards.
• 2-in-1 options: Many mid-range Chromebooks convert to tablet mode.
• Port variety: HDMI, USB-A, and microSD slots are common.
• Simplicity: If you mostly live in Google’s apps, ChromeOS is basically all you need.

Cons: Where the MacBook Neo wins

• A18 Pro performance: Apple’s chip runs circles around the Intel Core i3 or i5 chips in most Chromebooks.
• Resale value: A four-year-old Mac still has solid trade-in value; a four-year-old Chromebook is usually e-waste.
• Native apps: Real desktop versions of Photoshop or Final Cut simply aren’t possible on ChromeOS.
• Build quality: Even “premium” Chromebooks lean on plastic; the Neo is precision-milled from aluminum end to end.

MacBook Neo vs. Chromebooks: Which one should you buy?

If your budget is locked under $300, a basic Chromebook is still a smart, practical choice, especially if you mainly stick to Google’s apps. If you can spend $600 and really want a touchscreen, backlit keys, or tablet mode, machines like the Lenovo Chromebook Plus 14 offer a more versatile physical experience than the base Neo.

Chromebooks still serve a purpose, but for most people, the MacBook Neo is the stronger long-term pick. Sure, it skips a few features, but it makes up for those gaps with strong performance, more-than-all-day battery life, broader app compatibility, and seamless integration with the Apple ecosystem. That combination is hard to beat when you’re shopping in the budget space.

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For nearly a year, it’s been hinted Google wants to merge its Android and ChromeOS operating systems into a single OS. Google confirmed this narrative in July, but a now-deleted job listing seems to confirm the firm’s plans.

Spotted by Android Authority, a two-month-old job listing for a project manager mentions work on a project named — or codenamed — “Aluminium OS.” The ad goes on to describe the project as a “new operating system built with Artificial Intelligence (AI) at the core.”

The “ALOS” system is also described as “Android-based” with Google looking to build entry-level, mass market and premium devices using the new OS. Those devices include laptops, detachables, tablets and boxes at a variety of prices.

It doesn’t sound like ChromeOS will go away immediately, as the listing says the team will develop devices across both operating systems before eventually transitioning to ALOS.

Interestingly, the name uses the British spelling with the ending -ium, though it might be a bit of a nod to Chromium, the open-source code that makes up the structure of ChromeOS.

How we got here

In November of 2024, Android Authority reported that a source inside Google confirmed the plan was to combine Android and ChromeOS. Google’s Android Ecosystem President Sameer Samat officially confirmed that mission in July during an interview with our colleagues at TechRadar, stating “we’re going to be combining ChromeOS and Android into a single platform.”

In September Google’s Rick Osterloh announced it’s working with Qualcomm to make a big push to bring Android to PCs, with Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon praising early versions of the software.

Potential launch windows

Based on what we heard in September, it’s likely the Aluminium project will launch in 2026, though what year is up in the air. The most likely windows are around the release of Android 17. Android 16 arrived early this year in June, rather than August or October. It’s not yet clear if Android 17 will keep that date. We could also see ALOS during Google’s big I/O event, which typically takes place in May, and both windows would suggest a spring or early summer debut.

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As someone who travels from work to a home office, local events to tech expos abroad and from train to plane, I need a laptop that can handle my daily workloads without a hint of struggling while on the move. With this in mind, the Asus Chromebook CX15 doesn't cut it

But that's being unfair to this 15-inch budget machine. Not all laptops are meant to deliver peak speeds while playing the latest PC games or editing videos, and if they were, these machines would be a niche. That's where the Asus Chromebook CX15's true strength lies: its price.

For just $259/£249, this is a solid laptop that offers just enough power for scrolling through websites, answering emails, writing up documents and watching shows on. For my mother, who literally only uses a laptop to do these things, that's a steal.

The CX15 takes full advantage of what ChromeOS offers — a mainly web-based experience that's simple to use. But it also boasts a decently large 15.6-inch FHD (1920 x 1080) display, a spacious, comfy keyboard and an attractive, slimline design that's easy to carry around (and durable thanks to its MIL-STD 810H military grade protection).

With its affordability, though, sacrifices had to be made. For one, its performance trails behind modern Chromebooks we see today, and it can feel cheap to work on, thanks to its poor trackpad. Plus, it would be nice to see more ports, especially when the one USB-C port is being used by its charger.

All that being said, it's almost a given knowing what you're in for when you see that sub-$300 price. For those after an easy-to-use family computer to get stuff done, or students looking to jot down notes, the Asus Chromebook CX15 makes the case for being one of the best budget laptops, and more so, one of the best Chromebooks for kids. Even if it's nowhere near the strongest Chromebook around.

Asus Chromebook CX15: Cheat Sheet

• What is it? A budget sub-$300 Chromebook with simple specs.
• Who is it for? For families or students looking for an affordable laptop to browse the web, answer emails, watch shows or catch up on study.
• How much does it cost? The Asus Chromebook CX15 is available for $269 at Amazon in the U.S. and £249 at Amazon in the U.K. It's also available at Best Buy, but Amazon's price is far better with an even better-specced model at 8GB of RAM. Plus, I've spotted it for just $219 during a sale.
• What do we like? Its charming design with a large, comfy keyboard (number pad included), the solid 15-inch 1080p display and extremely affordable price (even less on sale).
• What don’t we like? The bare minimum specs spell weak performance, the touchpad feels plasticky and it could use a few more ports.

Asus Chromebook CX15: Specs

Asus Chromebook CX15: The ups

I mean, as soon as I saw its $259/249 price, I knew the type of experience I'd get from this laptop. But the Asus Chromebook CX15 surprised with its ability to be a decent machine for simple, general use.

Value for the basics

Look, there's hardly much point spending upwards of $999 for a MacBook Air M4 or a Dell 14 Premium if all you'll use it for is browsing websites on Google Chrome or spinning up a document on Google Docs. Sure, you can, and you'll get a speedy experience, but that would be a waste of the laptop's potential and, more importantly, your hard-earned cash.

Following that sentiment, the Asus Chromebok CX15 excels. It comes with the simplicity of ChromeOS to get you up and running in no time, booting up Chrome with your account linked so you can head right back into your favorite websites (if you use Chrome as your main browser, that is).

But there's also Google Gemini for AI assistance, Photos to check out your latest snaps, Meet to set up video calls with colleagues or loved ones and all the usual suspects. Of course, the Play Store is also there to try out the latest apps.

It all works as intended, too. During my time exploring websites and watching shows, the Chromebook didn't crash or experience extreme lag while jumping from tab to tab, even with a show playing in the background (but there is some stutter, but more on that later).

If that's how you plan to mainly use a laptop, what more could you want for a bargain price? There is no way this Chromebook will be playing games (its 3DMark Wild Life benchmark recorded 8 frames per second), or handle the massive workloads of a professional using spreadsheets and creatives who need to edit. But at this price, I don't expect it to.

'Just right' appeal

You won't see many 15-inch laptops anymore, with many manufacturers moving to a 14-inch or 16-inch form factor (except for Apple and its 15-inch MacBook Air, keep it going). It's a shame, as it does strike the right balance between being a sizeable machine while still being portable enough to carry around.

The Asus Chromebook CX15 finds that middle ground, coming in at 14.15 x 9.14 x 0.79 inches and weighing 3.5 pounds. It's only a little bigger and heavier than the 15-inch MacBook Air (13.4 x 9.5 x 0.4 inches, 3.3 pounds), meaning it's easy enough to carry around and slip in a backpack.

But it also means there's enough room for a full-sized keyboard with a number pad included. That's a boon for those who often rely on a set of numbers on the right to punch in counts into spreadsheets and the like, but the keyboard itself is comfortable to type on.

They're quiet when typing away, with the Chiclet keyboard coming with a decent 1.35mm key travel. Asus states these keys are spill-resistant, too, but you can imagine I didn't want to test this out. But this just gives the Asus CX15 another point for being one of the best Chromebooks for kids.

That, along with its military-grade durability. This means it should be able to survive sudden shocks, drops, spills and all the grime that's thrown at it.

Better yet, it comes with all the clean style of a modern laptop. The CX15 comes in four colorways, including silver, blue, green and pink. That last one is the model I received, and I adore its subtle, chic appeal.

Decent views

With the Asus Chromebook CX15's sizeable design comes with a fine 15.6-inch FHD (1920 x 1080) display with a 16:9 aspect ratio. This won't be winning any awards, for its main purpose of showing websites in clear view and for binge-watching shows on, it does the job with alright colors.

As you'll find below, compared to other Chromebooks like the Lenovo Chromebook Plus 14, it doesn't reach the heights of color accuracy or brightness these bring to the table. But considering the Acer Chromebook Plus 515 and Acer Aspire Go 15 are slightly more expensive, the CX15 doesn't fare too badly.

In real-world testing, I found the CX15 was able to show clear, detailed images on the websites I visited, and its brightness was fine while using the Chromebook indoors. Of course, it would struggle a little more when used outdoors or with sunlight beaming on it.

When throwing on the latest episode of Vince Gilligan's absurdly thrilling "Pluribus," I did see slight graininess without that crisp look you get on higher-resolution, vivid displays. But it was still easily watchable — hardly something I'd complain about when catching up with all my favorite shows.

It won't be showing highly detailed visuals, but for little ones watching shows or those who don't mind if their displays aren't showing mind-blowing images, the CX15 is a fine machine for productivity and entertainment.

Asus Chromebook CX15: The downs

Considering the price of the Asus Chromebook CX15, this laptop has a few pitfalls that will throw some people off. Mainly, its the performance, but it would have also been nice to see more ports and attention to its cheap-feeling trackpad.

Performance: Bare minimum

Now onto the crux of the CX15's problems: performance. With its Intel Celeron N4500 processor, 4GB of DDR4X RAM and 64GB eMMC storage, these are eye-watering specs (in the bad sense). Unfortunately, this is reflected in our testing too, but at the very least, Chromebooks are meant to rely on their internet-based prowess.

Even when compared to other bargain laptops, like the Acer Aspire Go 15 and Acer Chromebook Plus 515, the Geekbench scores of the Chromebook CX15 are atrocious. I'd say this is the weakest-performing laptop I've reviewed this year, considering not one of its scores reached the usual quadruple digits.

That's why I'd see slight stalls when loading up pages on Google Chrome, especially when having a dozen tabs open. Nothing game-breaking, but since it was already causing some lag, pushing it past this limit wouldn't be wise. Even the WebXPRT benchmark, which measures the performance of web-based devices, isn't very strong.

Now, on paper, it looks like this machine can barely open up Minesweeper. But in reality, I was still browsing through multiple websites with a show on Apple TV playing in another tab. Is it wicked fast? Not in the slightest, but it can still dish out enough power to get basic tasks done.

Where'd my ports go?

Sporting one USB-C 3.2 Gen 1, a USB-A 3.2 Gen 1, one HDMI 1.4, a 3.5mm audio jack and...oh, that's it? Yes, and to make matters worse, the USB-C port is mainly used for charging the device (it lasts 7 hours and 26 minutes, so expect it to be plugged in every once in a while).

I appreciate any laptop that offers a 3.5mm audio jack for headphones, but only one port for a mouse, keyboard, USB stick and other peripherals? There should be more. And that's especially true, seeing as the whole right side of the CX15 is free for more ports to be fitted in.

Hollow clicks

This one may require one of the best mice to be attached, as the touchpad on the CX15 is simply too small (3 x 4.3 inches) and too cheap-feeling to be satisfying to use. Sure, I'm able to click around without issue, but the hollow feel of each click and how often I had to lift my finger to drag it back just to scroll further is a nuisance.

A small nuisance, in the grand scheme of it all, but an annoying one nevertheless.

Asus Chromebook CX15: Verdict

Is the Asus Chromebook CX15 a worthy investment? For the likes of me and my daily computing tasks, I'd say no. But that's because I require a speedy machine that can multitask without stress to manage my workload (and my streaming- and gaming-friendly entertainment habits).

But I have to pay more to achieve that. For those who only want a simple-to-use, affordable laptop that does the job of being able to easily run websites, read through emails, work through documents and stream the latest shows, then the Asus Chromebook CX15 is the value machine you're after.

Being just $259/£249 is a huge advantage for many, especially kids, students or families in need of a laptop for all to use. You'd be hard-pressed to find a better-looking laptop that's easy to carry around at this price.

One thing I do recommend is looking out for the model with 8GB of RAM and 256GB for storage, as with this model on Amazon. Some retailers may charge more for the less powerful 4GB version, and to make the most out of this machine, you'll want all the power you can get.

This is a budget laptop that isn't throwing any punches, but I quite like a peaceful, no-nonsense machine to browse the internet with, and the CX15 does just that.

Google and Nvidia are partnering to launch a new GeForce Now cloud gaming plan exclusive to Chromebooks. The new ad-free ‘Fast Pass’ tier gives Chromebook owners a way to stream over 2,000 games directly from your existing PC game library.

Starting today (Nov. 20), anyone who purchases a new Chromebook, including the best Chromebooks, will get a year of Fast Pass for free. Fast Pass has a few nice features and some restrictions in comparison to other GeForce Now tiers.

Here’s what Fast Pass gets you

At first glance, the new gaming plan is similar to the current GeForce Now free plan which lets you stream more than 2,000 “Ready-to-Play” games from your existing Epic, Steam or Xbox libraries. The difference between that plan and the Chromebook version is that Fast Pass has no ads and “allows you to skip the queue,” whereas the free plan shows ads and typically has a wait of two or more minutes to start playing.

Fast Pass users are limited to 10 hours of cloud gaming each month, though five of those can be rolled over to the next month if you don’t use them up. Nvidia’s other paid plans, starting at $9.99 a month, come with more features like faster frame rates, higher resolutions and access to more games using the “Install-to-Play” feature.

This is an important difference that sets this new free “Fast Pass” for Chromebooks apart from paid GeForce Now subscriptions. If you pay for a plan you can access both GeForce Now’s library of “ready-to-play” games which are always kept up-to-date and ready to launch, and you can install games you own (on Steam, Epic, etc) on Nvidia servers if they’re not part of the “ready-to-play” list.

So while Fast Pass members won’t be able to install games they own on Nvidia servers and stream them to a Chromebook, you will be able to stream a variety of popular games like Borderlands 4 and The Outer Worlds 2.

Pricing remains unannounced

While Google and Nvidia are offering a year free with new purchases, neither company has announced how much the plan will cost once you have to start paying.

For comparison’s sake, GeForce Now’s Free tier is ad-supported and you are limited to 1-hour gaming sessions. The Performance tier costs $9.99 per month (or $99.99 per year) and does not include ads, but you are limited to 100 hours of playtime a month. Presumably, the Fast Pass plan for Chromebooks will cost less than either of those plans.

Tom’s Guide has reached out to Google for information on pricing and will update if the company responds.

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Google is making a big push to bring Android to PCs. During this year’s Qualcomm Snapdragon Summit, Google’s Rick Osterloh shared that the company was working on a way to merge Android and ChromeOS (via Android Authority). To make things more interesting, Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon said he’s seen the software and is excited.

“In the past, we’ve always had very different systems between what we’re building on PCs and what we’re building on smartphones, and we’ve embarked on a project to combine that,” said Osterloh during the Snapdragon Summit opening keynote. “ We are building together a common technical foundation for our products on PCs and desktop computing systems.”

Osterloh then discussed Google’s plans to bring Gemini and the full Android AI stack to PCs. “This is another way we can leverage all of the great work we’re doing together on our AI stack, our full stack, bringing Gemini models, bringing the assistant, bringing all of our applications and developer community into the PC domain,” said Osterloh. “And I think this is another way in which Android is gonna be able to serve everyone in every computing category.”

To that, Cristiano Amon said that he’s seen it and that it “is incredible” and that it “delivers on the vision of convergence of mobile and PC.” Regarding a PC that runs on this platform, the Qualcomm CEO also said he “cannot wait to have one.”

This isn’t the first time there has been discussion about merging Android with Chrome OS. As we've previously reported, Android’s Sameer Samat said that Google was “combining ChromeOS and Android into a single platform.” That statement was made when Google began developing ChromeOS on parts of the Android stack.

Android + Chrome = Windows threat?

We spoke with research firm IDC about the potential for Android on PCs, and it sounds like it could fix one of the biggest problems with Chrome OS.

“From an end-user perspective, Chrome OS’ heavy reliance on the web has always been a point of frustration and has excluded Chrome OS from participating in many countries where internet access is intermittent,” said Jitesh Ubrani, research manager at IDC.

“By combining the two operating systems, Google can hopefully create an operating system that shares the benefits of both Android and Chrome while shedding the parts of each that are less than ideal. It would also help Google create more cohesion between smartphones running Android and PCs running Chrome OS.”

According to IDC, Windows maintains a firm hold on the PC operating system market, with a global share of 79.8% of new PCs in 2025. Meanwhile, ChromeOS accounts for 7.3%. Google has a steep hill to climb if it wants to eat into Microsoft’s PC dominance. However, it can potentially shine in certain segments.

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Hold up! Are Chromebooks good now? Yea, I’m just as surprised as you are. It’s been a journey of rediscovery for me since I was blindsided by the Lenovo Chromebook Plus 14 — the MediaTek Kompanio Ultra 910 chipset being its ace in the hole to make one of my favorite laptops of the year.

Now, it’s the turn of the Acer Chromebook Plus Spin 514, and once again, it’s shot up the charts and is easily one of the best 2-in-1 laptops you can get right now. That Arm chip makes all ChromeOS processes fly by like it's nothing, while still giving you that same MacBook-esque stamina — all packed into a shell that feels amazing to hold with great ergonomics on the keyboard and touchpad too.

There are some power ups here over Lenovo’s efforts. First, it’s a 2-in-1, so you can flip that screen right back on itself for the tablet (or tent) experience — convenient given how well integrated Android is into ChromeOS (and how Google plans to bring them even closer together). And second, that display itself is super crispy with a 2.8K OLED, which brings that same deep contrast and mesmerizing color you know and love.

But there are a couple issues to note here. First is a small one in the grand scheme of things: the display color accuracy on the Spin 514 isn’t as close to just right as the Chromebook Plus 14. Better resolution, but not quite as vivid or accurate in tones.

And second is that finish. Not to take away from the premium feel of that aluminum shell, but whatever its coated with, it does make the Spin 514 very susceptible to dings and marks (more on that later).

Finally is that common ChromeOS problem — pricing this next generation of Chromebooks at $699 (starting) puts it in direct competition with Windows laptops and cheaper Macbooks. Provided you’re sure all of what you want to do is within the relatively small realm of app support in ChromeOS, you’ll have an amazing time with the Spin. But keep in mind that you won’t be able to use many of the usual suspects like Photoshop.

So let me take a beat and explain why if you’re in the market for a Google laptop, this is one of the best Chromebooks to buy right now.

Acer Chromebook Plus Spin 514: Cheat Sheet

• What is it? This is a more premium 2-in-1 Chromebook.
• Who is it for? This is ideal for those who depend on all of Google’s services for work and play — spending a ton of time in Chrome and dabbling in the vast array of the big G’s AI features.
• What does it cost? The Acer Chromebook Plus Spin 514 with MediaTek chip will launch in October at a starting price of $699.
• What do we like? Unmistakably premium for every reason — that MediaTek chip provides impressive performance and incredible power efficiency, while Acer brings the luxury aesthetic of a sleek aluminum shell, great ergonomics and a gorgeous 2.8K OLED touchscreen on a full 2-in-1 hinge.
• What don’t we like? At $699, this is definitely a pricey Chromebook laptop. Plus, the coating on the aluminum shell is very susceptible to even the smallest of impacts.

Acer Chromebook Plus Spin 514: Specs

Acer Chromebook Plus Spin 514: The ups

Like I said, I used to be a Chromebook hater (sorry Google), but with every new Arm-armed option like this, I’m finding a new love for them.

Unmistakably premium

Normally with Chromebooks, you get used to a drop in build quality — tactical choices on cheap plastic that help keep that cost down. With the Acer Chromebook Plus Spin 514, that’s not the case, as it’s an entire aluminum shell, and a damn good-looking one at that.

Holding it in your hands, it almost feels like a luxury experience. Then opening it up, you can really feel the confidence inspired in the strength of that hinge, and you can work to your heart’s content on a keyboard that feels oh-so ergonomically sound and a touchpad with zero spongeyness to every click.

This is a gorgeous laptop. But while the coating does make it fingerprint resistant, it does mark very easily (more on that later).

Arm strength and stamina

Just like the Lenovo Chromebook Plus 14, Acer’s Spin 514 comes armed with the latest MediaTek Kompanio Ultra 910 chipset — packing an NPU capable of 50 trillion AI operations per second (TOPS) entirely locally on the silicon. And with it being an Arm chip, you best believe you’re getting blazing speeds with impressive stamina to boot.

RAM does take a knock back to 12GB vs Lenovo’s 16GB, but I doubt you’ll be feeling that in the multitasking capabilities unless you really stretch it. I only managed to see it stutter ever so slightly at a mammoth 65 tabs.

AI operations are nice and quick on that NPU, with smart photo edits happening locally zipping by in a flash. Whatever you throw at this, you won’t lose any of that responsiveness — especially in the immediate reaction to any multitouch inputs on that screen. And speaking of the display…

Blindsided by OLED beauty

It’s a stunner. That’s all I’d need to say here to my friends, but let’s get a little more geeky here.

That 14-inch 2.8k OLED panel is super crispy and uber vivid with a nice HDR quality. And popping it on a 360-degree hinge gives you many ways to interact with it — from having your work look super pretty in laptop mode, to binge watching/using Nvidia GeForce Now in tent mode, or getting creative in tablet mode.

Yes, it’s not as color accurate as Lenovo’s panel, but for the casual workload, this will only be a problem to those who need to make super specific granular creative work and need that accuracy ensured in what they do. For everyone else, you’ll just admire the really pretty screen here.

Acer Chromebook Plus Spin 514: The downs

One of these is par for the course for Chromebooks, and the other is something that sounds small on paper, but can be a frustration if you’re keen to take care of your shiny new laptop.

Pricey for a Chromebook

But this falls into the same trap that the Chromebook Plus 14 does. At $699, you have to really want a Chromebook, because you could grab a decent Windows laptop or maybe even a slightly older MacBook at this price (the M2 MacBook Air for example).

Because while in the grand scheme of premium laptops, it’s a decent price, we are still talking about ChromeOS here. It is getting better with time, and I stand by this being the best desktop UI when it comes to working hand-in-hand with AI.

But local app support continues to be oceans away from Windows 11 and macOS. And at this high price, that may be a question.

Accident prone

This is just a small issue in the grand scheme of things, but as it triggered my ADHD for clean lines and minimal wear and tear, I have to say it. The coating atop this aluminum shell is rather prone to small signs of damage. Not to the hardware itself — this is a durable design that inspires confidence. But rather small nicks that you’ll have no idea where they came from.

For example, I’ve been carrying mine around in a laptop case in my Mous Optimal backpack. Any other laptop in there has been able to withstand any kind of carrying/gently putting the back down on the floor/desk. But here, however, a small mark has appeared on the bottom corner of the keyboard deck that has scratched off some of that silver topping.

Small things like this peeking in your peripheral vision can be annoying — especially in a laptop you’ve paid 700 bucks for.

Acer Chromebook Plus Spin 514: Verdict

Wear and tear susceptibility aside, though, after crowning a new best Chromebook, I’m now giving the best 2-in-1 throne to the Acer Chromebook Plus Spin 514. It’s seriously that good.

The laptop hardware feels phenomenal to use at every angle, the display is drop dead gorgeous, and the turbo-charged Arm engine on the inside will crush any ChromeOS task while slow-sipping that battery.

If your work and life revolve around Google products, this is the best convertible option to snag.

Choosing one of the best laptops is daunting enough, but shopping for the best laptop for students presents its own set of challenges. With so many brands and possible configurations, it’s easy to get overwhelmed. While that’s natural, finding the best notebook for your needs is important, as a good one can make your school year easier, while a bad one can make the semester a bigger headache.

Even though it’s been decades since I’ve set foot inside a campus or classroom, I’ve reviewed enough laptops to know what aspects students should consider. To that end, I've put this article together to detail what students should look out for. And of course, I’ll drop some specific recommendations to make things even easier.

By keeping everything I’m about to discuss in mind, you’ll be in a better position to make an informed decision on which laptop will serve your needs as a student. Here are the three most important things to consider when shopping for a student laptop.

Price

Price is likely the most important thing students think about when shopping for a laptop. Though some can afford an expensive laptop that can do it all, most students can’t. Because of that, you’ll want a machine that’s suitable for basic school work involving writing papers and surfing the web for research. Thankfully, you don’t have to spend a lot to get these basics.

A Chromebook or a cheap Windows laptop with an Intel Core i3 processor and 8GB of RAM is the bare minimum you should look for to handle simple tasks. However, if you want something speedier and that can handle more than basic writing and web browsing, look for beefier laptops with at least an Intel Core i5 CPU from the past few years, 16GB of RAM, and a 256GB to 512GB SSD for storage. These stronger laptops should still be relatively affordable.

For $300, the Acer Aspire Go 15 is a good choice for budget-conscious students who just want a machine that gets the job done. While its plastic-feeling build isn’t great, the 15-inch display, roomy keyboard, generous port selection, and over 10-hour battery life make up for that. If you like Macs, the MacBook Air M1 is still available from Walmart for under $700. This notebook still delivers smooth performance and over 13 hours of battery life.

Portability

Whether it’s traveling to school or walking around campus each day, you’ll want a laptop that’s thin and lightweight. After all, you have enough burdens to deal with, and a big and heavy laptop shouldn’t be one of them. Of course, a small and thin laptop means some trade-offs.

For instance, machines like the Dell XPS 13 and MacBook Air are very light and slim, but their 13-inch screens might be too small for you. You can get a larger display on a premium ultraportable like the 15-inch MacBook Air M4 without worrying too much about weight, but once you start getting into the realm of 16-inch to 18-inch screens, expect your laptop to weigh at least 3-5 pounds.

For one of the best ultraportable laptops, you can’t go wrong with the 13-inch MacBook Air M4. This is the laptop I like to travel with during work trips since I barely know it’s even in my backpack. For a thin and light Windows laptop, the recent Dell 14 Premium is a fantastic device to consider.

Battery life

There used to be a time when the best Chromebooks were the industry leaders for laptop battery life. However, these days it’s MacBooks and Windows laptops that are leaders of the pack. To that end, your choices are between Mac and Windows for the best battery life.

Right now, Windows laptops with the best battery life pack Snapdragon X processors. However, since these are Qualcomm’s Arm chips, you might encounter some compatibility issues with select hardware. The latest MacBooks all have Apple silicon inside, and good software support for most things (except games). They also tend to have at least 14 hours of battery life, which is more than enough to get you through a full school day.

That's how my team and I know that the latest MacBook Pro 16-inch M4 Pro is currently one of the best laptops for battery life: it lasted nearly 21 hours (20:46) in our battery test, beating out every other consumer-grade laptop we've tested so far. The Dell XPS 13 (20:51) isn't far behind, making it our second most recommended laptop if battery life is what matters most to you.

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OK I’ve got a confession to make — I’ve been a Chromebook hater for years. While I appreciate what they offer, I don't think dirt-cheap Google laptops are worth it. It's better to spend a little more for a Windows laptop or MacBook with more features.

Google’s AI ambitions ushered in the world of Chromebook Plus laptops in late 2023, which I started to warm to, but it's the Lenovo Chromebook Plus 14 that has finally helped me see the light. I'm the grumpy old man who's been yelling at kids on his lawn for years and finally offers them all ice cream (yes, I look forward to being this person when I retire).

This is easily the best Chromebook you can buy, and I had no problem whatsoever switching from my daily driver MacBook and using this for a week.

So what changed? Well, it comes down to three key things:

• Performance and power efficiency: The battery life on Chromebooks is always pretty good, but that’s due to weakened internals that can’t really handle more than a few Chrome tabs. With a new MediaTek chip in the Chromebook Plus 14, you’re getting both zippy speeds and plenty of stamina.
• Actual usability: Chrome OS is essentially an operating system built around the Chrome browser, but more and more apps and capabilities are here than ever before. Especially with the beefy NPU built into the Kompanio chip inside, you can do quick things like Google’s magic photo edits without an internet connection.
• A fully-fledged AI suite: Whether for your studies, work life or general day-to-day, getting a year of Google AI Pro for free is insanely good value — Gemini Pro has been a huge help for everything from my research to workout plans, and Veo 3 is a crazy good video generation platform.

Plus, it all comes in a seriously good-feeling laptop with a gorgeous OLED display, a fantastically tactile keyboard you’d expect from Lenovo, and a utilitarian aluminum construction that adds a great premium feel to it all.

I know the news broke recently about Android and Chrome OS “combining” into a single platform, and make no mistake about it, the $649 Chromebook Plus 14 should be at the front of the line for this. It’s easily one of the best laptops I’ve used all year, and a fantastic notebook for college students.

Lenovo Chromebook Plus 14: Cheat Sheet

• What is it? This is a premium Chromebook.
• Who is it for? This is ideal for those whose workloads revolve around Google’s suite of apps, and who spend a lot of their personal time in Chrome too — whether you’re a student or a professional.
• What does it cost? Right now, you can pick one up for $649 (though it doesn't seem to be in stock anywhere). The price goes up to $749 if you want a touch screen.
• What do we like? Put simply, it’s just a really damn good laptop. The build quality is impressive, the OLED display is mesmerizing (pairing quite well with the crystal clear speakers), ergonomics are sound, and the MediaTek chip provides surprisingly strong power with great battery life.
• What don’t we like? Obviously at $649, this is on the pricier side for a Chromebook Plus laptop. Of course, you’re getting higher quality specs for the cost, but this does put it squarely in a more upmarket category than the cheaper systems that can do essentially the same thing.

Lenovo Chromebook Plus 14: Specs

Lenovo Chromebook Plus 14: The ups

I fired up the Chromebook Plus 14, put my MacBook on ice (not literally) and daily drove this as my work system for a week. And all it took was seven days to become a full Chrome OS convert.

Shockingly good performance and battery life

Let’s get into what’s most important here. With Chrome OS being a much more simplistic system to run, you see laptop makers compromise on the system specs. Not that you’d overtly feel it — these Chromebooks are usually zippy enough. But under multitasking pressures, they can quickly crumble and the lower-end battery takes a serious hit.

The Lenovo Chromebook Plus 14 is built different — packed with a MediaTek Kompanio Ultra 910 Arm chipset, 16GB of RAM and a beefy 60Wh battery, you’re getting all that speed of an Arm chip with the stamina to boot.

And aiding that further is the 50 TOPS NPU built onto the chipset too — making this the first Chromebook to have its own AI-focused brain for offline processing for tasks like photo editing. This puts this system into worry-free battery life territory for a whole day’s usage.

Oh, and shoutout to the thermal management here. Much like the M4 MacBook Air, the Chromebook Plus 14 is able to run at an impressive sustained speed without the need for a fan. Whisper-quiet performance is a joy when I want to embrace complete silence while working.

Glorious OLED and immersive speakers

But of course, working by day is one thing. A great laptop has to be just as effective at being an all-in-one entertainment machine by night too (or for background Lo-Fi while you work), and the Lenovo Chromebook Plus 14 delivers this in spades.

It all starts with a gorgeously vivid 14-inch OLED display up top. Sporting impressive color accuracy and deep, inky blacks, this panel is fantastic for not only getting stuff done on, but for immersing yourself in whatever you’re binge-watching on Netflix.

Topping it all off are the speakers, and I have to be honest here — these give MacBooks a serious run for their money. They’re loud, crystal clear, and have a nice amount of warmth to the lows.

AI smarts out the wazoo

Out the box, you’re getting the Google AI Pro Plan for 12 months — a $200-per year suite of features including higher levels of access to Gemini 2.5 Pro, NotebookLM with higher limits, Gemini across the entire Google suite, access to the AI filmmaking tool Flow (with Google Veo 3), Jules AI coding agent and 2TB of Drive storage.

I’m never one to include the freebies companies include in their laptops into my judgement, but the fact of the matter is that AI brings everything together in the best of ways. Chrome OS is already the better choice when it comes to sneaking AI into your workload — adding it into the right click options contextually rather than overlaying it clumsily on everything.

But NotebookLM has become an incredible thinking partner for me across everything I do (and is a fantastic tool for college studies), Gemini is a top tier brainstormer, and while I’m sure Veo 3 can be utilized for incredible professional video uses, I’m still having so much fun with it.

It’s the glue that brings this collage of one of my favorite laptop of 2025 together.

Just a really well-built laptop

Let’s not forget the fundamentals of being a good laptop. Its utilitarian aesthetic is a premium sight to behold, which is a huge jump forward from the cheap plastic options you find across the Chromebook market.

The slimline, lightweight aluminum construction is nice and durable, while being easy enough to throw into a backpack between classes (or meetings). The 5MP webcam is a seriously sharp shooter with great color.

And of course, the ergonomics have got to be rock solid. With Lenovo behind the wheel, you can expect that and more.

The tactile feel of that keyboard feels spectacular, and is paired with a silky smooth touchpad with great multitouch controls. Plus, if you spring the extra hundred bucks, that touchscreen is super responsive to any input.

This all comes together to become a laptop you’re genuinely happy using — seriously unexpected for a former Chromebook denier like myself.

Lenovo Chromebook Plus 14: The downs

Honestly? There’s only one downside to this, and it’s something that comes with the territory of Chromebooks always being dirt cheap.

$649 is kind of steep

Don’t get me wrong — you do really get what you pay for here. It’s a premium laptop with great performance and battery life, and the best AI suite for a year. But when Chromebook Plus laptops have typically fit into that $350-$500 space over the past year, this price is definitely on the higher end for a Chromebook.

For example, you could get the Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3x for a very similar price (or cheaper during sales season), and you get a full version of Windows for a far wider range of apps supported. Of course, you get a way worse display, but it's a trade-off you'd have to think about.

The Chromebook Plus 14 is, indeed, value for money when you see what you get. But this puts it in more direct competition with other laptops, and kind of eliminates that value message.

Lenovo Chromebook Plus 14: Verdict

My days of dunking on Chromebooks are over. The Lenovo Chromebook Plus 14 is one of the best laptops I’ve used all year. Not only is it all really well-put together with a great design, ergonomics, a beautiful OLED display and sharp webcam, but Chrome OS has come along leaps and bounds to be a seriously good AI-fueled system that can help you get things done.

If $649 is in your budget for heading to college or looking for an all-dayer for productivity, this stamina monster is a fantastic buy, and the true realization of the Chromebook vision that has turned me into a fan.

Chrome OS is good and all, but it’s always felt distant — on an island of its own away from the might of Android. Well, it turns out Google finally got the memo to send a rescue boat out to said island, as an executive has confirmed the company’s plans to combine the two platforms.

This comes in an interview with TechRadar, where Sameer Samat, president of Android ecosystem at Google, just dropped this nugget into a conversation about why the interviewer was using a suite of Apple devices.

Now, we have heard this before. Back in November, Android Authority reported that a source inside Google had said this was the mission. However, this is the first time Google has confirmed it on-the-record. And honestly? It may be a few years late in my eyes, but I’m glad it’s finally happening. Let me explain.

Android’s hitting the big screen

This comes off the back of Android bringing some new big screen features to the table, such as a proper desktop mode a la Samsung Dex, improved adaptability of apps, better external display support and windowing within the desktop.

Basically, Android is now able to do pretty much everything that a Chromebook could, so why have the two running side by side in isolation of each other?

I’ll always appreciate what Chrome OS has brought to the table, though. I mean with the Lenovo Chromebook Plus 14, Google was able to make low-key one of the best laptops for students, sharpen up the OS with quick shortcuts and add AI features that are logically added rather than clumsily overlaid (looking at you, Microsoft Copilot).

But what was learnt in Chrome OS can also come over to Android too, and having it all in one place unlocks a special new perk on the computing skill tree.

‘It just works’

This is the moniker you hear around a lot of Apple devices. It’s one of the reasons why I use them, why Lance who conducted this interview at TechRadar uses them, and hell, it’s probably why a lot of you out there use them.

The fact that everything just comes together through Continuity features and marries these devices together nicely is always one of Apple’s superpowers that Google has been able to do somewhat, but just not to the level of smoothness you’d find in the Cupertino playground.

To do it properly, you need real sync up in the operating systems, which for all the heavy lifting Google did with Chrome OS to try and make it talk to Android, it was just not feasible. But now a proper merger is on the cards, this is the answer to all of its problems.

And stat-wise it makes sense too. According to most recent data, around 1.25% of the world’s computer users are on Chrome OS — down from nearly 2% last year. With a downward trajectory, change needed to happen, and this might just be the smartest decision the company’s made in a decade.

So what now?

As this was a quick quote from a Google exec, there are some questions I have that remain unanswered as of now:

• Does this mean any Android device could be a desktop device too? Imagine the Pixel 10 getting a laptop-esque accessory (like the long-gone NexDock) to browse your device like a laptop. Pretty cool, right?
• What does this mean for current Chromebooks? Android does technically work on Arm and the more computer-traditional x86 architectures (I go more into the differences in my review of the AMD-armed Asus Zenbook S16), but we’re talking over 99% of its features and apps have been built with Arm in mind. What happens to Chromebooks that are running older Intel chips? Are hardware requirements going to change drastically and leave these people in the cold?
• What about updates? Chrome OS is usually updated every four weeks, mostly for security reasons but Google does sneak some new features in there too. Will moving to Android’s more infrequent feature drops affect this?

We don't have answers to any of these, and it'll be just a case of waiting and seeing what happens (my guess is by the time Android 17 rolls around). But as far as the initial news itself goes, this is an encouraging step in the right direction for Chromebooks.

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Picking the best laptop for college is a tricky decision to make — what OS to go for, how much power you actually need for your studies, any actually useful AI features and what about the battery life? All questions form a finely tuned balance you need to find for your course.

Well, if you’re looking for a recommendation that cuts through all the marketing noise (including Apple’s rather hilarious PowerPoint presentation), I’d like to put one in front of you. The Lenovo Chromebook Plus 14 is a serious shout for the best back-to-school buy you can make.

With a gorgeous OLED screen, the most powerful Arm chip I’ve seen in a Chromebook, an OLED display and up to 17 hours of battery life, the hardware has a lot going for it. But the real beauty lies in the software and its logical AI implementations.

And while comparatively, this is quite pricey for a Chromebook starting at $649, I believe for what you get, it’s absolutely worthwhile. Let’s get into it.

Lenovo Chromebook Plus 14: Specs

An AI productivity powerhouse

Before I go into all the “just laptop things,” I want to hone in on that MediaTek Kompanio Ultra 910 chip. You see, up until this point, AI on a Chromebook has been very much reliant on the cloud — given the lower-end chips used to keep costs down.

For most of us always being surrounded by Wi-Fi, that’s fine, but it does cause latency in the features that matter. But with a new chip that sports an NPU capable of 50 trillion AI operations per second (TOPS), Google and Lenovo are moving over to a hybrid approach.

This brings on-device AI features that are sensibly implemented and actually useful! First thing’s first, Smart Grouping — perfect for a multi-tab Chrome browsing monster like me.

If you’re working across multiple projects and need to bring some structure to what you do, the on-board AI is able to analyze all your tabs and separate them into different desktops by task.

The speed of doing this is a cinch, too, as you just swipe up with three fingers on the touchpad and you’ll see the suggestion appear at the bottom. Then Chrome OS works it all out for you. It’s a level of smart organization that you just can’t find on a Windows laptop or a MacBook at the moment.

Then there’s AI image editing directly in the gallery app. This is more of a “fun to have” than a real useful tool, but it does drastically reduce the amount of time it takes to remove a background and create a PNG sticker of the subject.

Up to the cloud

But the AI features don’t stop there. I could go on about the 12 months of Google AI Pro that you get for free — giving you access to 2TB of cloud storage, Gemini 2.5 Pro and Deep Research, Veo 3 video generation platform and the incredible NotebookLM (perfect for notetaking in lectures).

But what caught my eye the most is the intelligent Text capture that plugs into all your Google services. Essentially, this is the company’s circle to search feature on speed, as it is able to capture text from any image and take contextual action on it.

So, beyond the usual capture a picture and shop for the thing via Google Search, you could highlight a text entry and get it as editable text in Google Docs, capture an event promo image and add it as a Google Calendar event.

In my testing, I wrote out a table by hand, highlighted the picture of it, and it was still able to intelligently recognize and turn it into a spreadsheet. This could be huge for people who work out by doodling to digitize their work.

Also, shoutout to the Simplify expansion to help me read, which can take complex subject matter and dumb down the language a bit. Now I can finally sound as clued up on deep psychological studies as my fiancée!

Not forgetting the fundamentals

For all the things I do like about using a Chromebook, one thing that can get lost along the way is actually being a good laptop. I’ve faced a minefield of mushy keyboards, bad speakers, poor displays and battery life that drops to zero if you even look at it funny.

With the Chromebook Plus 14, I think Lenovo’s cracked it. First of all, I can’t ignore that dazzling OLED screen, which Google has gone ahead and paired with NASA to make some custom wallpapers of Jupiter to really make it sing.

This makes it an ideal panel that’s easy on the eyes for getting work done, which is further backed up by a properly tactile-feeling keyboard (that same comfortable thump to each key that you know and love from Lenovo) and a smooth, clicky touchpad.

It also comes in clutch for those moments when you’re so over your studies for the evening, as the Dolby Atmos setup of two woofers and two tweeters sounds fantastic (even in the busy room I was in). That’s sure to make this a binge-watching beast or a great laptop to turn to for firing up the playlist in your student dorms.

That Arm chip doesn’t stutter when opening any programs. With 12-16GB of RAM, I didn’t feel any slowdown or hitching when I took the Plus 14 up over 20 tabs. And Lenovo is stepping up to the mighty stamina of MacBooks with a claimed 17-hour battery life.

And all of this in a premium aluminum shell with a playful ribbed plastic underside and a 5MP webcam for catching up with your family at home. Everything has been considered here, and when it comes to the typical Chromebook compromises, none of them have been made.

Outlook

For some of these claims (like battery life), I’ll leave that for our full review (coming soon), but early impressions are strong. The Lenovo Chromebook Plus 14 is a shoo-in for the best Chromebook I’ve ever tested, and possibly one of the best laptops of 2025, too.

It’s easy to count out Chrome OS as the third-place option in favor of Windows 11 and macOS. However, with system-level AI implementations across the board that actually make sense and an incredibly easy-to-use UI.

Of course, there are the big question marks here, like dedicated app support. Google does say that more are coming, but we’ll wait and see on that. But in terms of a solidly powerful system with a great screen, zippy internals, a great screen for binge watching and a stellar OS for getting stuff done, this has everything a student needs.

More from Tom's Guide

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• I tried gaming on a Chromebook for a week — and it's better than I expected
• Acer Chromebook Spin 314 (2024) review

Google has revealed new Gemini-powered accessibility updates for Android and Chrome ahead of Google I/O, in honor of Global Accessibility Awareness Day.

The new updates were revealed in a Google blog post, the first set of which use Google Gemini to help people better understand what is happening on their screens. Last year, we saw Google introduce Talk Back, which uses AI to generate descriptions of images, even if they had no alt-text. However, thanks to Gemini, users will soon be able to ask questions about images and receive generated responses. For instance, you could ask about the color of a car that your friend sent you an image of.

On top of that, Google Gemini can be asked questions about your whole screen, making it much faster to search through a webpage. For example, you could ask Gemini if there are any deals on a store page, or if there are any critical updates on a news site.

For those who are hard of hearing, Google is rolling out its Expressive Captions feature for its devices. This will allow the captions on the video to better match the tone and cadence of the person speaking. For instance, if the speaker extends their vowels in excitement, the text will match that. Google is also adding more labels for specific sounds, making it easier to tell if someone is coughing, whistling or clearing their throat.

Chrome is also becoming more accessible

The blog post includes several new additions to Chrome on both desktops/laptops and mobile. This includes the addition of Optical Character Recognition, which allows your device to easily recognise a PDF that’s been scanned into your desktop Chrome browser. This is especially useful for users with screen readers, apps which struggled with these file types before.

Google is also adding page zoom functionality to Google Chrome on Android, making it much easier to change the text size to fit your preference. To make use of the feature, users will need to tap the three-dot menu in the top right corner of the screen. From there, all you’ll need to do is select the zoom preferences option to change the size of the text.

Special needs students are getting extra help

Google is building upon features like Face Control and Reading mode by allowing Chromebooks to work with the College Board's Bluebook testing app. This means that when students take their SATs as well as most Advanced Placement exams, they’ll have access to all of Google’s accessibility features, including ChromeVox screen reader and Dictation, as well as the College Board's own tools.

Finally, app developers will be getting access to Google’s open-source repositories via Project Euphonia’s GitHub page. This will allow them to better train their models and develop personalized audio tools using diverse speech patterns.

Overall, these are some great-sounding additions for anyone with special needs, and will help to make some of the best Android phones and best laptops that much easier to use. We expect more features to be announced during Google I/O next week, so keep an eye out for all the news as we hear it.

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The Acer Chromebook Spin 314 is a slightly above-average, entry-level 2-in-1 device with budget internals. It's not the cheapest Chromebook on the market, but with a wimpy processor and a lackluster display, it sure feels like it.

The Chromebook Spin 314 is fine for surfing the web, using Android apps, and streaming. You won't have a problem writing on a Google Doc or watching YouTube. In its tablet mode, you can use Android apps in their original portrait orientation. Tablet mode is also great when you want to read comics, draw, or use touch to navigate.

One of the best things about this device is its battery life. It lasts a full work day and can be fully charged from zero in around one hour. Whether you're working on a project all day or binge-watching a show, you can rest easy knowing this 2-in-1 won’t suddenly run out of power. With more ports than some high-end laptops, you can easily connect to an external monitor via HDMI or attach a storage device in any of the three USB ports.

Despite some highlights, the Acer Chromebook Spin 314 falls short of being one of the best Chromebooks or best 2-in-1 laptops. From the weak specs, outdated keyboard and disappointing display, there are too many things about this notebook that feel cheap. While it is a budget, entry-level machine, it does little to impress and stand out from better Chromebooks.

Find out more in my full review of the Acer Chromebook Spin 314.

Acer Chromebook Spin 314 review: Cheat sheet

• What is it? A budget-friendly, entry-level 2-in-1 Chromebook.
• Who is for? Those who want a 2-in-1 laptop and are on a tight budget.
• What does it cost? The Acer Chromebook Spin 314 we reviewed costs $499 on Amazon. A version with less memory and storage is also available for $429.
• What do we like? We like having a 2-in-1 device at this price point. It's great for entertainment.
• What don't we like? With an underpowered processor, the device is limited to web surfing and light gaming via Google Play apps.

Acer Chromebook Spin 314 review: The ups

The Acer Chromebook Spin 314 lets you take full advantage of the Google Play Store’s slew of apps. The all-day battery life and generous port selection are also noteworthy features.

2-in-1 functionality

This 2-in-1 Chromebook is a lot better than I expected. While the laptop has a flimsy build, the hinges move smoothly when you open and close the device. Rotating from laptop to tablet mode is easy. There’s even an external power button and volume rocker near the ports, eliminating the need to convert back to laptop mode when powering off the device or adjusting music volume.

With a 14-inch screen, converting this device to a tablet is a choice. Whether I was watching YouTube or reading comics, I couldn't stop thinking about how ridiculous it all looked. I mean, can you imagine reading Invincible on a monitor-sized device at a coffee shop? Surely, someone will crack a joke.

Despite the size, the 2-in-1 functionality works well thanks to the inclusion of Android apps on Chromebook devices. Instead of a glorified web browser, the Chromebook can now do a lot more, and it's even more functional because of the tablet conversion.

This allows you to fully utilize Android apps designed for touch controls. While it's still possible to use Android apps in laptop mode, sizing can be weird, and using the mouse and keyboard can feel less intuitive, depending on the app.

Just enough battery for a full day

The Acer Chromebook Spin 314 has good battery life. If you're mainly using the web browser for work, entertainment, and general web surfing, the battery should last you all day. In our lab testing, it endured for a little over ten hours on average, which is just enough to get you through the workday.

When I used the laptop, the battery life was much shorter because I had to crank up the brightness of the display for reasons I'll get into later. I also mostly used the Chromebook to watch YouTube and read comics, causing the battery to last closer to six hours than nine. That's not bad if you're planning to use this laptop for entertainment instead of solely for work.

What makes the shorter battery life more palatable is the fast charge time. You can charge this device from nearly depleted to full in about an hour.

More ports than some high-end laptops

Budget laptops often skimp on build quality and port selection. This one doesn't do the latter. You have a full HDMI port here, not a mini or micro HDMI. If the single display isn't working for you, you can easily hook up to another display to watch a film or have multiple windows for productivity.

In addition to HDMI, this Chromebook has two USB-A ports and a single USB-C port that doubles as a power supply and data port. Since this isn't a laptop I would use for editing video or photos, I don't see how much use these ports would get, but having a variety of ports is never bad.

I used the 3.5mm audio port the most during my testing. I hooked up my Truthear X Crinacle Zero in-ear monitor, which sounded fine. While the laptop doesn't have built-in EQ software, such as Dolby Advanced Audio or Creative's Sound Blaster Control Panel, the port has enough juice to power my IEM, at least.

Acer Chromebook Spin 314 review: The downs

You can't expect a budget Chromebook to perform like a high-end device. Surfing the web and watching YouTube is smooth, but if you want to play games like Zenless Zone Zero or edit video using the Android version of Davinci Resolve, you'll be disappointed. Additionally, the build quality makes this device feel cheap.

Underwhelming performance

The Spin 314 contains an Intel i3-N305 CPU with integrated Intel UHD graphics. Jargon aside, this is a laptop that's about as powerful as a tablet or phone from a few years ago. In terms of performance, this chip is about on par with Apple's A13 Bionic chip, which is featured in the iPhone 11 and the 9th Gen iPad.

In our lab tests, the Spin 314 turned in disappointing single- and multi-core scores. It didn't fare well in the Wildlife Extreme 3D graphics benchmark. Sure, other Chromebooks we've tested didn't do much better, but that's little consolation.

If all you plan to do is browse the internet, stream your favorite shows and movies, read comics, or play the occasional game, the laptop should provide a stable experience. But if you're thinking of downloading Steam on this laptop and playing games like you would on the best gaming laptops, I'd think again.

Tablet-made apps for photo editing and video editing are also largely out of the question, especially with only 8 GB of RAM to play with. You might be able to get away with creating a short clip on Capcut using FHD video, but I wouldn't.

Outdated keyboard

The keyboard on this Chromebook doesn't feel bad to type on. It's a bit stiffer than I would like, but I still enjoy the tactility, and it's also relatively quiet. Acer managed to cram in the numbers row and function keys to manage volume, brightness, and even screen recording.

My main issue is with the cheap keycaps, which are dye-sublimated. This means the letters and symbols on the keyboard are essentially stuck on. You can very clearly see the outline of the symbols.

While this looks very cheap, that's not the only reason many hate sublimated keycaps; it's that the symbols rub off over time. Sure, the keycaps look good now. In a few years, though, the symbols on those keys may be blurred or completely gone.

My other issue with the keyboard is the lack of backlit keys. This is an essential laptop keyboard feature these days. I like to write at night, and though the light from the display is often enough, I rely on the backlit keys, especially when I dim the screen at night to preserve my vision.

Backlit keys might have solved my other issue since Acer would’ve had to use shine-through keycaps that utilize the double-shot process. This process uses two types of plastic in a mold to create keys with characters that never fade, unlike the keys on this device.

Inaccurate and reflective display

The Acer Chromebook Spin 314 has a touch display that comes in handy when using the device in tablet mode. The touch display also works well when using the device as a laptop.

While I'm happy with the touch display, I can't say the same for its color reproduction.

For color reproduction (sRGB and DCI-P3), the target is 100%. But as you can see in our testing data, this Chromebook falls well below that. Yes, it's Delta-E (color accuracy) is fairly standard for a laptop, but the poor color reproduction effectively negates that. With hues like this, it's no wonder YouTube videos and games look flat. And if you want to use a photo editing app like Lightroom, don’t bother.

My other issue with the display is the reflectiveness. It's some of the worst I've ever seen on a laptop display. Cranking up the display to 100% isn’t worth it because the average brightness of this display is slightly below 300 nits.

That's not the worst brightness. However, this display needs a maximum brightness of 400-600 nits or more to overcome the reflectiveness. I advise you not to use this laptop when the display is facing anything bright, like a window or a lightbulb.

Acer Chromebook Spin 314 Verdict

The Acer Chromebook Spin 314 gets some things right. It delivers all-day performance and charges quickly. With the ability to turn into a tablet, it’s also great for playing mobile games and watching streaming shows. It also offers a good port selection.

Despite its virtues, this laptop costs too much for what it offers. The so-so processor and cheap display dampen the experience. For over $100 less, you can get the Acer Chromebook Spin 714. Or, if you don't care about the 2-in-1 feature, the Acer Chromebook 516 GE is a great option that costs roughly the same.

Although Chromebooks have a reputation for being budget machines, the Spin 314 is, ultimately, a little too budget for my taste. I recommend buying another Chromebook; after all, other, much better Chromebooks offer 2-in-1 functionality.

I wouldn't usually think a Chromebook could go toe-to-toe with a MacBook or a Windows PC, but pair a Pixel with it, and there's a whole new category it conquers.

Let's be clear: Google's take on laptops thrive at being affordable machines for basic productivity, and I've become a fan of what they've been able to achieve — especially with its Chromebook Plus lineup.

Can they match the raw power of a Windows laptop or MacBook? Not a chance. But when it comes to bringing another part of its ecosystem into the mix via Phone Hub? Now we're talking.

So far on my device ecosystem journey, I've matched my iPhone 16 with a MacBook and even paired that iPhone with a Windows PC. And I have to say, using my Pixel 7 Pro with a Samsung Galaxy Chromebook Plus has shown me how much Google has nailed connectivity between devices.

How so? Well, keeping in mind that the best Chromebooks are budget-friendly machines compared to their Windows and Mac rivals, the Phone Hub tool is packed with intuitive, easy-to-use connectivity features. Plus, streaming an app from a Pixel straight to a Chromebook never gets old — and that includes games.

That's not to knock what Apple's suite of Continuity features can do, as you're also able to mirror your iPhone on Mac and more. But the cross-connection between a Pixel and Chromebook showcases that you don't have to pay extra to enjoy a seamless ecosystem of devices.

This isn't solely for Pixel users, as Android phones can unlock many of the same benefits on a ChromeOS laptop, too (take that, Apple). From opening recent Chrome tabs and jumping on a personal hotspot with a click of a button to even locating your phone, there's a lot to praise about this connection between a phone and a laptop.

After using my Pixel with a Chromebook, here are the features I got a kick out of — and you shouldn't miss out on them either.

Pairing made simple

As with most brands with multiple devices linked together in a grand ecosystem, Google makes a connection immediately noticeable when its products are close to one another (call it a "Spidey sense" of sorts).

That happens when a Chromebook picks up that you use a Pixel. By using Fast Pair, I was immediately able to connect the Pixel 7 Pro to the Samsung Galaxy Chromebook Plus, and I was off to the races. There are a few permissions you have to accept, but as long as both devices have Bluetooth on and share the same Wi-Fi network, they can instantly interchange between one another.

This wasn't unlike me pairing my iPhone 16 with a MacBook Air, but the Pixel-Chromebook combo gets some kudos for a very simple implementation: there's a Phone Hub icon right on the Chromebook's taskbar.

It's here where you can easily interact with features on your Pixel right from your Chromebooks screen. I can check my phone's battery life, silence it, connect to its hotspot if I'm in need of internet access (and for ChromeOS, you will) and even locate it.

I know, these are minor features that may or may not be used from time to time, but if it means I don't have to take out my Pixel to check its battery, turn on silence mode if it's making a racket and even find out where it is, all on the laptop, that's a bonus.

All that is always easily accessible — as it should be — playing to the strengths of what Chromebooks do best: simplicity.

But that's just the scratching the surface, as the trump card under Phone Hub's sleeve is being able to stream apps from a Pixel right on a Chromebook.

Your apps on screen

Who doesn't want more screens? Big, small, however they come, having an extra way to multitask on one device is a boon. That's why I've enjoyed using iPhone Mirroring on my MacBook, as I could access all of its apps without actually using the phone itself.

Well, a Chromebook can do the same with a Pixel. Sort of. Using Phone Hub, you can stream apps on a Chromebook and use them as you usually would. And I mean any app.

So, instead of streaming the whole phone interface like a Mac would with an iPhone, it does specific apps instead. I found this to be an easier way to interact with the apps I want to use on the Pixel, instead of using the phone like usual on a Chromebook. However, there is one caveat, which I'll get to.

By being able to use my apps on the Pixel through the Galaxy Chromebook Plus, I could reply to messages on WhatsApp, open up Google Docs, check out websites on Chrome, scroll through Instagram and, even better, play games.

I tried playing Balatro, and Phone Hub even changed the aspect ratio for a better experience. As I found when trying to play games on a Chromebook, these machines aren't exactly built for gaming, but my Pixel 7 Pro can handle many more Play Store games, and it gives me a way to play them on a Chromebook.

This is incredibly handy to have, especially as I'm inclined to watching some YouTube videos while playing that extremely addictive card game. Now, I can do it all on the Chromebook's screen. I've found that stream can stutter a tad depending on my Wi-Fi connection, but it works all the same.

I wish I was able to move the window displaying the streamed app, as it seems to be permanently locked to where Phone Hub is placed (towards the bottom-right side of the Chromebook). This isn't a huge nuisance, but being able to freely move where I want to view my apps would be appreciated.

Regardless, being able to open all my recently used apps, and anymore I want to use, right in Phone Hub on a Chromebook has been a slightly simpler process than when using an iPhone and Mac connection. Not bad, Google.

The sprinkles on top

Chromebooks and Pixel devices fully utilize Google's suite of apps, and the connection between these two makes full use of that. Along with being able to check notifications in Phone Hub, it's also able to pull up recent Chrome tabs and photos taken on the Pixel.

I've talked about my joy of being able to quickly pick up where I left off from one device to another, and I've enjoyed features like AirDrop for Windows or Handoff on MacBooks that streamlines my productivity. A Pixel and Chromebook connection can mimic this.

While syncing Google Photos means I can pull up any picture on my Chromebook after taking it on my Pixel 7 Pro, Phone Hub skips a step by allowing me to pick a recent photo I've taken, download it, edit it and send it off. As someone who always snaps photos for reviews and beyond, I'm all for this seamless connection for photos.

Aside from being able to stream apps like Chrome, Phone Hub can also display recent Chrome apps used on a Pixel and I can easily click to resume what I was doing on this page. Just another way of jumping from one device to the other.

Is using a Pixel with a Chromebook worth it?

The lure of matching different devices to one another to gain access to the benefits of an ecosystem is a pricey one, and the features, while helpful, aren't generally worth completely overhauling the setup you already have.

That said, seeing as Chromebooks are the most affordable laptops you can get, and Android phones like the Pixel 9a are aren't set at flagship prices, Google's Phone Hub connectivity is far more accessible than the likes of a Apple's Continuity tool — and its features don't disappoint.

Will I be using a Chromebook as my daily driver just for these tools? Unlikely, but for those that happen to use a ChromeOS laptop and have a Pixel (or Android), it's worth making the most of Phone Hub, and I'm hoping these connectivity features continue to expand.

More from Tom's Guide

• I tried gaming on a Chromebook for a week — and it's better than I expected
• I review Chromebooks for a living, and I install these 5 apps every time
• I tested astrophotography on my Pixel 9a — here's the results

Let's be real — nobody buys a Chromebook for gaming. Their true strengths lie in the simplicity and efficiency for workers and students, alongside being good for binge-watching to your heart's content.

But for playing games? That's a "no" from me. Even when Google promoted its laptops as being the "ultimate cloud gaming machine" a few years back (the ad with Michelle Rodriguez still runs through my mind), they couldn't stand up to the best gaming laptops sporting the latest in gaming-focused specs.

Not even the Acer Chromebook 516 GE ($649), which is specifically made for gaming, could compete with the raw might of, say, an Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 ($1,999). Considering their price differences, though, that's to be expected. But here's the thing: wouldn't it be great to play the latest games on a more generally affordable lineup of laptops? Of course, and Chromebooks present that chance.

Since 2011, I've seen Google's laptops evolve — delivering better performance, greater connectivity and now a new category of beefier notebooks: Chromebook Plus. Surely, the best Chromebooks of today could manage to pull off decent gaming performance, right?

Well, that's what I hoped, and after using a Chromebook as my main way to play games, I can say that the results are mixed. Ultimately, though, I was surprised by what was on offer, even if it still has a long way to go.

The many ways of gaming on a Chromebook

While these laptops aren't made for gaming, you might be surprised to know that there are several ways to boot up a game on a Chromebook. There are plenty of compatible gaming apps on the Google Play Store, cloud gaming via Xbox Game Pass Ultimate and GeForce Now and yes, you can also install Steam on a Chromebook.

Each delivers a variety of titles new and old, from Indiana Jones and the Great Circle to Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. Great, the games are here, but the real question is: can a Chromebook handle them?

I booted up a Samsung Galaxy Chromebook Plus, a fine laptop with an excellent 15.6-inch FHD (1920 x 1080) AMOLED display and the following specs: Intel Core i3 100U CPU, Intel Graphics, 8GB DDR5X RAM and 256GB for storage. Not exactly beefy, but it meets the minimum requirements to play Steam on a Chromebook — and that's enough for me.

I tried playing games in each category, with the Play Store being the easiest — and my most viable — option.

All for Android gaming

As Apple continues to make gaming good on Macs, Google has quietly been populating its Play Store on Chromebooks with a strong catalog of Android games. Not Resident Evil 4-type good, but more in the classic and addictive, popular titles type of way.

There's everything from Roblox and Among Us to Dead Cells, Stardew Valley and Loop Hero. There are even all-time classics like GTA: San Andreas, Castlevania: Symphony of the Night and Final Fantasy III 3D Remake. Then there are addictive card-based titles such as Balatro, Slay the Spire and Marvel Snap.

These games may not be high-quality blockbuster hits that we see on Steam, but they're popular games that I would spend dozens of hours sinking my thumbs into regardless of the gaming device I play them on.

I booted up Balatro first, and it worked like a charm. It's not exactly a demanding title, and it's easily playable on many smartphones. Still, seeing as this break-out hit is even on a PS5, you bet this is the kind of game many gamers are checking out, and having this easily playable on a Chromebook is a major bonus.

I continued with the low-demanding title streak by playing the all-time classic RPG Chrono Trigger, made way back in 1995. And yes, now a full 30 years later, it can be played on a Chromebook. Hardly a surprise, but it's an engaging title to play on a Chromebook nevertheless.

Now, I decided to up the stakes a tad. I installed Call of Duty Mobile to see how well the Galaxy Chromebook Plus could handle 3D rendering, but I never got past the launch screen. Every time I opened the app, it would automatically force quit shortly after showing logos for a split second. Even after looking at the minimal troubleshooters online, like reinstalling the app, none of it worked. Apparently, it only works on certain Chromebooks, and one of them isn't mine.

So Genshin Impact it is. Not my general cup of tea, but a popular title fit for any gaming device. Unfortunately, though, to no avail. After what took over an hour to download the game and compile shaders, I was treated to the opening cinematic, where I could also choose my character. Afterward, though, it crashed. After booting it up multiple times, it kept crashing. Of course, this leads me to believe this isn't made for 3D graphics.

All in all, a Chromebook does have a nice selection of games to play from the Play Store, unless they demand the third dimension. One point of annoyance: Netflix has a great catalog of gaming apps to download that are included in subscriptions. Unfortunately, none of these apps are compatible with Chromebooks, which is a shame seeing as there are games like Dead Cells, Oxenfree, Katana Zero, Into the Breach and more.

Cloud gaming highs (and lows)

If it's the latest AAA titles you want, a Chromebook can provide — but only through cloud gaming. Chromebooks don't have the specs to pull off premium gaming features like Nvidia's ray tracing or DLSS 4 to boost frame rates, but they can stream games from a gaming PC that does.

More than anything, this all depends on your internet speeds and Wi-Fi connections. The gamer-ready Acer Chromebook 516 GE even comes with an Ethernet port for uninterrupted streaming. However, with the Galaxy Chromebook Plus' Wi-Fi 6E connectivity (although Wi-Fi 7 is preferred), along with my home network's internet speeds (up to 500Mbps), it should be enough to stream games on.

Lo and behold, it is! After using Xbox Game Pass Ultimate in a Chrome browser, I could scroll through a library of top-sellers, and that includes the updated Ninja Gaiden 2 Black. The thing is, these games need a controller to get going. A shame, seeing as there is a perfectly good keyboard here for certain titles, but a PS5 DualSense controller does the trick.

Without any installs, I tried out the latest, upscaled edition of Ryu Hayabusa's action-packed adventure. At first, visuals and gameplay were super smooth, and I was slicing, dicing and Izuna Dropping enemies without any lag. Then, as the on-screen action got more chaotic with waves of foes, the game dropped quality and stuttered far too frequently. As any fan of the fast-paced action franchise would know, this is not the way to play Ninja Gaiden.

I then tried Indiana Jones and the Great Circle and had a far better time. Perhaps it's the slower pace of action-adventure's stealth sections, exploration and combat, but I was able to get through an entire level without any hiccups. A tiny stutter here and there, but nothing game-breaking. That's genuinely impressive, especially for a laptop that would never be able to handle such a game on its own.

Cloud gaming is a great option for Chromebooks, as Microsoft appears to have put the legwork in to make its cloud gaming a more viable service for gamers over the years. While titles that require minimal input lag aren't a great match, more slow-paced games, even like Persona 3 Reloaded or Citizen Sleeper. Of course, though, this all depends on your internet speeds.

As a quick note: I tried to use Nvidia's cloud-gaming service GeForce Now as a free user, trying out Ghostrunner. However, not being a paying subscriber myself, I didn't get the best experience. In fact, it barely ran a few minutes before the directional inputs spun out of control (as evidenced below).

Steam on Chromebooks is a step forward

Steam for Chromebooks has been around for a while now, and even though it's still in beta, Valve's gaming client looks good on a Chromebook. It's easy to install for Chromebooks that meet the minimum requirements, and it's the full Steam package you'd expect on Windows. There are still a few issues, but overall, you can install and play games from your library as usual.

Well, the right games. There's no chance my Chromebook could run the likes of Cyberpunk 2077. I even tried playing one of my favorite titles of 2024, Anger Foot, which doesn't require demanding specs, and it didn't stand a chance of getting to the title screen before shutting down.

Instead, I stuck to more 2D indie games, such as Hotline Miami. This worked without a hitch, and gameplay was even snappy and smooth — two things required in this fast-paced top-down shooter.

Using Steam to game on a Chromebook is more trial and error, and depends entirely on the specs of a Chromebook, like any gaming PC. I can't imagine all games will work, especially ones that push the limits of having 8GB of RAM, but for those classic titles and more pixelated games, Chromebooks can pull it off.

So, this leads back to the all important question...

Is gaming on a Chromebook any good now?

Truthfully, I don't think gaming on a Chromebook is a terrible option anymore. At one point, I had no faith in what a Chromebook could offer, and couldn't fathom trying to game on one. Seeing as the main focus of these laptops is for education and workers using web-based applications, gaming hasn't been a high priority.

However, that doesn't mean games can't be played on one. Set your expectations, and you'll be happily playing popular titles that don't require an RTX 50-series GPU or equivalent. There are plenty of classic RPGs on the Play Store and Steam worth investing time into, and the latest Chromebooks should be able to handle it all.

Moreover, cloud gaming is better than ever, and if you have a decent internet connection (and a controller), you can game to your heart's content with the latest titles that come to Game Pass — and there are quite a few.

Will I continue to game on a Chromebook? Unlikely, especially when I have a proper gaming laptop and PS5 at hand. But for those interested in an affordable Chromebook and wondering if it's possible to game on it, yes, you can. You'll get a far better experience on a value gaming laptop like the Asus TUF Gaming A14, but if you're looking to keep things cheap and cheery, Chromebooks aren't the worst shout.

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The Acer Chromebook Plus 515 ($399) is a refreshed model with enough upgraded hardware onboard to take advantage of Google's Chromebook Plus AI features.

That means this ChromeOS workhorse can do things like generate text for you, automatically caption live video and audio or edit images with Google's AI-powered editing tools. 

Whether you find these AI features useful or not, I'm pleased to report they work as advertised and do add some value to this affordable Chromebook. In fact, after using it myself for a few weeks I think the Acer Chromebook Plus 515 is one of the best Chromebooks you can buy if you just need a capable PC for writing, editing and browsing the web.  

In this Acer Chromebook Plus 515 review, I'll walk you through the high points and low moments I encountered while using this machine for work and play; I'll also show you why I think the Chromebook Plus 515 is a great deal. 

Acer Chromebook Plus 515 review: Cheat sheet

• What is it? A 15-inch Chromebook with enough horsepower under the hood to qualify for the extra AI features offered on Chromebook Plus hardware.
• Who is it for? Anyone that needs a cheap laptop for writing and browsing the web.
• What does it cost? The Acer Chromebook Plus 515 is available for purchase from Acer's website for $399. 
• What's good about it? This cheap laptop doesn't feel like that cheap, with a sturdy chassis, a nice 1080p display and a comfy keyboard. Plus, you get plenty of ports and the speakers are surprisingly good.
• What's not so good? The display doesn't get terribly bright or colorful, and you "only" get about 8 hours of battery life on a full charge.

Acer Chromebook Plus 515 review: Specs

Acer Chromebook Plus 515 review: The ups

Our Acer Chromebook Plus 515 review unit is a capable Chromebook for not a lot of money, and that alone is a virtue. However, I wanted to call out a few more specific strengths this Chromebook offers that you should know about.

Speedy performance

The Intel Core i3-1215U CPU and 8GB of RAM powering our Acer Chromebook Plus 515 review unit aren't much, but they're plenty to get you through a work day as fast as you can type.

While our Plus 515 review unit isn't fast enough to compete with the best MacBooks or the best Windows laptops, it's more than capable enough to handle whatever you need to do in ChromeOS. I've had no trouble using it to write this review and stay on top of my daily to-dos in Chrome, even with with 15-plus tabs open and music streaming in the background.

Our lab testing backs up my hands-on experience, and as you can see from the chart of results above our Plus 515 review unit is pretty capable.

While our review unit can't quite catch up to the Lenovo Flex 5i Chromebook Plus in raw single-core CPU performance, it does speed past the Lenovo in the Geekbench 6 multi-core CPU benchmark. It also wins out in our WebXPRT 4 benchmark, which tests how well the laptop performs when processing Web frameworks like HTML 5, JavaScript and more.

So while the Acer Chromebook Plus 515 obviously doesn't have the power to handle the kinds of demanding coding tasks or video editing apps you need a beefy laptop for, it's plenty fast enough for just about anything you can do on a Chromebook.

Surprisingly good speakers

When you imagine great speakers on a laptop, Chromebooks typically aren't the first thing you picture, but that might change after you spend some time with the Acer Chromebook Plus 515.

While it can't match the sound quality of the best computer speakers or even a 16-inch MacBook Pro 2023 with its six-speaker sound system, the Plus 515's pair of upward-facing speakers are surprisingly good.

Flanking the keyboard, these stereo soundmakers sport DTS Audio branding and get remarkably loud for their size. But even at maximum volume they don't get too distorted or tinny, and vocals in tracks like John Lee Hooker's "Serves Me Right To Suffer" and Albert King's "Born Under a Bad Sign" sound warm, rich and clear alongside the music.  

These are the best speakers I've ever seen on a Chromebook, and they're a high point of using the Plus 515. Of course, it's also nice to have the headphone jack and a good pair of cans when you're streaming Spotify at the coffee shop.

Plenty of ports

Our Acer Chromebook Plus 515 review unit sports plenty of ports, which is great when you want to use a lot of peripherals at once or a wide variety of older and newer devices since you get both older USB-A and newer USB-C ports.

Specifically, you get a USB-C port on the right side alongside a 3.5mm audio jack and a lock slot for security. On the left-hand side you get another USB-C port, a USB-A port and an HDMI 1.4 out for external displays.

Since the laptop charges via USB-C you can plug it in from either side, a real boon when you're working in a cramped coffee shop or classroom without easy outlet access. In general, the broad port selection make this a versatile and useful laptop that can easily accommodate an external keyboard, mouse and more. 

Google AI features are nice to have

I'm not the biggest fan of all the "AI" features that have been cropping up in modern PCs over the last year or so, and I tend to be pretty critical of them.

That's why I hope you believe me when I say the AI features that were available in our Acer Chromebook Plus 515 review unit during the review period not only worked as advertised but worked well.

During my time with the Chromebook I took advantage of these new AI features to caption a video in real time, edit a few photos, generate a few new wallpapers and test out the text generation tools. 

I found these tools work reliably enough and are, in select cases, pretty useful. It's nice to be able to use Google's Magic Eraser feature to quickly remove someone from a photograph, for example, and in my testing, it rarely delivered a bad photo. Live Captions also worked well, without many errors, and I can see a real use for them since the captions on services on YouTube and Vimeo are rarely great. 

I found text generation less interesting because while the grammar and copy it generated was reliably decent, the details were often wrong, forcing me to fact-check everything anyhow. Frankly, I found it easier and faster to write text myself rather than trust Google's AI. 

In general, I don't think I'd use these features very often, but that has a lot to do with my dislike of AI tools in general. If you find them useful, I think you'll be pleased with how reliably well they work on this Chromebook without being intrusive or annoying.

Acer Chromebook Plus 515 review: The downs

While I hope this Acer Chromebook Plus 515 review shows what a useful and versatile laptop you get for the money, there's also a few weaknesses you should know about before you buy.

Not-great battery life

Acer claims the Chromebook Plus 515 can last up to 10 hours on a full charge, and that might be possible if you really dim the screen as far as it will go, turn off all extraneous features and try to be as conservative as possible when using it.

But in my hands-on experience, you should expect to get significantly less than 10 hours of battery life out of a full charge. In my time with the laptop, I could reliably count on it lasting 6-plus hours of dedicated usage or several days of occasional usage, so the battery does hold a charge pretty well.

But as you can see from the chart of results above, in our lab-based battery tests our Acer Chromebook Plus 515 review unit lasted an average of 8 hours and 16 minutes on a full charge.

Our in-house battery tests set the laptop's screen to a pretty dim brightness (~150 nits) and set it to endlessly surf the web until it dies, so it's not far removed from what you'll be doing with this laptop on a daily basis. And while 8-plus hours of tested battery life is good enough that you probably don't need to lug the charger to school or the coffee shop with you, it's not as good as premium MacBooks or Windows laptops these days.

Middling display

The 15.6-inch 1080p display on our Acer Chromebook Plus 515 review unit looks perfectly fine to my eyes, and it's plenty usable indoors. While I wouldn't recommend you try to use it outdoors on a sunny day, in general I had no issues making out details on the screen or watching my favorite movies and TV shows.

That said, when we got it into our testing lab our crack team of display experts found that it's not quite as bright or as colorful as some of the other Chromebooks we've recently tested.

As you can see from the test results charted below, the Plus 515's display hits an average brightness of 263.2 nits that peaked around 275 nits in the upper-left corner.

That's good enough, but it's not as bright as the Lenovo Flex 5i Chromebook (which costs just $100 more than the Plus 515) or the slightly cheaper Acer Chromebook Spin 314. 

And if you look at the percentage of color gamuts the Plus 515 can accurately display (closer to 100% the better, DCI-P3 is wider and more demanding than sRGB), you'll see that it falls slightly behind the Flex 5i in terms of color reproduction as well.

Personally, I don't mind the screen on the Plus 515 at all, but I also don't think it's anything exciting to look at. If display quality is very important to you in a Chromebook, you might consider going with Lenovo's Flex 5i instead, which is a bit more expensive but has a brighter 14-inch 1200p touchscreen.

Acer Chromebook Plus 515 review: Verdict

The Acer Chromebook Plus 515 is a sturdy, reliable Chromebook that's a great deal for students, writers and anyone who needs a cheap laptop around the house.

While it doesn't excel in any area, this is an excellent all-rounder that offers a big 1080p display and a nice comfy keyboard to type on, flanked by a pair of surprisingly good speakers. I found it great for writing and browsing the web, and while it's not the lightest laptop on the market it's not a pain to carry to the coffee shop.

Of course, all the limitations of a Chromebook apply here. This machine isn't great for gaming unless you stream games over the Internet via a service like Nvidia's GeForce Now, and even then the lack of a dedicated Ethernet jack handicaps you somewhat. It also can't run any apps besides those on Android, so you'll have a hard time doing serious photo/video editing work.

But the Acer Chromebook Plus 515 excels at writing, surfing the web and streaming your favorite shows. It's a great value at $399, and if you can get it on sale for less, it almost feels like you're getting away with something.

Looking for another way to control your PC? Google is rolling out Face control, an AI-powered accessibility feature that lets people control their Chromebook with facial movements and gestures.

As part of its Google for Education announcement, the tool will allow people with motor impairment, or anyone else, to move their cursor, select options and even use text-to-speech to type out emails all without needing a mouse of keyboard.

Google recently revealed its Face control feature back in December, but it's now rolling out to more users. While its expected to be available to most Chromebooks, Google recommends having at least 8GB of RAM, which typically comes in Chromebook Plus models.

Check out the demo below to see the AI-powered feature in action on ChromeOS:

As seen in the demo, the feature uses facial expressions and head movements to navigate around ChromeOS. This includes tilting your head in different directions to move the cursor between apps or actions, adjusting your mouth to the side (similar to a smirk) to select or "click" and opening your mouth to enable speech-to-text.

"The feature uses a series of machine learning models to generate a 3D mesh of 478 specific facial points, enabling precise, real-time gesture detection for hands-free control," Google states. Currently, it can recognize up to 18 different gestures.

This isn't the first we've seen of a Face control-type tool, as the accessibility feature was inspired by Google's own Project GameFace, an open-source, hands-free gaming software that was developed in collaboration with quadriplegic video game streamer Lance Carr.

Google is bringing in more education features and tools powered by the Gemini app and NotebookLM, too, with the latter being able to summarize and create lesson plans and study guides. You can also expect Class tools, acting like a remote control for Chromebooks in classrooms to control students' screens, and updates to Google Vids, a video creation app.

Interestingly, Google also teased 20 new Chromebook and Chromebook Plus models set to debut in 2025, including a new Acer Chromebook 511, Lenovo Chromebook Duet EDU G2, ASUS Chromebook CR12, Lenovo Chromebook Plus 2-in-1 and more. It also detailed the Samsung Galaxy Chromebook Plus, although this already debuted last year.

It's great to see Google continuing to build new features for its Chromebook users, both for education and accessibility. Will we see more best Chromebooks arrive this year? Only time will tell.

More from Tom's Guide

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• I review Chromebooks for a living, and I install these 5 apps every time

Google is coming out swinging with two new Chromebooks and a slew of new AI features in a rather chunky software update that will be rolling out throughout the next month. Not only will these make the best Chromebooks even better, but they put the likes of Apple Intelligence on Mac and Copilot square in Google’s sights.

And even better? While some of the more advanced AI features are coming to Chromebook Plus laptops only, Gemini and a lot of what we really enjoyed in the updates earlier this year are coming to all Chromebook models. Let’s get into it.

Is…is that a Copilot key?

Let’s start with the new laptops. Lenovo is refreshing the impressive Chromebook Duet 11 with a new MediaTek processor, up to 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. 

On top of that, the lovely 11-inch WUXGA display is touch-enabled with a pen sold separately, and with Goodnotes now optimized for stylus-compatible systems, you’re getting a great place to jot down notes. The Duet 11 is available starting this month at $349.

But probably more interesting is the Samsung Galaxy Chromebook Plus — a sneak peek into the hardware design standards that Google may expect for its AI features in the future. You see, beyond its 0.5-inch thin frame, that gorgeous 15.6-inch OLED panel, Intel Core 3 Raptor Lake CPU and 13 hours of battery life, there’s a new key on the keyboard.

The Mountain View crew call this the Quick Insert key, and it opens up a context-aware menu that presents the most relevant options for your next step based on wherever you are. In a Google Doc? You’ll get Help me write and emoji options. Open it while in Google Drive and you’ll get instant access to an integrated search of all your files. 

It’s kind of a supercharged Copilot key and looks set to help you work more efficiently. This eye-catching Galaxy Chromebook Plus will cost $699 and is also available this month.

Even more AI

Already got a Chromebook? Cool! Here are all the new features you can expect to see arrive over the course of this month in automatic updates.

• Live translate: One of my favorite Copilot+ PC features is coming to Chromebooks. AI-translated captions will appear in real-time over anything you see or listen to, such as a Zoom meeting, a YouTube video, or even a clip that is sent to you and saved onto the device.
• Help me read: We got a heads up that Google was expanding its “Help me” features earlier this year, and Help me read is here to summarize anything from articles, PDFs and entire websites with a right click. On top of that, you can also ask for additional clarification on any certain sections.
• Recorder app: A la Apple’s Voice Memos app, Chromebooks now come packed with an AI-powered recorder app that can create transcriptions and summarize everything talked about. But it can go one step further by labeling different speakers.
• New video call features: Using AI, Google is once again improving the video call experience with built-in appearance enhancements and a new studio-style mic feature that does better to cancel out not just background noise, but also room reverberation.
• Gemini comes to all Chromebooks: Remember when this was just a Chromebook Plus feature? Not anymore. Gemini is now on the shelf of every Chromebook model, alongside the other quality of life features for productivity like Focus mode and the Welcome recap.

And for that last one, Google is also giving standard Chromebook buyers three months free access to the Google One AI Premium Plan. If you go Chromebook Plus, you’ll get a full 12 months.

Quietly moving in the right direction

When it comes to Chromebook updates, Google has always done these small drops rather than going big with a grandiose annual update. It means they may not get the same attention as the almost-theatrical releases elsewhere, but with every upgrade, Chromebooks are becoming one of the best low-cost AI laptops you can buy.

If I was to make a recommendation myself for the future (if anyone at Google is reading this), something like a Help me see — audio description and voiced prompts to let you know where your cursor is — would be a huge step forward in AI accessibility!

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Setting up a Chromebook for the first time? I have some suggestions about which apps you should download right away to make it a more versatile, useful and just plain fun laptop.

I know because I've been reviewing them for years, so I've gone through the process of unboxing and setting up a new Chromebook dozens of times. Heck, I've been doing it long enough to remember when you could pick and choose between Chrome and Android apps, but since Google basically eliminated Chrome apps a few years ago, the Android apps in the Google Play Store are now your best choice for customizing your Chromebook.

• JUST IN: Our Apple 'Glowtime' iPhone 16 event live blog is up and running. Check it out now. 

Over the years I've noticed there's always a few Android apps I immediately gravitate to every time I'm setting up a new machine, because they help transform any  Chromebook from a glorified web browser into a more capable laptop that you can use to edit photos, watch movies, stream games and more.

And since I occasionally get questions from readers about how to do things like watch videos on a Chromebook or play games, I thought it would be helpful to just quickly run through the top 5 apps I install on every Chromebook I review in order to make it a more functional, capable laptop. 

These apps make even the best Chromebooks significantly better, in my experience, and I hope at least a few of them make your life on ChromeOS a little easier.

Adobe Lightroom

As a working journalist I regularly need to edit and resize images for publication, so I need to have easy access to a decent image editing program. And when I'm on a Chromebook, my go-to is always Adobe Lightroom.

The reason is easy: it's free and good enough for basic tasks like cropping images and retouching photos, plus you can have some fun with silly filters. If you're willing to upgrade and pay Adobe a monthly fee you get a little more functionality out of it, like the ability to do light video editing and remove things from images using AI.

But frankly, I don't think it's a great idea to pay Adobe a monthly fee (because Adobe's all about subscriptions now) for this app—I recommend it because it's free and good enough, not because it's good enough to be worth paying for.

If you are willing to pay for a decent image editor on ChromeOS, I recommend Gimp—it's typically free to use on the web but you have to pay a nominal fee ($1.99 at time of publication) for the Android app. However, that's worth it if you think you might want to do some image editing while you're not able to access the Internet.

Discord

There are lots of communication apps available on the Google Play Store, but for my money Discord is the most useful and the first I seek out.

Discord got its start as a messaging platform for video game fans, but it's grown into a versatile and useful tool for all sorts of communication. I've come to rely on Discord as a way to stay in touch with friends around the world as well as communities I'm engaged with and work I do, so it's become one of the first apps I download on every new Chromebook, MacBook and Windows 11 laptop.

While I wasn't the biggest fan of the app when it launched, the way Discord makes it easy to chat with friends, stay on top of multiple Discord servers at once, stream games and chat in voice channels all in the same app has made it a go-to download for me. 

Personally I like to use it to chat with pals about tabletop role-playing games and movies we're watching, but you can use it for anything you and your friends care to. It's also a common way for artists, game developers and musicians to manage their communities nowadays, so there's a good chance some of your favorite creators maintain fan Discords that you can hop into for free! 

GeForce Now

I love playing video games, so you better believe one of the first apps I put on any new Chromebook is something that lets me play the best PC games available. And right now, for me, that's Nvidia's GeForce Now game streaming service.

I'm not a huge fan of game streaming services in general, but they're valuable on a Chromebook because a) no Chromebook can natively run demanding games like Cyberpunk 2077 and b) you're typically connected to the Internet, so it's no big sacrifice to click a button and stream a game for 30 minutes.

I like GeForce Now because it lets me play just about any game in my Steam library on a remote gaming PC, then stream the video to my Chromebook, creating the impression I'm gaming on a big rig while I've a little Chrome machine in my lap. 

Of course, the trade-off here is you're reliant on a good strong Internet connection for maximum playability. Some rare gaming-oriented Chromebooks (like the Acer Chromebook 516 GE) have dedicated Ethernet jacks you can use to plug into a wired connection for rock-solid game streaming, but even when you're relying on Wi-Fi you can generally get good performance on a strong connection.

If you're not familiar with the process, check out our quick guide to how to use GeForce Now on Chromebook to get started!

Tubi

All the best streaming services have Android apps you can use to stream TV and movies to your Chromebook, but for me the first one I always download is Tubi.

If you're not familiar, Tubi is a free (with ads) streaming service with an eclectic variety of content that's always changing. I really love it because it often has movies and TV shows I love that I haven't thought about in ages, and so every time I fire up the app and dive into the catalog I know I'm going to be surprised (and often delighted) by something new or unexpected.

Of course, another reason I love Tubi is that it's free, so I don't have to pay a streamer like Hulu or Netflix to watch some trashy TV when I'm on the road and having a hard time falling asleep. So while I recommend you download apps for whatever streaming services you like on your Chromebook, don't skip out on Tubi—it's one of my favorite streaming services (and the first I download) for a reason.

VLC

If you have an actual video file you want to watch on your Chromebook instead of relying on a streaming service, there's a good chance the VLC media player Android app can handle it.

This has been my go-to media player for decades because it's simple, easy to use and supports a variety of formats and codecs that otherwise won't play on a freshly unboxed PC. 

That makes it awfully useful on a Windows or Mac PC, and even more valuable on a Chromebook because I don't know if you've noticed, but Chromebooks aren't the most versatile devices out of the box. But with the VLC app installed and a few videos saved to your Chromebook, you can count on having plenty to watch the next time you're somewhere without an Internet connection. 

Bottom line

Everyone has different needs and interests, so I understand if not everything on this list is up your alley. Shucks, depending on the week I may sometimes download the PBS Android app instead of Tubi, or skip VLC entirely if I'm not going to be using a Chromebook away from the Internet at all.

But more often than not these five apps are the first to get installed on any new Chromebook I unbox, and they do a lot to make a fresh ChromeOS install feel like home. 

Ultimately, having a strong, secure Internet connection is the best thing you can do to get the most out of your Chromebook. But once you've got that, it's time to load it up with all the apps you need and love to make it your own. Hopefully you discovered at least one cool new app to add to your Chrome repertoire, and I'd encourage folks to leave further suggestions in the comments below.

When Google introduced Circle to Search in January for Samsung Galaxy S24 phones and Pixel phones it immediately became one of the best features on those devices. Since then, the feature has trickled out to other devices, including older Samsung phones and Google's Pixel Tablet.

And now, Google Chrome and the ChromeOS are finally getting a version circle to search (via 9to5Google). The Search variant coming to Chrome and some of the best Chromebooks is through a big update of Google Lens. 

There were rumors that Google was working on a Google Lens update in May that would include some form of Circle to Search. At the time the feature still seemed a ways away from launching to the public.

But it's finally here and is popping up in the official Chrome 128 beta and the ChromeOS 127 beta. If you're curious you can download the Chrome beta from Google right here.

Utilizing the update, you can search for anything by circling it on your computer. Or, to be more accurate, dragging a box over content you're curious about. 

The Chrome and ChromeOS version is being renamed "Drag to Search," and can be enabled to by clicking on the new Google Lens icon that will be apart of the address bar on Chromebook. In regular Chrome for Windows or macOS you need to find the "Search with Google Lens" option in the overflow. It can immediately be pinned to the side panel for easier access, and it replaces the "Search with Google" option that is currently there.

Dragging over an area to search opens up the side panel with search results while also keeping the original tab open so you can keep scrolling if you'd like. 

The feature is described on the What's New in Chrome page:

"Google Lens in Chrome makes it easy to search anything you see on your screen. Search within a video you’re watching, a slide in a livestream, or an image on a webpage. Google Lens will give you answers right there, in your tab, and you can continue browsing with the new information you’ve found."

Circle to Search is one of the first AI features touted by tech companies that has actually made its way to their customers while also actually being useful.

If it's appearing in the official betas right now, that generally means the feature is close to dropping for everyone else. Unfortunately, we still don't know when exactly that will be. 

Perhaps Google will announce the feature during the Made by Google event on August 13 when the company reveals the new Pixel 9 lineup and the next Google smartwatch, the Pixel Watch 3.

More from Tom's Guide

• Google is giving Chrome a major upgrade to keep you safe from dangerous downloads — here's how it works
• Apple tells over a billion iPhone users to stop using Chrome — here's Google's response
• Feeling slow? These extensions may be bogging Chrome down says report

Google just announced the next iteration of the company’s Chromebook Plus lineup of laptops. Launched last year, the Chromebook Plus laptops are slightly upgraded versions of the regular Chromebook. 

OEMs like Acer and HP, which are releasing Chromebook Plus laptops, must feature these specs: 8GB+ of RAM, 128GB+ of storage, a 1080P+ IPS display and a webcam with Temporal Noise Reduction. They can also feature an Intel Core i3 and above or AMD Ryzen 7000 series and above processors

The focus, as with all things Google this year, is on the integration of Google AI into the newest Chromebooks. Last year’s models did have some AI integration that mostly focused on conferencing apps like Zoom, Skype and Google Meet. 

With the recently announced upgrades to Gemini and other AI tools, Google is leaning in on AI this summer, and Chromebooks are seeing some of that. 

We had a chance to test the new AI tools and Google has found a good way to make AI part of the OS, and not just a nice extra. 

Productivity

There are several productivity tools like ‘Help me write’ to refine text, and Google Task and Calendar gives access to to-do lists and appointments across devices.

Adaptive charging tracks your usage patterns and uses that to preserve battery health by “limiting the amount of time the devices spends at 100% charge.”

Some tools aren’t immediately available but Google says they will come this year. Chromebooks will now summarize previously opened windows. They’re also adding a “Help me Read” feature to summarize websites and PDFs.

Calls

While last year’s models did have AI integrated into the cameras it appears that conference call apps will see more new AI-enhanced features.

A feature called Screencast is supposed to make it easier to record and edit shared content. It’s also supposed to automatically translate into up to 12 languages. Google did show off some live translation features with Gemini at the I\O conference this year, though that had more touted languages. It’s unclear if this is separate from Gemini.

Simpler features include generative AI wallpapers and video call backgrounds. There’s also noise cancellation and lighting adjustments.

Gemini

Lastly, Chromebook Plus laptops are getting some form of Gemini. The AI assistant is pre-installed and is supposed to help with brainstorming, breaking down a dense document or generating images.

Though Google appears to be focusing on the Work side of Gemini, Chromebook Plus will have Gemini for Google Workspace, which ties together the Google suite, such as Docs, Sheets, Slides and the Chrome browser.

Last year’s models launched at $399, even with the upgraded specs. This year’s models are going to be less expensive at $349. There is also a new Acer 516GE that is supposed to be gaming-focused and debuts at $699, but that’s far different from the more work-focused machines mentioned here.

More from Tom's Guide

• The best Chromebooks in 2024 — our top picks
• Lenovo Chromebook Duet 3 review
• I finally got the right stylus for my Chromebook — and its a game changer

AI-infused laptops are very much a thing — from Microsoft’s big bet on Copilot+ PCs to the many rumors surrounding what Apple will unveil for macOS at WWDC. But at the moment, the idea of an AI PC has been largely about a desktop-class OS with some artificial smarts overlaid on top.

Nothing has felt truly integrated, but Google believes it has the answer with some significant AI updates coming to Chromebook Plus, which bring user-friendly features like Help me write and Magic Editor, alongside bringing Gemini to the party in a pre-installed app.

And after testing it for around a week, I can confidently say that when it comes to enriching a laptop experience with AI rather than overlaying it, Google is onto something here.

A note about Chromebook Plus

For a lot of what I’m about to talk about here, you’re going to need a Chromebook Plus system. Those dirt cheap Google laptops that end up being on sale for $100 during key sales events like Prime Day won’t cut the mustard.

That’s because there are some required hardware specs:

• Either an Intel Core i3 and above or AMD Ryzen 7000 series and above
• 8GB+ of RAM
• 128GB+ of storage
• 1080P+ IPS display and webcam with Temporal Noise Reduction (TNR)

As you may have predicted, while Google is setting rules, they won’t translate into expensive $1,000 laptops. In fact, over the next few weeks, you’re going to see Chromebook Plus laptops from HP and Acer that start at $379. On top of that, you’ll be able to get 12 months of Google One’s AI Premium package to unlock the full suite of features.

Matter of fact, you could just pick one up right now.

ChromeOS gets smart

Google is taking a lot of what it's been doing in the Android space with AI and bringing it to the Chromebook Plus in a way that doesn’t feel like an intrusive overlay. Everything feels logically infused and very user-friendly.

Most familiar to many of you will be Magic Editor. From applying presets that use AI to analyze the picture to give everything a more natural look under the filter (rather than turning everything into a particular hue) or repositioning/resizing the main subject while using generative AI to fill in the gap, it’s all here and easy to use. 

Just click Magic Editor in the top left corner, and draw a circle around whatever you want to erase/reposition. From here, click and hold the subject for three seconds, and then you can manipulate it however you wish (pro tip: use + and - keys to increase or reduce the size of your subject).

Next, Gemini is coming as a pre-installed app on Chromebook Plus. Alongside this, newly activated devices should be getting a prompt to get 12 months of Gemini Advanced for free. This gives you an impressive multi-modal model with some agentic abilities granted to it by being trained on tons of Google data.

Whether you have a coding query, need help brainstorming, need to break down a dense document into key points, or need to generate an image, this can do it.

But probably the AI feature I used the most is “Help me Write”. Say you’re stuck on what to write for a social media post or comment, like I was in adding my well wishes to a post from my Mom. Just right click and the Help me Write option will just be there ready to understand the context of what’s being shared along with your prompt to prepare something for you.

To me, this feels like a truly seamless way to bring AI into any workload — almost in a “why hasn’t anyone thought of doing this” kind of way. It’s making those moments where I’m not feeling the most creative after a day of typing 10,000+ words feel a lot less unnerving when thinking of the right thing to say.

Oh and this extends to certain aspects of long-form writing, too. If you’re writing a paragraph and want to figure out a way to reword it, just highlight and right-click and you’ll be presented with suggestions. For context, here’s how Google AI decided to reword this very paragraph.

“The benefits extend beyond short text editing. Even while composing long-form content, if you find yourself stuck on a particular paragraph, there's help available. Just highlight the section, right-click, and you'll see suggestions for rephrasing. As an example, here's how Google AI rewrote this very paragraph to illustrate the feature.”

What is happening elsewhere in ChromeOS?

Other neat AI integrations come in the form of personalized wallpapers, alongside this image generation also being used to create personalized video chat backgrounds. You can create a new background by right clicking on the desktop, selecting set wallpaper and style, and clicking “Create with AI.” As for the video chat background, click the up arrow at the bottom of the screen (next to the Camera Off button), choose Background and click Image, then the same “Create with AI” option will be there.

Image search is also deeply integrated into ChromeOS — in the launcher search bar, to be specific. If you have images you want to use to begin your search (like a grocery store receipt), open the launcher search bar and your downloaded images will be there, and Optical Character Recognition will analyze the text and quickly give you contextual results based on what is detected.

Elsewhere, Google has been busy with small but important tweaks, such as system-level live captioning that works across the web and Android apps; integrating Google Task into the calendar pop-up of the task bar, the option to record GIFs of your interactions in ChromeOS and a new Game Dashboard.

The latter of those is a big one for vastly increasing the value of your Chromebook. Outside of what you’d expect when I say the words “Game Dashboard”, like the ability to capture gameplay footage with a streamer overlay of your face, there is also the option to customize game controls from within this overlay, too. It’s made using GeForce Now a simpler experience, as everything is controlled on the system level of the laptop, rather than going game-by-game.

Coming soon to ChromeOS…

But Google isn’t stopping there, as we got a quick glimpse of what else is coming in future regarding Chromebook Plus updates over the next few months. They vary in spectacle, but each are pretty important — both in streamlining key workflows and baking in more of that AI usability.

• Picking up where you left off: Cross-device saves of previously opened tabs on your iPhone or Android slab, alongside what you had open previously on your Chromebook will be ready for you to open up and pick up where you left off.
• Time to focus: Got a task to get done? Select it in Google Task and find a YouTube Music playlist to focus on. Once you’ve selected a time period for wiring in, your Chromebook will turn on a “Do Not Disturb” mode and countdown your progress.
• Help me read with Gemini: Currently, you can get Gemini to summarize documents by uploading them to the Gemini app. Soon, this will be available in the right-click menu (just like Help me Write), and you’ll be able to do this across websites or PDFs.
• Hands-free control: This is a big one for accessibility. Google is taking its Project Gameface work and building it into ChromeOS — allowing you to navigate and interact with your Chromebook entirely through moving your head and gesturing to the camera (like pursing your lips).

Outlook

When it comes to the next generation of laptops infused with AI, everything has felt like more of an overlay. For all the talk of Copilot+ PCs, Copilot itself is something that is just beginning to become more than just a slide-in window from the right. 

In fact, the only thing that has come close in my experience to AI being this deep in the system has been the spotlight search-esque element of ChatGPT’s macOS app. Well, that is until now, as adding elements like Help me Write into the right-click menu, optical character recognition into the launcher, and Magic Editor to a laptop makes ChromeOS quite the formidable low cost AI-centric laptop experience.

Of course, these AI features are exclusive to Chromebook Plus, so not all users will see them. On top of that, the relatively restricted specs of these laptops (no NPU required) mean that you won’t see much on-device AI trickery — leading to some potential latency depending on internet connectivity.

But during my time with it, I can see Google’s vision of making AI just a part of the OS rather than a nice-to-have extra. This is a damn good way to do it.

More from Tom's Guide

• Google dropped new Veo videos — OpenAI should be worried
• Meta quietly building a new AI model — here's what to expect
• Bring back Google’s old-school search results with this one simple hack

If you’ve been thinking about picking up one of the best MacBooks, you may want to wait until next year, especially if the MacBook Pro is out of your price range and the MacBook Air just doesn’t have enough ports.

Even though Apple discontinued its MacBook line back in 2019, rumors have begun circulating that the company could add several new low-cost MacBooks to its offerings in 2024.

While DigiTimes was the first to report on this last month, a new blog post on South Korea’s Naver claims that the iPhone maker is currently developing both a new 12-inch and 13-inch MacBook. Besides providing a cheaper entry point for potential Mac users, these new MacBooks could directly compete with the best Chromebooks in the education market.

One of the ways that Apple became the tech giant it is today is by getting Macs into schools when it was starting out. Now that Gen Z prefers the iPhone over Android though, giving students a Mac instead of a Chromebook or even a Windows laptop would make a lot more sense.

Even if you’re not a student, these new low-cost MacBooks could be the best laptop for you and your budget as they’re rumored to sell for $700 or less. As Apple has yet to announce them or even confirm their existence at this point, like with all rumors, you’d be best to take this one with a grain of salt. Still though, if a new MacBook is sitting on your wish list, you might be better off waiting instead of trying to pick one up on the cheap during Black Friday.

Outlook: Apple never should have killed the MacBook

The MacBook Pro is an excellent machine for getting things done while the MacBook Air offers a lot of power in an extremely portable package. These two laptops have professionals and business users covered but what about everyone else?

This is where the MacBook fit into Apple’s lineup before it was discontinued a few years ago. Not everyone needs all of the additional power that MacBook Pro offers and some people would rather have more ports instead of the portability of the MacBook Air.

At the same time, not everyone wants to bring a $1000+ laptop with them when working out in public. Sometimes, a cheaper, less powerful laptop is perfect for the task at hand like answering emails or doing coursework for university. Plus, if your MacBook gets stolen or damaged, it’s a lot cheaper and easier to replace than a much pricier MacBook Pro.

We’ve heard rumors of Apple launching a cheaper MacBook for years now but with the sudden downturn in MacBook sales, now seems like the perfect time to bring this discontinued laptop back from the past. It could also be a way to win over Windows users that are used to spending quite a lot less on a budget laptop.

With Apple’s ‘scary fast’ event scheduled for next week, we could see this low-cost MacBooks revealed sooner rather than later. However, with its new M3 chips being the focus of the event, that seems unlikely but you can’t blame us for hoping.

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• MacBook Air vs Pro: Which should you buy?
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Lenovo is entering into a new venture that could end up leaving the future of Chromebooks looking about as bleak as that of the dodo’s. 

The company, which currently makes some of the very best business laptops on the market, is set to launch a new lineup of services powered by a custom Android OS known as ‘Esper Foundation’. 

Said Foundation is built around Android 11 tech, and will support quarterly security updates to maximize online safety, hopefully robust compatibility for peripherals and customizable branding. 

The latter seems to be focused on the fact that some of these new Esper machines will be primarily designed for hospitality sectors. This was confirmed in an interview by Lenovo’s Johanny Payero, director of global advanced solutions for marketing and strategy (thanks, TechRadar). “Specific market segments we are targeting include retail and hospitality, as well as the digital signage appliances for these industries,” Payero told our sister site. 

Lenovo’s first device that will run on the new Esper Foundation operating system is a PC called the ThinkCentre M70a — a machine that will feature a solid 12th Gen Intel Core i9 CPU, 512GB of SSD storage and 16GB of DDR4 RAM. 

This will then be followed by further desktops, including the ThinkCentre M70q, ThinkCentre M90-1 IoT and Se30 v2 PCs, all of which should launch before the end of the year.

A potential ChromeOS slayer 

With Lenovo seemingly betting at least part of the farm on these new Android-powered PCs, what does this mean for the company’s future in terms of Chromebook production? Currently, the firm is deeply embedded in that market, making some of the best Chromebooks around — including the excellent Lenovo Chromebook Duet 3. 

In that same interview with TechRadar, Payero was keen to state his hope that Esper Foundation and its Android architecture would help Lenovo achieve increased success across different industries. “Dedicated devices are proliferating across several key industries, and our new joint solution with Esper allows us to deliver the best of Android with the consistency and predictability of Lenovo’s x86 devices.”

That doesn’t exactly sound great for the company’s continued support for traditional Chromebook hardware that often spans some of its best 2-in-1 laptops you can currently buy. 

As someone who has never gotten along with ChromeOS, I won’t exactly be donning funeral gear if and when support for the platform starts to decline. I recently bought my technophobe mom the aforementioned Lenovo IdeaPad Duet 3, and the setup process wasn't exactly smooth. 

As a hardcore Windows 11 user, I’ve always found ChromeOS to be somewhat baffling as an operating system. So if Lenovo has decided to focus more on new Android-based PCs and laptops going forward thanks to Esper Foundation, I won’t be shedding any tears. 

More from Tom's Guide

• The best Chromebooks for students
• Lenovo Chromebook Duet 3 review
• Google unveils Chromebook Plus laptops with world-beating webcams

Google has just announced a brand new line of laptops that are launching this week. The portable PCs will be called Chromebook Plus.

The big takeaways from The Big G’s new series of laptops? Eight initial Chromebook Plus models will launch on October 8 in the US, while they’ll launch a day later in Canada and Europe. These Chromebooks span different manufacturers (including Acer, Asus and HP), but all contain the same starting specs. Said specs include an Intel Core i3 12th Gen CPU or an AMD Ryzen 3 7000 series processor, 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. 

These starting components can obviously be upgraded for more expensive configurations, yet all of these new Chromebooks will ship with 1080p IPS displays. What? You were expecting an OLED screen for devices that start at $399?

Chromebook Plus: Raising the bar for video calls 

These innards are topped off by a 1080p+ webcam that features ‘Temporal Noise Reduction’. And this feature actually sounds pretty exciting… well, at least as exciting as webcam features can. 

In its press release for the Chromebook Plus lineup, the company promises “these powerful new Chromebooks have built-in AI to help enhance your call’s clarity and lighting, cancel background noise and blur backgrounds with just a couple of taps.”

According to Google, these features work regardless of what video conferencing app you’re using, be it Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams or Skype. To use the lighting and blur features mentioned above, Chromebook Plus owners will be able to access them from their laptop’s app shelf. The latest series of Chromebooks sound like they could have some of the best webcams around.

Chromebook Plus key new features

The new Chromebook Plus devices also benefit from additional OS and software features, such as Google Photos Magic Eraser for the built-in Google Photos app and Offline File Sync — the latter means you’ll be able to access and edit your Google Docs files, even if your connection is down.

These features will only expand post-launch, as Chromebook Plus models will eventually benefit from an AI-assisted writing assistant (accessed with a right click) and custom generated wallpapers that are built from templatized text prompts. The example Google provided us? ‘Cats in the style of van Gogh’. So if you’re a fan of tabbies and one-eared artists combining, Google has you covered.

Chromebook Plus freebies 

If you need to edit images to a professional level for work, you’ll also be pleased to hear the Chromebook Plus lineup gives users a free 3-month subscription to Adobe Photoshop.

And the news is similarly good for games, as they’ll be treated to a 3-month subscription to GeForce Now’s Priority tier. That’s obviously nowhere near as impressive as the Nvidia GeForce cloud-powered RTX 4080 you get with GeForce Now Ultimate. Yet it should still let you stream some of the best Steam games and best titles on Xbox Game Pass at a decent level.

So if you’re in the market for one of the best Chromebooks that sounds like it could potentially feature one of the best webcams in a budget-friendly laptop, the Chromebook Plus might be about to become your new best friend.

More from Tom's Guide

• How to set up a Chromebook
• Best Chromebook deals and prices in October 2023
• The best student Chromebooks you can buy

Google is currently testing a new feature in ChromeOS that could make managing your tasks easier on the best Chromebooks.

As discovered by C2 Production on Twitter, a new Google Tasks widget is being tested in the Canary build (an experimental version of Chrome for developers) of ChromeOS 118. 

As the tweet explains, this isn’t a widget in the traditional sense but a Google Tasks integration with the Calendar Widget in the Shelf. The Google Task widget appears on top of the Calendar widget and is divided into different tasks, such as schoolwork or personal tasks.

What’s useful about this new feature is that you can tick off tasks as you finish them. Not only will you know what you need to complete, but you’ll also see what you’ve finished. You can also set up different lists with their respective tasks, which can help you organize even further. If you have a lot on your plate at work or in your personal life, this new feature should ensure that nothing falls through the cracks.

As TechRadar notes, you’re currently not able to add new tasks through the widget. Instead, you’ll have to go through the Google Tasks homepage to add a new task. Said task will then automatically show up in the widget on your desktop.

C2 Productions’ tweet also shows off a new Material You redesign in ChromeOS’ Settings menu (via 9to5Google). The redesign itself seems to take cues from Android’s interface. That’s not too surprising given how ChromeOS and Android have shared similar design elements. If you’re an Android user, this could make navigating ChromeOS easier.

Outlook 

As with all features tested in Google ChromeOS Canary builds, it’s not guaranteed we’ll see this Google Tasks feature arrive for all Chrome users.

Hopefully, this feature will eventually manifest on Chrome. If you’re like me, you’re likely swamped with a bunch of tasks not only at work but even at home. Sure, there are apps to help you keep on top of tasks, but having this new feature in Chrome should help out big time.

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• How to reset a Chromebook
• Acer Chromebook Spin 714 review
• The best Chromebooks in 2023

So you need to know how to set up a Chromebook because you just bought one of our best Chromebooks. That's great! Chromebooks are a great choice because they're relatively inexpensive but can still handle a ton of tasks from email to streaming the latest shows and movies and even some basic mobile gaming. It's what makes them a great choice for students or anyone on a budget.

They are also incredibly easy to set up. In just a few minutes you can go from pulling your Chromebook out of the box to using it to watch new Netflix movies or browsing the internet. All you need is to set up a Google account — or log into an existing one — and confirm a few settings. There's no need to be a tech expert.

And if you already have a Chromebook and are setting up a second one, you don't have to worry about getting everything just right. Your Google account can sync with your new device and have everything looking just the way you like it. So without further ado, here are all the steps you need to know on how to set up your Chromebook.

How to set up a Chromebook

1. Turn on your Chromebook and click Get started
2. Connect to your Wi-Fi network
3. Set up your profile
4. Log in to your Google account
5. Accept the Terms and conditions
6. Sync your Chromebook settings
7. Create a login PIN
8. Set up Google Assistant
9. Personalize your display theme

Read on to see detailed instructions for each step.

Congrats! Your Chromebook is now set up and ready to use. The only thing you may have left to do is review your sync settings — if you clicked the box to "Review sync options following setup" in step six. This is really easy to do, as your Chromebook will automatically have a Chrome browser window pop up if you checked the box in step six. Simply look over your settings and close the Chrome window.

Quick resets and setups are truly underrated features of Chromebooks as both can be done in minutes. So if you need to reset your Chromebook make sure to check out our guide on how to reset a Chromebook before you get started. And for more Chromebook tips and tricks, check out our guide on how to screenshot on Chromebook. Make sure to also check out how to play Steam games on a Chromebook and how ChromeOS Flex can turn your old laptop into a Chromebook.

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• Best Chromebook deals and prices
• Framework Laptop Chromebook Edition review
• Laptop vs. Chromebook: What’s best for you?

It helps to know how to reset a Chromebook before you sell it or give it to a friend or family member. Chromebooks are a great choice if you don't need one of the best laptops. They're relatively inexpensive but can still handle a ton of tasks from email to streaming the latest shows and movies and even some basic mobile gaming. It's what makes them a great choice for students or people looking for their first laptop.

But another benefit of Chromebooks is their connection to the cloud. By connecting everything to your Google account, your Chromebook syncs a lot of your settings, data and apps to the cloud rather than keeping things on your device only. This means you can set up a new Chromebook with ease — and that if you have to reset an old one, you don't have to worry about losing your things.

If you have an older Chromebook and are trading it in or selling it so you can upgrade, or just need to give your device a refresh, resetting your Chromebook is a great move. So here are all the steps you need to know on how to reset your Chromebook through the Powerwash feature.

How to reset a Chromebook

1. Open Launcher
2. Search for Reset in Launcher
3. Use Powerwash to reset your Chromebook

Read on to see detailed instructions for each step.

And that's all you need to do! Once you click that restart button, the Chromebook will begin the Powerwash process and wipe your device clean. When your device powers back on, simply press the power button and click Shut Down and it will be ready to be set up the next time you power it on.

Quick resets and setups are truly underrated features of Chromebooks. The process to reset takes maybe a minute and only a few steps. For more Chromebook tips and tricks, check out our guide on how to screenshot on Chromebook. Make sure to also check out how to play Steam games on a Chromebook and how ChromeOS Flex can turn your old laptop into a Chromebook.

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• Best Chromebook deals and prices
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Deciding between a traditional laptop and one of the best 2-in-1 laptops really comes down to how you plan on using your new device. Even though I a generally prefer desktops over laptops, last summer I picked up the Lenovo Chromebook Duet 3.

I chose it instead of an Android tablet as I knew it would get years of Chrome OS and security updates instead of being stuck on an outdated version of Android. Besides its larger 2K display, thinner bezels, Qualcomm Snapdragon 7c Gen 2 CPU and other improvements over the original Lenovo Chromebook Duet, I was really excited to use it with a stylus.

I’ll admit this wasn’t my first 2-in-1 laptop as I bought a Surface Pro 4 along with a 3rd generation Surface Pen back in 2016. While I liked the customizability of the ‘magic button’ on the top of the Surface Pen, the pen itself worked exclusively with Microsoft’s Surface devices.

One of the things that really intrigued me about the Chromebook Duet 3 was USI stylus support. USI or the Universal Stylus Initiative is a set of industry-wide standards for active styluses. Unlike with my old Surface Pen, a USI stylus will work on any device that supports the standard including many of the best Chromebooks. Unfortunately for me though, I still ended up buying the wrong USI stylus back when I first got my Chromebook Duet 3. 

Unavailable at launch

I’ve now had the Chromebook Duet 3 for almost a year and while it served me well hooked up to one of the best monitors alongside a mechanical keyboard, I haven’t actually used it the way I initially intended to — as a replacement for an Android tablet. 

Back in June of last year when I had the Chromebook Duet 3 sitting in my shopping cart, at the last minute I decided to also add the Lenovo USI Pen to my order. Since USI is a universal standard after all, I figured it would work out of the box with my new Chromebook but boy was I wrong.

In the two years between the release of the original Chromebook Duet and the Duet 3, the Universal Stylus Initiative released version 2.0 of their specification. While I had thoroughly researched every other aspect of my new 2-in-1, I hadn’t considered that the only USI pen with a “works with chromebook” endorsement on Lenovo’s site wouldn’t work with my Chromebook.

That’s right, Lenovo had updated its USI pen to support the new standard. However, this new USI 2.0 pen didn’t even have a listing page on its site when I placed my order. The Lenovo USI Pen 2 did eventually go on sale but it didn’t start shipping until September — five months after the Chromebook Due 3 was released.

Without a working USI stylus in hand, it was really easy to fall back into my old ways. While I’ve owned several of the best laptops over the years, they always seem to end up connected to a monitor with an external keyboard and a mouse. Sure, I bring them with me when I travel but when I’m at home, I really tend to prefer the desktop experience. Maybe it’s because I grew up at a time when personal computers — or PCs as we now know them today — were actually family computers used by an entire household, not just one person.

After moving a mini PC into my office last week, I realized I no longer needed to use my Chromebook Duet 3 like a desktop. I could finally use it the way I originally planned but there was one thing missing — my USI stylus. Although the Lenovo Pen 2 was sold out on Lenovo’s site (as it often is), I decided to pick one up from Amazon instead. However, while writing this piece, I noticed that it’s now back in stock with a 20% discount. Still, I finally got my coveted Lenovo Pen 2 and was ready to put it to the test. 

Chrome OS stylus tools

Unlike with my Surface Pen, I didn’t even have to pair the Lenovo Pen 2 with the Chromebook Duet 3, it just worked. Although I’m not much of an artist despite recently testing out a drawing tablet and I’ve almost forgotten how to write by hand after years of typing on a keyboard, I really prefer a stylus for scrolling. It just feels natural and there’s something about having a pen in hand that always makes me feel more productive.

To make full use of the Lenovo Pen 2 though, I first had to enable quick access to the stylus tools built into my Chromebook which was easy enough to do. I just opened the Chromebook Duet 3’s Settings menu, taped on Device and then Stylus before toggling on the option to show stylus tools in the shelf which is essentially Chrome OS’ version of the Taskbar in Windows.

Tapping on the stylus icon in the shelf brings up the operating system’s stylus tools which include Screen capture, Create note, Laser pointer and Magnifying glass. Screen capture is useful for taking screenshots which you can then highlight and draw on. but I really like Google’s Cursive note-taking app. It’s similar to Microsoft OneNote but instead of looking like graph paper, there are lightly colored dots across the entire page to make it easier to draw straight lines and get the right proportions for your sketches. Even though I’ve yet to give a presentation using my Chromebook, those who do might appreciate the Laser pointer feature.

Using my Chromebook Duet 3 how I originally intended

I’ve now spent the better part of a week using my Chromebook Duet 3 like a large Chrome OS tablet. It’s not my main device as you’d have to pry my desktop from my cold, dead hands but it’s great for taking a break from using a mouse and keyboard. As I’m frequently moving computers and monitors around when reviewing the best standing desks, I plan on sketching out new setups on my Chromebook Duet 3 first before I actually start unplugging devices and working on my cable management.

I really wonder though if my experience with the Chromebook Duet 3 would have been different and closer to what I originally imagined if the first stylus I picked up for it had actually worked. All in all though, I’m happy that I’m finally following through with my original plan. Now, let’s just see if it lasts.

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• ChromeOS Flex can turn your old laptop into a Chromebook
• How to play Steam games on a Chromebook
• These are the best student Chromebooks you can get right now

The Acer Chromebook Spin 714 ($729 to start) is a powerful 2-in-1 Chromebook with good battery life and a handy stylus, making it a great tool for getting things done on the go.

The Acer Chromebook Spin 713 was and is one of the best Chromebooks on the market. With the new Spin 714 model, you’d expect Acer to stick with the winning formula. While they share many similarities, the Spin 714 stands apart with its improved speakers and upgraded internals, which give it some impressive speed and Wi-Fi 6E capabilities. However, it also has a less impressive display and worse battery life than the old Spin 713.

In this Acer Chromebook Spin 714 review I'll help you understand the pros and cons of this laptop by walking through my own time using this it, as well as what we learned from running it through our performance testing lab.

Acer Chromebook Spin 714 review: Price and availability

The Spin 714 is available for purchase via Acer's website as well as select third-party retailers. 

Acer sells this laptop in at least three configurations, and the entry-level model starts at $729. For that you get the Spin 714 with a 12th Gen Intel Core i5-1235U CPU, 8GB of LPDDR4 RAM and a 256GB SSD for storage. This is the model Acer sent us for review, and if you were to buy it direct from Acer it would cost you the usual $729.

Laptop prices tend to fluctuate, however, and you can already find steep discounts on this Chromebook with a bit of luck and regular Google searches. Not long before this review was published Best Buy had the entry-level Spin 714 discounted down to $529, for example, so keep an eye out for the best Chromebook deals when it comes time to purchase one yourself.

Acer also sells at least three more powerful variants of the Spin 714 that are aimed at business use. Appropriately branded the Acer Chromebook Enterprise Spin 714 and sold via a separate area of Acer's website, these variants (starting at $999) cost more but offer more powerful CPU options (up to a 12th Gen Intel Core i7-1260P) and double the RAM (16GB).

Acer Chromebook Spin 714 review: Design

The Acer Chromebook Spin 714 doesn't look drastically different from most Chromebooks design-wise, and that's fine by me. Our review unit measures 12.3 x 8.8 x 0.7 inches and tips the scales a few ounces over that magical 3 pound limit. 

The exterior is a uniform shade of grey with a subtle blue undertone, which Acer calls Slate Blue. The Chromebook and Acer brand logos on the back of the lid are the lone decorations. Some may call the aesthetics boring or unimaginative, but the simplicity also means no surprise edges or sharp corners when gripping the Spin or carrying it around.

The hinge rotates a full 360 degrees, allowing you to use the Spin in a traditional laptop position, with the keyboard folded underneath in a presentation mode, pitched in "tent" mode, or completely folded back as a large, heavy tablet. If the keyboard is rotated back farther than 180 degrees, it's automatically disabled and the Spin switches to tablet mode.

Acer Chromebook Spin 714 review: Display

The biggest change Acer made to the 714 is the display. While the Spin 713 featured a 2256 x 1504 resolution 3:2 display, the Spin 714 uses a more common 1920 x 1200 resolution IPS panel for a 16:10 aspect ratio.

While this can be viewed as a downgrade, you could argue that higher resolutions are wasted on a relatively small 14-inch display. Pixel density becomes a much bigger concern for phones and tablets that are mostly viewed within a foot of your eyes than on a laptop or notebook kept at arm’s length.

Whether working on documents or streaming videos, I felt the Spin 714 panel delivered good crisp image quality. When we pointed our Klein 10-A colorimeter at it in our testing lab we discovered the Spin 714 displays 111.9% of the sRGB color spectrum and 78.9% of the DCI-P3 spectrum (100% is most accurate) with a Delta-E score of 0.31 (the closer to 0, the better). We also found it achieves an average brightness level of 358 nits, peaking at 374 nits in the upper-left corner.

That's less bright than the preceding Acer Chromebook Spin 713 (445 nits) as well as the Samsung Galaxy Chromebook 2 and Lenovo Chromebook Duet 3, but it's still plenty bright for well-lit office spaces.

The panel is of course a multi-touch screen and it’s covered by Antimicrobial Gorilla Glass. This does make the screen quite glossy, for better or worse.

Acer Chromebook Spin 714 review: Ports and connectivity

The Acer Chromebook Spin 714 offers a slim complement of ports, but there's enough here to be productive. You get two USB-C/Thunderbolt 4 ports, one on each side, both of which can be used to charge the Chromebook or charge external devices.

A single USB-A port remains on the right side of the notebook, so you can still plug in your favorite old mouse, keyboard or other peripheral. Unfortunately, the SD card slot from previous Spin versions has been removed from the 714, so you'll need to buy an external card reader if you want to quickly pull photos and other files off an SD card.

Acer wisely retained the full-size HDMI port, allowing the Spin to be easily connected to a TV, projector, or other external display. A four-pole 3.5mm audio jack for headphones and headsets is also on the left side, right next to the HDMI port.

Alongside the audio jack on the left side is the power button. This keeps it well away from more frequently used connections, like USB ports, so accidental presses are unlikely. A volume rocker switch is on the opposite side, right next to the USB-A port.

Wireless connectivity on the Spin 714 is also improved over the 713. The Wi-Fi controller has been upgraded from Wi-Fi 6 to 6E, allowing it to utilize the newly alotted 6 GHz bandwidth, and Bluetooth has been bumped from 5.0 to 5.2.

Acer Chromebook Spin 714 review: Performance

The CPU in our Spin 714 review unit is an Intel 12th Generation i5-1235U chip. It uses two performance cores, each capable of two execution threads and a 4.4 GHz max boost, along with ten efficiency cores that can reach 3.3 GHz, for a total of 12 threads. An Intel Xe integrated GPU provides graphical power. You get 8GB of LPDDR4X RAM for system memory, while long-term storage is handled by a 256 GB PCIe-based solid-state drive.

Our review unit may be the “low-end” model on Acer's 714 stack, but its hardware specs are still higher than many Chromebooks, and it acts like it. The Spin 714 boots and shuts down quickly, applications and system windows open in a snap, video playback is smooth, and even the most complicated websites aren’t a problem to render.

With the updated internal hardware over previous Acer Chromebooks, one would expect the new Spin 714 to outshine most alternatives. Keep in mind that while Intel's 12th Gen CPU does have some raw performance gains over the 10th Gen CPU we saw in the older 713, most of the improvements come in the form of power efficiency.

Our Geekbench 5 CPU testing reveals that tempering your expectations accordingly is completely unnecessary, as the Spin 714 speeds past the competition with a score of 4,415. The older 713 in comparison scored only 3,253, Samsung's Galaxy Chromebook 2 scored 2,171, and the Lenovo Duet 3 with its Snapdragon SoC netted just 1,732. So as far as Chromebooks go, the Spin 714 has got plenty of power.

The Spin 714 further establishes its hardware chops in the JetStream 2 test, which we use to gauge web app performance and browsing speed. Here, the Spin 714 scores 220.635, nearly doubling the Spin 713 score of 113.5, and more than twice the Galaxy Chromebook 2 at 104.9. So again, the new Spin 714 shines when browsing the web — which is exactly what you want from a Chromebook.

Acer Chromebook Spin 714 review: Audio

The speakers on the Acer Chromebook Spin 714 have been greatly improved over the older Spin 713 models. Instead of down-firing drivers on the bottom of the laptop, the Spin 714 relocates them to above the keyboard. This results in much more consistent audio, regardless whether the notebook is on your lap, desk, or countertop.

That said, these are still small laptop speakers, so don't expect much from them if you choose to use the Spin as your jukebox during your next party. The Spin has plenty of storage to hold your music library, but a good pair of headphones will go a long way in enjoying it. Also, if you rotate the screen back and use your notebook in presentation mode a lot, keep in mind the speakers will be directly against the desk or whatever surface you place the Spin on.

Acer Chromebook Spin 714 review: Keyboard, touchpad and stylus

The keyboard on the Chromebook Spin 714 is backlit, showing both key outlines and keycap labels. It’s a fairly typical laptop keyboard; it’s usable but certainly not as crisp as a good desktop keyboard. If anything, the key throw feels a little on the squishy side. Being a 140-inch notebook, the keyboard may feel a little cramped to some users not accustomed to smaller travel laptops.

The touchpad underneath is very good. It’s nicely smooth with just enough texture to give you tactile feedback as you move your fingers move about. The clicking action is decent, being just a tiny bit mushy.

Acer also includes both a mouse and stylus with the Spin 714. The mouse is standard fare for what you’d see included with a typical all-in-one PC. It’s fairly low and flat, easy to pack in a bag for travel, but perhaps not ergonomically comfortable for long sessions.

The top of the mouse is held on by a magnetic latch, under which is a AA battery and a compartment for the USB dongle. The mouse is USB only, no Bluetooth, which means the mouse monopolizes the lone USB-A slot on the Spin 714 (unless you’re using a dock). 

A notch under the keyboard, accessible from the front side, holds the included active stylus. While stowed, its internal battery recharges off the notebook.

Acer Chromebook Spin 714 review: Battery life

Acer claims the 3-cell battery in the Spin 714 can last 10 hours. Our testing of mixed web browsing workloads (conducted by tasking the laptop with endlessly browsing the web via Wi-Fi until it dies) showed a consistent result of 10 hours 45 minutes, slightly exceeding Acer's claim. However, it's worth noting that the older Acer Chromebook Spin 713 we previously tested actually lasted a bit longer (11:54) in the same test.

The Spin 714's 16:10 display is also more media friendly than the Spin 713's 3:2 ratio. For those who like to binge watch TV and movies, the 714 can stream an entire season of The Expanse on a single battery charge. The Spin would also be great for long flights, giving you plenty of hours of playback for pre-downloaded shows and movies.

Acer Chromebook Spin 714 review: Webcam

The Spin 714 sports an integrated webcam with privacy shutter at the top of the display, flanked by two microphones. At only 1.2MP, detail is somewhat lacking and picture quality could be better. It tends to get overexposed and blown out, and image sharpness suffers. 

It’s certainly better than many budget laptop webcams, and is perfectly sufficient for 720p video chats and work conferencing, but not much more than that.

Acer Chromebook Spin 714 review: Heat

Under typical office use and media consumption, the Spin 714 stays cool to the touch and the cooling fan noise is unobtrusive, especially if you're using headphones. Under heavier tasks, the underside can get a little warm, but usually doesn't reach uncomfortable levels.

At max loads, like running benchmarks while it's plugged into the wall, the underside will get quite toasty and you'll feel some heat in the keyboard. However, these sorts of tasks are done almost exclusively at desks and workstations, not while you're holding it in your lap, so it's not an issue to worry about.

In our heat test, which tasks the laptop with playing a demanding HD video for 15 minutes before we scan it with a heat gun, we discovered the Spin 714 gets as hot as 97.9 degrees on its underside. That's definitely noticeable, but not so hot that you should worry about getting your lap scorched.

One reason the Spin stays relatively cool is because the hot air from the heatsink is blown out a vent on the top, just in front of the display hinge. The vents on the bottom are instead used to pull fresh air into the cooling system. As with any laptop, be sure the intake vents have enough breathing room when using it on your lap or couch.

Acer Chromebook Spin 714 review: Verdict

The Acer Chromebook Spin 714's $729 MSRP is a fair price to pay for the hardware you get. 

The HDMI out and USB-A port mean you still have basic connections without needing a dock or adapter cables, but USB-C and Thunderbolt 4 are also on tap for current- and next-gen devices. The 16:10 display looks good in person and is bright enough, even if it can't compete with other premium Chromebooks in that department. The included mouse and stylus give you lots of options for getting work done in either laptop or tablet mode. And with Wi-Fi 6E, you're set up to take advantage of the fastest wireless networks. Most importantly, the battery should last you an entire workday.

The question remaining is whether a "premium" Chromebook serves you best. If you don't get it on sale, the $700+ Spin 714 is priced to compete with some very competent Windows laptops, including the latest Dell XPS 13. While Chrome OS has certainly improved over the last few years (adding Android app support really expands its usefulness) it's hard to argue it's more versatile than Windows 11, which has its own burgeoning Android app support. 

But if you're already neck-deep in the Chrome ecosystem and your daily workflow doesn't need anything outside web browser tabs and mobile apps, you'd be hard-pressed to find a Chromebook with better performance for the price than the Spin 714.

The Framework Laptop has always been a promising prospect. When first unveiled in 2021, Framework promised to deliver uncompromising performance in a sleek shell, without sacrificing our right to repair, modify, and tinker with our devices. And they largely succeeded, delivering an exciting machine that you could truly make your own.

Framework’s latest model is a curious one: powered by ChromeOS, the Framework Laptop Chromebook Edition promises the modularity of their standard models, but outfitted with Google’s lightweight operating system. The hardware remains a treat, but ChromeOS is an odd match for a project focused on modularity and control.

Framework Laptop Chromebook Edition review: Price and availability

The base Framework Chromebook, available for configuration via Framework's website, costs $999. That gets you an Intel Core i5-1240P CPU paired with 8GB of RAM and a 256GB SSD, and 4 USB-C expansion cards ($9 each); you can choose between a few expansion card options at checkout. 

The model I reviewed was equipped with 16GB of RAM, and included a smattering of different expansion cards to test. Check out our Framework Laptop review for the details on the Windows-based variant, which starts at $1,049 ($819 if you build it yourself) but includes Windows 11, and can be upgraded to Core i7 CPUs. 

Framework Laptop Chromebook Edition review: Design

The Framework Chromebook is near identical to its Windows and DIY counterparts. The aluminum chassis now sports Chromebook branding, which I’ll confess is a little disappointing; I really like the otherwise clean design. It’s thin and light, weighing 2.8 pounds and measuring 11.7 by 9 by 0.62 inches. Branding quibbles aside the machine looks great, and feels sturdy. The frame resists attempts at twisting and tugging at it, and I’m confident it could take the odd knock or drop with aplomb. 

The display tends to bob when I’m typing with the machine in my lap, which can be a bit distracting. It easily remedied by placing the laptop on a desk or some other stable surface, but you can also replace the default 3.3kg hinge with a stronger 4kg variant (for $24) on Framework’s Marketplace, trading smooth, one-handed opening for a stiffer experience. 

To get to that hinge, and everything else, you’ll need to flip the machine over. There are five T5 Torx screws on the underside, and they’re all that stand between you and the well-ordered innards. Every component includes a QR code to help you identify what it is, find documentation to help you troubleshoot an issue, or order replacements, if necessary. We’ve talked at length about how impressive this initiative is. Suffice to say, the repairable, modular design is a promising one, with great potential if Framework can keep the momentum going. 

Framework Laptop Chromebook Edition review: Ports

The Framework sports a 3.5mm audio jack, and 4 bays for inserting expansion cards. There are USB-C, USB-A, DisplayPort, and HDMI modules, to cover most input needs. You can expand the storage with a 250GB or 1TB module or a microSD slot. And finally there’s my favorite option: Ethernet. 

I adore the modularity concept, and the bays are hot-swappable, so it actually works fairly well in practice. I spent the bulk of my time with three USB-C ports and a single USB-A port, and being able to drop one of the ports and slot in the Ethernet module when I moved to a desk, without any tools or rebooting the machine, is pretty cool.

I do worry about expansion card selection. While my needs are covered, third-party offerings would go along way towards making the cards feel more like a revolution, and less like a proprietary gimmick. Framework has made design documents available and their community forums are rife with makers and developers tossing ideas and prototypes back and forth, which is a great sign. But without third-party contributions from larger players, it runs the risk of seeming like a strange niche.

Framework Laptop Chromebook Edition review: Display

The Framework’s 13.5-inch display offers a 2,256 x 1,504 resolution. It’s fairly bright, showing an average brightness of 423 nits in our testing; this can be handy for combatting reflections in bright areas, though you’ll still run into trouble in direct sunlight. It looks good: colors are are vibrant, even when viewed off axis, so you can stream, browse, and edit without worry.  

The slightly taller 3:2 aspect ratio gives documents a little more room to breathe; I tend to favor a 3:2 aspect ratio on smaller (relatively) displays, where having to scroll less on documents is appreciated. Framework Laptops currently don’t offer touchscreens, which might be a dealbreaker for some. I don’t mind it: I usually only rely on touch on 2-in-1 machines like my Surface Pro 8, where I can get the keyboard out of the way. I wouldn’t be surprised if a touchscreen option became available in the future, given Framework’s commitment to upgrading their lineup.

Framework Laptop Chromebook Edition review: Keyboard and touchpad

The Framework Chromebook’s keyboard is comfortable, with wide, evenly spaced keys and a 1.5mm of travel, for a nice, error-free typing experience. A few keys are replaced with Chromebook specific options, like the “Everything” button that replaces Caps Lock, but Framework has otherwise managed to maintain the satisfying feel from the standard model.

The fingerprint reader that’s part of the standard editions has been removed, however. The touchpad is similarly great: it’s wide and spacious, offering plenty of room for gestures. The matte glass surface feels nice and smooth underhand; all told, nothing to complain about here.

Framework Laptop Chromebook Edition review: Audio

These speakers are loud, but lacking where bass is concerned. They’re not bad for an ultraportable; my test albums aren’t as punchy as I’d necessarily like, but this light and thin machine easily fills a room (and beyond) with sound, and dialogue in movies and the like sounds clear.

Framework Laptop Chromebook Edition review: Performance

The Framework Chromebook is limited to an Intel Core i5-1240P processor. If you’re eyeing the Core-i7 SKUs You can pop the mainboard out and swap over to Windows or Linux, but there’s currently no way to upgrade to a higher tier CPU while sticking with ChromeOS. 

And honestly, that’s fine: the hardware on offer already feels like overkill for an operating system that revolves around a browser. To be fair, you can do a lot with ChromeOS. But the Google Play Store’s offerings are still geared towards phones and tablets and the like, and would struggle to flummox the hardware on offer here. The Framework is on Valve’s list of supported devices if you’d like to give Steam on a Chromebook a go, but the lack of a discrete GPU, and the reduced library of supported games, are going to temper that experience.

Anecdotally, the most pressing thing I could was edit some photos in Adobe’s ChromeOS-friendly variant of Lightroom, which caused the fan to spin to life. The ability to install Debian packages opens the door for greater Linux-based workloads, but at that point you’re better off going for Linux on the DIY edition, and saving some money (or springing for more potent hardware). 

The FrameWork Chromebook earned a score of 6,720 on GeekBench 5’s multicore test, and a score of 254 on the JetStream 2 browser benchmark, handily trouncing competing Chromebooks like the Samsung Galaxy Chromebook 2 or Acer Chromebook Spin 713, which are equipped with far lesser hardware.

Framework Laptop Chromebook Edition review: Battery life

The Framework Chromebook lasted for 8 hours and 7 minutes on our automated battery test, which consists of browsing the web with the display’s brightness set to 150 nits. That’s not bad, though the Windows-based variant we reviewed late last year did better, at 10 hours and 17 minutes. 

Results from other Chromebooks tend to run the gamut, owing to differences in hardware, and the ever evolving nature of ChromeOS. In my own use, which generally consisted of streaming music and HD video while browsing the web, I could regularly expect just over seven and a half hours. Your own mileage may vary, and I suspect constant optimizations will only improve things with time.

Framework Laptop Chromebook Edition review: Webcam

The 1080p, 60fps webcam is a welcome improvement over the grainy, 720p offerings most laptops tend to ship with these days. Video calls are clear and smooth, and it captures vivid images (in the right lighting). 

There are also two physical switches sitting on either end of the camera: these cut off power to the camera and microphone, a privacy nod that I’m very much in favor of.

Framework Laptop Chromebook Edition review: Heat

The Framework Chromebook gets a little warm, but never egregiously so. It peaked at 101.3 degrees Fahrenheit on the underside when the machine was under duress, but for the most part the Chromebook kept its cool.

Framework Laptop Chromebook Edition review: Software

The Framework Chromebook is loaded with a full complement of Google apps, as expected. Beyond that you’re generally limited to what you can find on the Google Play store. If you’re already accustomed to the Android phone or tablet experience, or spend most of your day in a browser, you’ll be right at home.

If you’re looking for a little more and willing to roll your sleeves up, you can enable the Linux development environment, or “Crostini.” You’ll benefit from having some familiarity with navigating a Terminal, but being able to grab Debian packages and access more tools that lack web-based alternatives and aren’t available on ChromeOS is useful. It’s simple enough to configure: just “Turn on” the Linux Development environment in ChromeOS settings, and you’re on your way. Linux for Chromebooks is hosted in a container that runs alongside ChromeOS, so some elements (like accessing files) take a second to get used to, but it’s otherwise handy if you know exactly what you’re looking for — in my case, Microsoft’s Visual Studio Code.

Framework Laptop Chromebook Edition review: Verdict

As a DIY enthusiast I’m thrilled that something like the Framework exists, but the Chromebook Edition is a tough sell. It’s not much cheaper than its Windows 11-equipped siblings, which leaves you shelling out for performant hardware the operating system can’t really take advantage of. The limited upgrade path is less concerning that it ought to be, given how lean ChromeOS is, but I’m left wondering why you’re paying for all this power in the first place. ChromeOS might be a lightweight alternative to a full blown OS, but if that’s what you’re looking for you you can find great Chromebooks for half the price (here are our favorites).

Chromebooks are a fine concept, but ChromeOS’ one-size-fits-all ethos is better suited to inexpensive, entry-level machines. The Framework Laptop is something different entirely. They’re meant to be maintained, upgraded, modded, and tinkered with — and they’re priced accordingly. If you really want a Chromebook you won’t be disappointed here, but consider leaning into the Framework brand’s strengths instead. At this price, I’d grab the DIY edition with the same Core i5 CPU, the Ethernet expansion card and four USB-C ports, and bring my own NVMe drive, RAM, and Linux distro, for that fully customized experience.

Chromebooks are about to get more functional. As spotted by About Chromebooks (via TechRadar), the latest beta version of ChromeOS 111 has an updated keyboard shortcuts application that lets you remap those shortcuts however you want. It's not actually functional yet, but it’s good to see ChromeOS get such a long-requested feature.

Custom keyboard shortcuts for ChromeOS didn’t come out of anywhere. Back in October 2022, Chrome Story posted a video on YouTube that demoed an early version of this feature. Said feature is more robust now in its current state, though as said up top, custom shortcuts aren’t working yet. You’re free to change the shortcuts in the revised panel, but any changes you make aren’t enabled. At least not at the moment.

Right now, you can only change certain elements of the keyboard. But when this change goes live, you should (theoretically) have full control over all keyboard shortcuts. Of course, we can’t say when or if this feature will ever leave the testing phase.

Should this feature see the light of day, it will be great news for people who hop between using the best Chromebooks, the best Windows laptops and the best MacBooks. Keeping those operating systems’ respective keyboard shortcuts memorized can be a headache. To that end, being able to customize ChromeOS’ keyboard shortcuts to something resembling what you’re familiar with should help ease the pain of transitioning between different computers.

If you’re a member of the ChromeOS beta program, you can check out the new shortcut viewer. About Chromebooks’ Kevin C. Tofel listed three flags he had to enable in the chrome://flags section of his Beta Channel device to make the shortcut viewer available.  said they had to enable one more flag before the viewer would show. These are the flags to enable:

• chrome://flags#improved-keyboard-shortcuts
• chrome://flags#enable-shortcut-customization-app
• chrome://flags#enable-shortcut-customization
• chrome://flags#enable-only-show-new-shortcut-app

As stated above, you can’t remap shortcuts right now. But we’ll let you know when and if this update rolls out to Chromebooks worldwide. 

No offense to that $79 Chromebook deal everyone is talking about, but I've found a much better Black Friday deal. And that's because it has a display I can actually see without reading glasses. 

While most super-cheap Chromebooks sport tiny 11-inch displays, the 14-inch Samsung Galaxy Chromebook is just $149 right now at Amazon. That' s 50% off, and the lowest price we've seen for this Black Friday laptop deal. 

The Samsung Galaxy Chromebook Go isn't the most powerful machine, with its Intel Celeron processor, 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage. But these specs should be fine for getting the basics done on a Chromebook. That means you can surf the web, shop online, check email, keep tabs on social media and watch videos.

While the 14-inch panel on this system is not full HD (it's 1366 x 768 pixels), the size of the display will give you the real estate you need to get real work done, such as writing documents in Google Docs or editing spreadsheets in Google Sheets.

Samsung claims that this machine lasts up to 12 hours on a charge, which is quite good for a Chromebook this size. You get a relatively fast Wi-Fi 6 connection for connecting to modern routers. And it's all wrapped up in a durable design that can handle drops and spills.

If you happen to own a Samsung phone, you can easily transfer files to the Chromebook Go, and you can even control your Android phone with the computer's Phone Hub feature.

Overall, this is a great deal at 50% off. But if you're looking for a gaming laptop instead, then check out the Acer Predator Helios 300 for just $999. Or, for more savings, check out our Black Friday deals live blog. 

Black Friday deals are already underway on all sorts of electronics as retailers try to outdo each other. And we’ve found a Chromebook deal that might be too hard to resist.

Right now, Walmart is selling an HP Chromebook for $79. This laptop is normally $98, which means you’ll save nearly $20. Chromebooks may not be as exciting as the best laptops, but they’re ideal for budget-minded consumers and those in education seeking the best Chromebooks for students.

Since this is a Chromebook, it’s far from a powerhouse laptop. However, it’s still a capable machine. It packs an 11.3-inch HD display, an AMD A4 processor, 4GB of RAM and 32GB of storage. As you’d expect from a Chromebook, it's powered by the reliable and easy-to-navigate Chrome OS.

The 11.3-inch display will likely be too small for most users, which is why this Chromebook is likely best for younger kids. 

On a regular laptop, 32GB of storage wouldn't be enough. However, it's decently sufficient on a Chromebook since you'll mostly use Google online services like Google Drive, Docs, Sheets and so forth. This also means you'll want to use this (or any) Chromebook in a place with a reliable internet connection to get the most out of it.

Given its modest specs, this HP Chromebook isn’t for those who want to perform processor-heavy tasks such as video editing. And it’s certainly not an ideal pick if you want to play the best PC games. But if you’re looking for a machine that’s good for basic everyday tasks and schoolwork, then this Chromebook is an extremely affordable option.

Be sure to bookmark our Black Friday deals live blog for all the latest sales on everything from computers, televisions, home appliances and much more.

Yes, the best Chromebooks today are more than capable of powering through web-based work, play and streaming shows, so if you've had ChromeOS on your mind as your next laptop, you've come to the right place.

Chromebooks have quickly become bargain hits in the laptop space, and with Chromebook Plus, you're getting even more premium options to choose from. Whether you're a student, a family in need of a simple laptop around the house or invested in Google's suite of online apps for work, my team of laptop experts and I have done the testing to point you in the right direction.

After testing dozens of Chromebooks every year, I know which ChromeOS machines should be on your radar — and whether it's worth picking one up. Right now, the Lenovo Chromebook Plus is our choice as the best Chromebook for most, but we've got other options to check out. If you're still not sure, find out who and what they're best for just below. Otherwise, head on down to find a Chromebook that suits your needs.

Amazon Prime Day is set to deliver plenty of discounts for Chromebooks, so if you're planning on saving during the big sale event, we here at Tom's Guide will point you in the right direction to grab the discounts to put on your radar.

The best Chromebooks worth your money right now

The best Chromebook overall

Who is this for?

The Lenovo Chromebook Plus 14 is perfect for those who rely on Google's suite of apps to get stuff done, while spending a lot of personal time binge-watching and entertaining themselves on Chrome. Plus, with its OLED display, premium-feeling design and splendid, speedy performance, it has all the makings of being a laptop for most.

Why is it the best Chromebook overall?

Well, to be the best Chromebook, it has to be a really good laptop all around, and the Chromebook Plus 14 absolutely delivers. With an impressively premium build quality, a gorgeous OLED display with stellar speakers, unmatched ergonomics in the Chromebook space, and a MediaTek chip that packs strong performance and power efficency, I had no problem ditching my MacBook for it.

What do we like?

👍 Surprisingly fast with good stamina: That MediaTek Kompanio Ultra 910 chipset is a world first for the Chromebook space — packing peak performance and power efficiency along with its own NPU for better-performing on-device AI. Alongside 16GB RAM, Chrome feels zippy no matter how many tabs you have open, and you're getting over 13 hours of battery life on one charge.

👍 Gorgeous OLED screen: That 14-inch OLED display is a revelation in the Chromebook Plus 14. Whether I was working hard or hardly working and watching a ton of YouTube videos, everything looked jaw droppingly good here. Shout-out to the speakers too for the crystal clarity and decent bass.

👍 Ready to work with you: That aluminum shell feels impressively premium, while the keyboard and touchpad offer the premium ergonomics you expect from Lenovo. You also get 12 months of Google AI Pro, which provides amazing tools like NotebookLM. All of this is accomplished without a fan, so performance is whisper-quiet.

What don’t we like?

👎 $649 is a little steep: Chromebooks have always thrived on being the super cheap alternatives to Windows laptops and MacBooks. Slotting one in at $649 is a bit of a steep ask. For what you get, this may be worth it in the Chromebook space, but there is competition elsewhere to keep in mind too.

Bottom line

The Lenovo Chromebook Plus 14 is a fantastic productivity laptop, combining a great design, comfortable ergonomics, and a stunning OLED display. For $649, this Chromebook is a perfect all-day companion for students, showcasing how far the Chrome OS has come.

Read our full Lenovo Chromebook Plus 14 review.

The best budget Chromebook

Who is this for?

Even by Chromebook standards, the Asus Chromebook CX15 is a budget machine. But don't be fooled; this is still a capable machine fit for students, kids or families after a simple laptop to browse the web, check up on emails, study documents online and binge their way through shows. For $269? It's a steal.

Why is it the best budget Chromebook?

Chromebooks rely on web-based usability, meaning even if they come with strong specs under the hood, they largely focus on accessing browsers or online-focused apps. For under $300, the Asus Chromebook CX15 still does it all, despite its underpowered specs on paper. It's basic, but if all you need is a machine to check emails, browse the web or watch shows, then this 15-inch laptop will keep your wallet happy.

What do we like?

👍 Bang for your buck: Who said low-priced had to mean cheap? With the CX15, you can expect the full ChromeOS experience in a well-built, sturdy and comfortable-to-use laptop. There are more affordable Chromebooks out there, but this brings a more up-to-date, modern appeal.

👍 15-inch size: For a laptop at this price, it's a huge perk to get a 15.6-inch FHD (1920 x 1080) display with a 16:9 aspect ratio. Plus, it's only a little bigger than the very portable MacBook Air 15-inch, and it even comes with a full-sized keyboard — number pad included.

What don’t we like?

👎 Performance is lacking: The Intel Celeron N4500 won't cut it for power users, and these days, it's the bare minimum. However, you'll still be able to browse through multiple tabs on Chrome at once while watching a show. That's what an affordable Chromebook should offer.

👎 Tight port selection: Don't expect many ports to play around with on the CX15. There's a USB-C 3.2 Gen 1, a USB-A 3.2 Gen 1, one HDMI 1.4 and a 3.5mm audio jack. The essentials? Sure, but there's always room for another USB-A or USB-C worth offering. In fact, one port is used to charge the laptop. Make sure to have a USB-C hub handy.

Bottom line

The Asus Chromebook CX15 is a no-nonsense laptop that's ideal for families, kids and students alike, offering enough performance to power through web browsing, finishing off homework and watching shows. This isn't one for power users, but for just $269, it's budget done right.

Read our full Asus Chromebook CX15 review.

The best premium Chromebook

Who is this for?

The Samsung Galaxy Chromebook Plus is a great choice for students, workers who mainly use online documents and apps or anyone who needs a reliable notebook for everyday tasks. It’s an easy-to-use notebook that’s snappy, portable and simple to sync with Android devices.

Why is it the best premium Chromebook?

Considering its compact design (despite being a tad wide), the Galaxy Chromebook Plus does wonders to make this 15-inch laptop as portable as it is. Even with room for a number pad on the keyboard and fitting a 15.6-inch AMOLED display, it’s still lighter than other Chromebooks — and even a MacBook Air. That means you’re getting all the size with none of the weight. At $700, you will have to pay a tad more for it compared to other Chromebooks, though.

What do we like?

👍 Excellent Chromebook performance: While its Intel Core 3 100U CPU may not sound like much, it still blows away other Chromebooks in terms of power. It can handle multitasking, juggling dozens of Chrome tabs and even play Android games without breaking a sweat. Expect this to run any Chromebook app you throw at it.

👍 Beautiful AMOLED display: With its sizeable 15.6-inch FHD (1920 x 1080) AMOLED display, expect vibrant colors and smooth visuals in its brighter-than-most screen. Whether it's scrolling through websites or watching shows, this display nails what’s on display.

👍 Battery that lasts: Coming in at over 11 hours, the Galaxy Chromebook Plus is one of the longest-lasting Chromebooks we’ve tested. That’s more than enough charge to get through a full workday, and to have a little leftover before it needs to be plugged in again. If anything, this shows how good its efficiency is.

What don’t we like?

👎 Strange “Plus” key placement: As helpful as its Gemini AI features are, the quick-access “Plus” key to use many of those tools is placed on the Caps Lock key. This means that every time it’s pressed, you’ll have to click on the option that comes up that actually turns it on. It’s odd placement, seeing how many will generally want to quickly press a Caps key to, you know, turn it on.

👎 Wider than most: While only a small quirk, the Samsung Galaxy Chromebook Plus is a wide notebook to use. It makes it a tad awkward when placing it on a table behind a seat on a flight or train, or even a small coffee table.

Bottom line

If there were ever a premium Chromebook to get on board with, the Samsung Galaxy Chromebook Plus is it. Besides its odd “Plus” key placement and wider chassis, it’s hard to beat its snappy performance, fantastic AMOLED display, extended battery life and even its seamless connectivity to Android phones, wireless earbuds and more. Add its sleek, lightweight design, and this Chromebook really shines.

• Read our full Samsung Galaxy Chromebook Plus review

The best 2-in-1 Chromebook

Who is this for?

The Lenovo Chromebook Plus 2-in-1 Gen 10 is the Chromebook to get if you want a true convertible: it nails laptop, tablet and tent modes in a premium aluminum chassis with a standout keyboard. If you told me Lenovo just reused one of its premium Yoga chassis here, I'd believe you — it feels far pricier than its $400-ish tag lets on, making it one of the best values we've seen for a 2-in-1 ChromeOS device. This one's for students, families and anyone after a great deal.

Why is it the best 2-in-1 Chromebook?

That versatility is more than just spec-sheet talk. The hinge feels sturdy and smooth, so flipping between modes never feels flimsy or awkward. For anyone planning to switch between typing, note-taking, or streaming in different orientations, the design just works. Performance holds up, too: while you won’t get powerhouse specs, we found it reliably keeps up with everyday ChromeOS work — multiple tabs, web apps and casual drawing included. Plus, Lenovo’s keyboard reputation is well-earned here.

What do we like?

👍 A premium versatile machine: The Lenovo Chromebook Plus 2-in-1 easily flips between laptop, tablet, and tent modes, making it ideal if you value flexibility for note-taking, watching shows or getting work done.

👍 All-day typing comfort: Typing for long stretches is genuinely comfortable. Key travel is crisp, spacing is spot-on, and the touchpad is satisfyingly responsive. If you write a lot or just want inputs that don’t get in your way, this 2-in-1 won’t disappoint.

👍 Performance that just works: Performance is reliable for everyday tasks, and we used this to open multiple tabs and apps without it breaking a sweat. It even works well as a cloud gaming machine.

What don’t we like?

👎 Prepare for dim visuals: The display doesn’t hit the highs of pricier Chromebooks. In our testing, brightness measured below 200 nits, and color coverage came in at just 65% of the sRGB gamut.

👎 Battery life could be better: We hit 8 hours and 32 minutes of continuous web surfing on a charge, which is enough for most workdays but falls short of the marathon stamina seen in some competitors.

Bottom line

If you want a well-built, premium 2-in-1 Chromebook that delivers a fantastic typing experience, all for a sensible price (and can live with a somewhat dim screen), the Lenovo Chromebook Plus 2-in-1 Gen 10 is a clear winner.

• Read our full Lenovo Chromebook Plus 2-in-1 Gen 10 review

The best Chromebook for Gemini AI

Who is this for?

The Acer Chromebook Plus 515 is not just a standard big-screen Chromebook that is great for use at home and on the go for hard work and entertainment; it also supports all the Gemini features that come with a Chromebook Plus laptop. And it's decently priced for what it has to offer at $399.

Why is it the best Chromebook for Gemini AI?

For a seriously affordable price, you can enjoy all of the best Gemini AI features boosting your productivity — all on a Chromebook that is seriously nice to use with a big screen and nice-feeling keyboard, along with a decent battery life.

What do we like?

👍 Big, colorful display: Yes, it's only 1080p, which means you'll be able to notice the pixels on this 15.6-inch panel. But for the color production and color on offer here, the resolution can be easily forgiven — plus, when it comes to Chromebooks, full HD is definitely on the higher side.

👍 Great-feeling keyboard: Commonly, Chromebooks make compromises on the keyboard by giving you a bit of a spongy board in favor of cost-cutting. Here, however, there's a nice tactility to the whole thing.

👍 Gemini AI features are genuinely useful: We've seen Copilot+ PC features feel like a bolt-on, and Apple Intelligence for MacBooks buried under a lot of menus. For ChromeOS, Google is out in the lead in terms of UI. Don't get me wrong, without an NPU, there is no on-board AI — everything is in the cloud. But in terms of usability, this is one of the best.

What don’t we like?

👎 Cheap feels: Emphasis has been placed on AI performance and keyboard, but in its place, the whole laptop feels cheap in the plastic surfaces and the spongy trackpad.

Bottom line

In terms of the whole Chromebook market, it's easy to ignore the Acer Chromebook Plus 515 as just another option. But don't skip on it if you want a good big-screen experience for binging-watching and AI productivity at its heart, especially for its $399 cost.

• Read our full Acer Chromebook Plus 515 review

Battery life benchmarks

Battery life is one of the key things you should look at when deciding which Chromebook to buy, which is why we run every ChromeOS laptop we review through a series of battery tests to see how long it lasts on a full charge.

Best Chromebooks Battery Life Tests

In our battery test, we set the laptop's display to 150 nits of brightness and have it endlessly browse the web via Wi-Fi until it runs out of juice.

Battery life (hh:mm:ss)

Lenovo Chromebook Plus 14

13:19:00

Samsung Galaxy Chromebook Plus

11:09:00

Lenovo Chromebook Plus 2-in-1 Gen 10

08:32:00

Acer Chromebook Plus 515

08:16:00

Asus Chromebook CX15

07:26:00

03.757.511.2515

hours

Battery life (hh:mm:ss) Data

Product	Value
Lenovo Chromebook Plus 14	13.316666666666666
Samsung Galaxy Chromebook Plus	11.15
Lenovo Chromebook Plus 2-in-1 Gen 10	8.533333333333333
Acer Chromebook Plus 515	8.266666666666667
Asus Chromebook CX15	7.433333333333334

Also tested

How to choose the best Chromebook for you

Finding the best Chromebook these days begins with a simple question:

Do you need a touchscreen? An increasing number of Chromebooks offer 2-in-1 designs with a touchscreen, allowing you to use Android apps from the Google Play Store. However, those systems tend to be on the pricier side. If you want just a basic laptop on the cheap, a Chromebook without a touchscreen is the way to go.

Screen size: As a general rule, an 11-inch display is good for younger kids, but a 13-inch display is better for older students and business users on the move. If you want a Chromebook as a primary home laptop, we would opt for a 14-inch or 15-inch display.

Specs: Luckily, that Chromebook Plus label gives you protection against any dud specs, as there is a minimum baseline that every system needs to hit.

• Processor: An Intel Core i3 (12th Gen or newer) or an AMD Ryzen 3 (7000 series or newer).
• RAM: 8 GB or more.
• Storage: 128 GB or more.
• Display: A Full HD (1080p) IPS display or better.
• Webcam: A 1080p webcam or better, with Temporal Noise Reduction (TNR).

So long as you see these numbers or higher, you're good!

Chromebooks vs. Windows and MacBooks

One of the most common questions I get goes something along the lines of "What's the difference between a Chromebook and other laptops?"

While Chromebooks aren't as capable as the best Windows laptops or best MacBooks, they're typically cheaper and easier to use. This is because Chromebooks are built to run on ChromeOS, Google's web-based operating system.

ChromeOS doesn't require much raw computing power or storage space to run, but it does require one key thing to be maximally useful — a fast Internet connection. That's because ChromeOS is designed to push as much work as possible to the cloud (i.e., far-away computers you connect to over the Internet) rather than handling it locally, so it can run on as many devices as possible.

So while Chromebooks are typically cheaper than any competing laptops, they also lose a lot of their power when they lose their Internet connection. Sure, you can still work on your Google Docs saved in offline mode and maybe stream some episodes of a show you've saved to your Chromebook's storage drive, but unless you've taken precautions to prepare, you're not going to be able to use your Chromebook for much without a good connection.

But if you expect to be online basically all the time, say because you need a laptop for home learning or just browsing the web while you're on the couch, a Chromebook is a great low-cost choice. They're perfect for anything you do on the web, whether that's streaming your favorite shows or researching projects for school.

If you pay for a great cloud gaming service like Nvidia's GeForce Now or Xbox Game Pass you can even play some of the latest and best PC games right on a Chromebook—check out our guide to how to use GeForce Now on a Chromebook for a step-by-step walkthrough, but remember: you have to have a fast, strong Internet connection for best performance.

Frequently asked questions

How we tested these Chromebooks

To find the best Chromebook, we run every machine we review through a rigorous suite of benchmarks and real-world tests to gauge how it will perform during everyday use.

We measure the average brightness and color quality of each laptop's display using our in-house light meter and colorimeter.

For general performance, we run our machines through tests that include JetStream 2 (a Web-based benchmarking suite that runs over five dozen tests designed to measure how well systems handle the kind of applications they’re most likely to encounter on the Internet) and a custom battery test that tasks the machine with browsing the internet over Wi-Fi until it runs out of juice.

For more information on our testing process, check out our guide to how we test.

Proper gaming on Google Chromebooks has just been made a reality, thanks to a trio of new Chrome OS laptops with distinct gaming features: the Acer Chromebook 516 GE, Asus Chromebook Vibe CX55 Flip, and Lenovo IdeaPad Gaming Chromebook. 

While the best Chromebooks make for affordable yet surprisingly capable alternatives to Windows and Mac laptops, proving particularly popular with students, they lack the power for proper gaming. 

But thanks to the power of cloud game streaming and compatibility with Xbox Cloud Gaming (via Xbox Game Pass), Nvidia GeForce Now, and Amazon’s Luna2, you can now game on Chromebooks with even the most middling of specs.

So what makes this new trio of Chromebooks tailored for triple-A gaming? Well they come with high-resolution 120Hz refresh rate displays and feature RGB keyboards and a range of ports for connecting a wealth peripherals. 

And with Wifi 6 or 6E connectivity, these machines should have the means to help provide a steady connection between them and the cloud streaming service of choice.

So this combination of gaming-centric hardware and access to things like the RTX 3080 tier of GeForce Now (the most powerful option), should deliver access to the latest  graphically demanding games like Cyberpunk 2077 at solid framerates, with some even cresting 120 frames per second to take advantage of the high refresh rate screens. The likes of GeForce Now also opens up access to ray tracing in games, something that can bring even the best gaming PCs to their knees. 

Microsoft’s Xbox Cloud Gaming can also be installed as a web app to provide access to some of the best Xbox Game Pass Games like Forza Horizon 5 and a host of Xbox and PC classics. 

Amazon’s Luna2 rounds out an extensive cloud gaming catalog with some of the best PC games available, bringing the total to 1,500 console and PC games available to stream from the get-go. Without a single download or install necessary, gamers will be able to hop from one blockbuster to another on a whim.

With the Acer Chromebook 516 GE costing $649/£849/around AUD$1,032 and Lenovo’s IdeaPad Gaming Chromebook coming in at $599/about £540/roughly AUD$951, these aren't going to be the cheapest Chromebooks ever, but they look set to be the most capable for gaming on the go. 

What's the purpose of a 13-inch laptop? You guessed it: portability. And if that's what you're here for, then you'll be happy to know that the best 13-inch laptops we've tested are compact powerhouses made for workers, students, gamers and creatives on the move.

I'll give you a behind-the-scenes here at Tom's Guide: we all adore this form factor. A 13-inch laptop is that sweet spot between the easy handling of a tablet and a versatile machine for getting stuff done, allowing you to slip it into your backpack, take it out and work (or play) from virtually anywhere you go.

Many of the best laptops we test come in a 13-inch size, and right now, the honor of being the top 13-inch machine worth your money goes to the MacBook Air M5. But you'll find some are lighter, more powerful or better suited for different areas, and we've got just the picks to put on your radar. So, let's dive in to find a portable notebook for you.

The best 13-inch laptops you can buy today

The best 13-inch laptop overall

Who is this for?

The MacBook Air M5 is the quintessential 13-inch laptop. Thin and lightweight, powerful enough to breeze through everyday tasks and more demanding ones like 4K video editing and gaming, and boasting long-lasting battery life at over 15 hours. It's the laptop that fits most people's needs for its price.

Why is it the best overall 13-inch laptop?

As with its M4 predecessor, the MacBook Air M5 carries on everything we loved about Apple's modern Air lineup. That means a portable 12 x 8.5 x 0.4-inch size and a light 2.7 pounds, stunning 13.6-inch (2560 x 1664) Liquid Retina Display, and this time, even longer battery life at 15 hours and 37 minutes. Oh, and in a lovely array of stylish colors. Throw in its improved performance, Wi-Fi 7 connectivity and upgraded 512GB base storage, and this 13-inch laptop has it all (it's just too bad about the $100 price hike.

What do we like?

👍 Improved performance with M5: Apple's laptops just keep getting stronger, and the latest M5 chip still dominates in our benchmarks across thr board, even compared to its competition. From web surfing to video editing, and even gaming, this laptop powers through.

👍 Strong(er) battery life: MacBooks are among the longest-lasting laptops around, and the MacBook Air M5 continues this legacy with 15 hours and 37 minutes of battery life. That's more than enough to get through two workdays without reaching for a charger.

👍 Extra perks: While it's more of a nominal upgrade, the MacBook Air M5 still comes with welcome features, including Wi-Fi 7 connectivity and a larger 512GB base storage.

What don’t we like?

👎 Price bump: Despite its improvements, the MacBook Air M5 is now $100 more than its predecessor, which stings. So, an extra $100 for most of the same features.

👎 Not a major upgrade: If you already own an M4 MacBook Air, you won't see a major difference with the M5 model. This is purely under-the-hood improvements.

Bottom line

Apple still delivers the best 13-inch laptop you can grab today, as the MacBook Air M5 ticks all the right boxes in being a stellar machine for most people. Even if its welcome upgrades are smaller in scale, it's a laptop that's hard to beat.

Read our full MacBook Air 13-inch M5 review

• ▲ Back to the top

The best 13-inch Windows laptop

Who is this for?

The Dell XPS 13 is great for most folks if Windows is more your vibe. The excellent build quality, Snapdragon performance and battery life make this another fantastic option. Yes, it's getting older, but the Snapdragon X Elite chip still gives this machine plenty of value at its 13-inch size. Plus, Dell's latest offering, the Dell XPS 14, is now slightly larger.

Why is it the best 13-inch Windows laptop?

There's one reason why the Dell XPS 13 is the best 13-inch laptop sporting Windows: Snapdragon X Elite. Yes, you can get one with Intel's Core Ultra Series 2 chip inside — but for the best combination of raw horsepower and longevity on one charge, Snapdragon X Elite is the way to go.

What do we like?

👍 Shocking Snapdragon performance: That Snapdragon X Elite chipset packs enough power to make even Apple blush — with Geekbench 6 multi-core scores soaring over 14,500.

👍 Long battery life: You thought the MacBook Air's battery life was good? Try 19 hours and 41 minutes on one charge! Yep, this Windows laptop can hang.

👍 Gorgeous display: Yes, you can get an OLED display on the XPS 13, but the LCD InfinityEdge panel is no slouch. It's both bright and vivid, while helping aid that battery life.

What don’t we like?

👎 The lack of physical function keys and a visible touchpad area is...a choice: There's a lot to like about the sleek aesthetic the Dell XPS 13 gives off here, but the lack of function keys is disappointing. And on top of that, there's no border around the touchpad, which you can feel a little lost trying to find at times.

Bottom line

If you can work around Dell's odd user design choices here, this is the best XPS 13 that the company has ever released. That Snapdragon X Elite chip is a mini wonder that makes this a great small Windows laptop.

Read our full Dell XPS 13 review

• ▲ Back to the top

The best budget 13-inch laptop

Who is this for?

Apple now has another 13-inch laptop up its sleeve, and the MacBook Neo is conquering the budget laptop market with its premium (and fun) design that's perfect for workers and students on the move. Plus, you can expect solid performance for its $599 price!

Why is it the best budget 13-inch laptop?

At $599, the MacBook Neo (nearly) gives you all the perks of the pricier MacBook Air, including its sturdy aluminum finish and portable size and weight. In fact, it's slightly smaller at 11.7 x 8.1 x 0.5 inches, and the fun splashes of colors just make it even more appealing. If you can forgive the lack of a backlit keyboard, you'll find yourself with a reliable machine for work, studies and plenty of entertainment.

What do we like?

👍 Portability as its finest: Being just 0.5 inches thin and weighing 2.7 pounds, the MacBook Neo follows its Air sibling's winning formula but at a much more affordable cost. No cheap-feeling plastic chassis for this budget machine, just a sleek, premium design with lively colors to choose from!

👍 Performance that works: You'd think an iPhone's A18 Pro chip wouldn't be nearly as powerful enough in a laptop, but that isn't the case with the MacBook Neo. From juggling multiple tasks to even some casual, less demanding gaming, this laptop can handle most people's workloads.

👍 Strong battery life: Impressively, the MacBook Neo lasts 13 hours and 28 minutes, which shows it has more than enough stamina to last a full workday, and then some.

What don’t we like?

👎 Pay extra for Touch ID: Want to quickly log in with your fingerprint? You'll have to pay $100 more for the Neo with Touch ID, but at least you'll also get a larger 512GB for storage.

👎 Budget cuts: Don't expect any backlit keyboard or Thunderbolt ports on this machine, which is a shame even if it's made to be a budget option.

Bottom line

The MacBook Neo is an affordable force to be reckoned with, packing solid performance in a compact, 13-inch laptop that looks and feels good to use. It's not perfect, but at its $599 starting price ($499 for students), you'll be hard-pressed to find a machine of this size boasting plenty of value.

Read our full MacBook Neo review

• ▲ Back to the top

The best 13-inch 2-in-1 laptop

Who is this for?

The ROG Flow Z13 is a perfect two-in-one for those who need plenty of horsepower like a gaming laptop, but without the battery life hit of a gaming laptop. On top of that, if you have prosumer workloads, this will work great for you too.

Why is it the best 13-inch 2-in-1?

Put simply, it comes down to just what this system is capable of. There are plenty of good 2-in-1s that are more for the casual productivity crowd. But nothing has come across my desk quite like this beast and its ability to match even the RTX 4070 laptop GPU for gaming, even though there's no dedicated GPU in here whatsoever.

What do we like?

👍 A super-powered beast: AMD's Ryzen AI Max 395+ is an APU monster of a chip that is able to handle AAA gaming at close to 100 FPS maximum settings, crush GPU-intensive workloads, and outperform every single other 2-in-1 at any task.

👍 Stamina assured: Now, when I mentioned its gaming performance, I can understand some people may be worried — given most gaming laptops struggle to last 90 minutes. However in our testing, we were able to get comfortably over two hours, and in general day-to-day, I was able to hit 8 hours with a varied workload. This powerhouse has serious stamina.

What don’t we like?

👎 Ray tracing is not too great: While the GPU is fantastic at gaming, make sure you keep ray tracing turned off. Like a lot of AMD GPUs, RT is not its strong suit and it can hamper performance.

👎 Expensive: And of course, you can expect to pay a pretty penny for this power — from $2,099 specifically. That's rather expensive for a 2-in-1!

Bottom line

With RTX 4070 gaming laptop-levels of power, a gorgeous Mini LED display and decent battery life, this is a 13-inch 2-in-1 that feels like it achieves almost impossible levels of performance.

Read our full Asus ROG Flow Z13 review

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The best lightweight 13-inch laptop

Who is this for?

The MSI Prestige 13 AI+ immediately takes the crown as the lightest 13-inch laptop we've tested, weighing just 1.9 pounds. That spec alone is impressive. Hands-on, the ultra-light chassis makes tossing it in a backpack or carrying it one-handed feel almost effortless. It's the kind of laptop you forget is in your bag, making it a great pick for on-the-go professionals, students and anyone after reliable ultraportable performance

Why is it the best lightweight 13-inch?

Despite being so light, the Prestige 13 AI+ doesn't sacrifice build quality. Its solid metal frame gives the laptop a reassuring sturdiness in hand, eliminating the flex and creaks that sometimes plague other featherweight designs. That, and MSI equips this model with a bright, color-rich OLED panel that’s a joy to use for everything from spreadsheets to streaming. Throw in the Intel Core Ultra 7 155 processor for smooth performance (even playing games like Cyberpunk 2077 at 1080p at 40 frames per second!), and the Prestige 13 AI+ does wonders.

What do we like?

👍 Featherweight (yet sturdy) design: Being the lightest laptop we've tested, this is just about as portable as it gets. If you prioritize true portability, the Prestige 13 AI+ is unmatched at 1.9 pounds — lighter than any other 13-inch laptop we've tested — yet still offers a sturdy, premium-looking metal frame.

👍 Colorful OLED display: With its 13.3-inch 2.8K (2880 x 1600) OLED screen, this panel delivers vivid colors and superb contrast, making it excellent for creative work and is easy on the eyes even after long sessions. Take that, MacBooks!

👍 Strong ultraportable performance: This isn't the strongest 13-inch laptop around, but the Intel Core Ultra 7 355 inside feels quick in real-world use, easily handling productivity apps and moderate creative workloads like photo editing. You're also getting enough for a bit of downtime gaming, as in our tests, Cyberpunk 2077 ran at roughly 40 frames per second at 1080p on medium settings.

What don’t we like?

👎 Battery life could be longer: While battery life is reasonable at around 11 hours, the Prestige 13 AI+ doesn’t outlast top rivals like the MacBook Air or XPS 13 on a single charge. Still, this will get you through a workday without needing to be plugged in for the majority of the time.

👎 Not the best price-to-performance ratio: It’s more expensive than some similarly equipped competitors, making price-to-performance a weaker point for budget-minded shoppers.

Bottom line

The MSI Prestige 13 AI+ is a strong choice for those who value absolute portability and a top-tier screen and chassis, even if it means accepting shorter battery life and a higher price. It's lightweight power at its finest.

Read our full MSI Prestige 13 AI+ (2026) review

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The best 13-inch laptop for DIYers

Who is this for?

The Framework Laptop is the option for those with a DIY frame of mind — the modular construction may be a little pricey, but it's totally worth it for being able to upgrade this frame with new stuff as it's released.

Why is it the best 13-inch laptop for DIYers?

In many ways, the Framework Laptop is the anti-MacBook — a modular 13-inch laptop that gives you the chance to repair, customize and upgrade at your own leisure. No longer are you confined to what it comes with. Now, you have a screwdriver and you can get to work.

What do we like?

👍 Unparalleled upgradeability: The DIY-friendly design may be a little thicker and heavier than other laptops on this list. But those enlarged dimensions give you an innovative Expansion Card system to add what you want. Whatever you want, be it an Ethernet port or microSD card reader, just add them in here. Or take it apart with the included screwdriver to add more to the mainboard.

👍 Great keyboard: One thing I'm really happy to see come to this 13-incher is a fantastic keyboard — packing even backlighting and 1.5mm of key travel for a tactile feel to each press.

👍 Decent performance: The model we tested with the Intel core i7-1370P CPU and 32GB of RAM gave us some strong performance across the board, including over 11,000 in our Geekbench multi-core tests. It's worth noting that Framework now offers this system with either Intel Core Ultra or 7th Gen AMD, which are going to be even faster!

What don’t we like?

👎 Loud fans under load: The modularity is great, but heat dissipation seems to be affected, as the fans kick into overdrive to keep this thing cool under heavier loads.

Bottom line

In many ways, the Framework Laptop 13 is a breakthrough in laptop design — a fully modular system that gives you endless levels of customization beyond anything you see from the competition. I wouldn't judge you if you'd rather just have a fully built laptop to last you a good long while, but if you're a tinkerer, the choice is obvious.

Read our full Framework Laptop 13 review

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Performance benchmarks

Don't let their size fool you. 13-inch laptops can be portable powerhouses, and we've done the testing to prove it. With Apple's latest chipset, Intel's Panther Lake CPUs, Qualcomm's impressive Snapdragon X chips and AMD's amazing processors, you can get a lot out of these machines for productivity and gaming. Using Geekbench to measure the single-core and multi-core performance of each laptop (the higher the number, the better), here's how they compare.

Performance benchmarks

< Prev

Geekbench 6 (single-core)

Next >

Apple MacBook Air (M5)

4168

Apple MacBook Neo (A18 Pro)

3535

Dell XPS 13 2024 (Snapdragon X Elite)

2797

Asus ROG Flow Z13 (AMD Ryzen AI Max 390)

2896

MSI Prestige 13 AI+ (Intel Core Ultra 7 355)

2727

Framework Laptop 13 (Intel Core i7-1370P)

2362

01,5003,0004,5006,000

Geekbench 6 (single-core) Data

Product	Value
Apple MacBook Air (M5)	4168
Apple MacBook Neo (A18 Pro)	3535
Dell XPS 13 2024 (Snapdragon X Elite)	2797
Asus ROG Flow Z13 (AMD Ryzen AI Max 390)	2896
MSI Prestige 13 AI+ (Intel Core Ultra 7 355)	2727
Framework Laptop 13 (Intel Core i7-1370P)	2362

Apple MacBook Air (M5)

17276

Apple MacBook Neo (A18 Pro)

8920

Dell XPS 13 2024 (Snapdragon X Elite)

14635

Asus ROG Flow Z13 (AMD Ryzen AI Max 390)

17876

MSI Prestige 13 AI+ (Intel Core Ultra 7 355)

10190

Framework Laptop 13 (Intel Core i7-1370P)

11317

05,00010,00015,00020,000

Geekbench 6 (multi-core) Data

Product	Value
Apple MacBook Air (M5)	17276
Apple MacBook Neo (A18 Pro)	8920
Dell XPS 13 2024 (Snapdragon X Elite)	14635
Asus ROG Flow Z13 (AMD Ryzen AI Max 390)	17876
MSI Prestige 13 AI+ (Intel Core Ultra 7 355)	10190
Framework Laptop 13 (Intel Core i7-1370P)	11317

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Battery benchmarks

13-inch laptops are all about portability, but that wouldn't mean anything if these machines didn't come with decent battery life. The good news is you'll find many of the best laptops for battery life right here, coming close to an amazing 20 hours! You can compare the battery life we tested below.

In our battery test, we set the laptop's display to 150 nits of brightness and have it endlessly browse the web via Wi-Fi until it runs out of juice. Take note that battery life may vary depending on what you use a laptop for, but this will give you a good idea of how long each laptop on this list will last.

Battery life benchmarks

In our battery test, we set the laptop's display to 150 nits of brightness and have it endlessly browse the web via Wi-Fi until it runs out of juice.

Battery life (hh:mm:ss)

Dell XPS 13 (2024)

19:41:00

MacBook Air M5

15:30:00

MacBook Neo

13:28:00

MSI Prestige 13 AI+

11:30:00

Framework Laptop 13

10:17:00

Asus ROG Flow Z13

08:36:00

05101520

hours

Battery life (hh:mm:ss) Data

Product	Value
Dell XPS 13 (2024)	19.683333333333334
MacBook Air M5	15.5
MacBook Neo	13.466666666666667
MSI Prestige 13 AI+	11.5
Framework Laptop 13	10.283333333333333
Asus ROG Flow Z13	8.6

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How to choose the best 13-inch laptop for you

What kind of power do you need? If you only need something basic for surfing the web, consider the MacBook Neo or a cheap Windows laptop. If you want something that feels speedy and can handle more than basic browsing and typing, consider starting specs such as a Core i5 CPU, 8GB to 16GB of RAM and a 256GB to 512GB SSD. Most of the laptops on this list are at least this powerful, since they're the best 13-inch laptops we've yet reviewed.

What kind of games do you want to play? Most mainstream laptops feature integrated graphics, which may be able to run simple, well-optimized games like Minecraft and Fortnite, but can't handle graphically demanding games or heavy visual work. For that, you'll want a laptop with a discrete graphics card or the latest Apple, AMD or Intel chips with integrated graphics.

Do you want Chrome, macOS or Windows? Windows is the most common operating system, while macOS is more ideal for folks already tied into Apple's ecosystem. ChromeOS is a lightweight operating system built to allow for cheap, fast systems, though it has become a bit more robust over the years with support for full Android apps.

Whichever system you decide on, you may also want to consider investing in the best mouse and best keyboard for your needs so you can have some more ergonomic options for getting work done on your new laptop.

How we test the best 13-inch laptops

Our path to finding the best 13-inch laptops for you is littered with test results. To help us better compare and recommend the best machines for you, we run every laptop we review through a rigorous suite of benchmarks and real-world tests to gauge how it will perform during everyday use.

We measure the average brightness and color quality of each laptop's display using our in-house light meter and colorimeter. For general performance, we run our machines through tests that include Geekbench 6 (CPU performance), as well as various 3DMark tests to measure graphics capabilities. We also run a file transfer test to measure how fast a machine's hard drive is, plus a video editing test to see how good it is at crunching video, and a custom battery test that has the machine browse the internet over Wi-Fi until it runs out of juice.

We know many people also love to play games on their laptops, so we test the gaming horsepower of every laptop we review by putting it through the Sid Meier's Civilization VI: Gathering Storm graphical benchmark. This is an ideal test for us to use on 13-inch laptops because almost none of them have discrete graphics cards, which means they have a hard time running more modern or graphically demanding games. Civilization VI is also one of the few relatively modern games with a graphical benchmark that runs on both Windows and macOS, meaning we can easily compare the performance of MacBooks against that of Windows machines.

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Buying one of the best Chromebooks for kids isn’t as simple as grabbing the cheapest one on sale — I’ve learned that the hard way. After testing over 100 laptops over my career, I’ve seen the full range: rugged models built for classroom chaos, sleek 2-in-1s that double as tablets and budget machines that just barely get by.

When it comes to picking the right Chromebook for your kid, I focus on what actually matters: durability, ease of use, good battery life and just enough performance to handle schoolwork (and yes, a bit of YouTube, too).

Chromebooks are a fantastic pick for kids of all ages, as they're affordable, secure and simple machines with plenty of features designed for study and play. Whether you’re buying for school, home learning or just want a reliable first laptop that won’t break the bank, here's just the guide to point you towards the best Chromebooks for kids to grab.

The best Chromebooks for kids you can buy today

The best Chromebook for kids overall

I often recommend the Lenovo Flex 5i Chromebook Plus as a great option for kids because it sports the three key things needed — versatility, durability and the ability to get stuff done.

In a 2-in-1 form factor, it can be both a solid laptop for getting work done with a zippy Intel Core i3 CPU. Plus, the inclusion of 12 months of Google AI alongside multiple account support in ChromeOS means you can make the most of Gemini and even NotebookLM — that's a serious game-changer for kids asking plenty of questions they crave answers to.

Flip it into tent mode, and it becomes a great creative canvas with a responsive, bright and colorful touchscreen, or a great distraction for a bunch of episodes of Bluey.

The only real frustration is the lack of a stylus included in the box. That's an additional investment for doodling to your heart's content. But otherwise, the Lenovo Flex 5i Chromebook Plus is just the machine to get kids of any age familiar with PCs, whether it be to breeze through homework or catch up on the latest shows.

Read our full Lenovo Flex 5i Chromebook Plus review.

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The best Chromebook for students

A reliable 15-inch Chromebook with plenty of power for studying, scrolling through websites and everything in between, for $399? The Acer Chromebook Plus 515 is a surefire bet for kids and teens, especially if you're after amazing value.

What makes this laptop stand out is its surprisingly tactile keyboard — a rarity at this price point — and a vibrant 15.6-inch 1080p display. It even comes packed with genuinely useful Gemini AI features. Google's seamless interface makes these tools highly accessible, helping students brainstorm ideas and make their way through their daily studying or assignments.

There are a few trade-offs to reach this budget-friendly price, including a cheaper plastic build and a somewhat spongy trackpad. That said, the combination of a great typing experience, decent battery life and smart AI makes this an excellent hub for learning and play.

Read our full Acer Chromebook Plus 515 review.

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The best value Chromebook for kids

Chromebooks are known for their affordable pricing, but the Lenovo Chromebook Duet 3 takes the cake. I mean, even for its $359 cost, this 2-in-1 machine offers all the features a kid could want out of a laptop. And seeing that it's a tablet makes it even more versatile as a device that children can make the most of.

With its bright, crisp 11-inch WUXGA (1920 x 1200) IPS touch display, it's not only great for productivity, but also for watching the latest shows on. So, study by day, stick on YouTube, or the latest shows, by night.

Even better, it offers over 10 hours of battery life, which is plenty of juice to last a full day without needing to charge it, especially when your kid needs it most (that will keep tantrums to a minimum). Plus, its portable, compact design (just 2.1 pounds!) with a detachable keyboard is ideal when taking it out on trips.

It may be a tad small, especially when typing on its keyboard, but that's also what makes it a great option for small ones. This is a bargain for the family, and we've seen it reach below $250 before. If you just need something cheap, this is the Chromebook for you.

Read our full Lenovo Chromebook Duet 3 review.

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How to choose the best Chromebook for you kid

Kids don't need all the bells and whistles of a premium Chromebook. They need something functional enough to check them into class and help facilitate participation. Chromebooks running lesser-known processors such as the MediaTek Helio P60T and the Intel Celeron N4000 are undoubtedly able, but they're not workhorses akin to the latest Intel Core processors. For that, you'll want to check out the best Chromebooks we've tested.

For something more powerful and capable of flying through several Chrome tabs at a time, plus Android apps where applicable, 8GB of memory is a minimum requirement. However, if all you or your child does is look up a few websites for learning or play, then 4GB will do the trick. Besides, Chromebooks are made to be internet-based.

For a child who is mostly stuck at the desk doing schoolwork, a traditional laptop-type Chromebook will suffice, though you'll want to choose an exterior that's easy to wipe down when messes occur. If your child prefers a mouse to navigate, select one with a standard USB input. It simplifies the process of connecting a mouse, and you don't have to worry about buying a compatible USB-C dock. For squirmier tykes, a 2-in-1 Chromebook tablet has the same functionality as a desk-bound Chromebook, but with the flexibility of doing schoolwork in a beanbag chair or another extremely comfortable situation.

When it comes to screen size, an 11-inch display is ample enough for younger kids. Older kids and middle-schoolers will benefit more from a larger display, or anything 13 inches and over. If you don't like the display of the Chromebook (perhaps it's a bit washed out or you realize it's uncomfortable for your child), you can always invest in the USB hub mentioned above to tack on HDMI and connect to an external monitor.

Lastly, since Chromebook models aren’t typically refreshed annually, be keen on whether or not the Chromebook model you choose will receive software and security updates down the line (Google offers a helpful support page if you want to look up a specific model). This ensures compatibility with software and that your child’s laptop isn’t exposed to any major security vulnerabilities. You may have to perform some manual parenting maintenance to ensure the device stays up to date.

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FAQ

Battery test results compared

The longer the battery life on a Chromebook, the more time your kid gets to finish off homework, study and watch shows to their heart's content (if you're looking for some downtime of your own, that is). After testing each Chromebook's battery life in our labs, which includes streaming videos at an average brightness of 150 nits, here's how long each of them lasts.

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How we test the best Chromebooks for kids

To find the best Chromebook for kids, we run every laptop that we review through a series of benchmarks and real-world tests to give us an idea of how it will perform during an average person's (or in this case, a kid's) use.

First, we measure the average brightness and color quality of each laptop's display using our in-house light meter and colorimeter.

For general performance, we run our machines through tests that include JetStream 2 (a web-based benchmarking suite that runs over five dozen tests designed to measure how well systems handle the kind of applications they’re most likely to encounter on the Internet) and a custom battery test that tasks the machine with browsing the internet over Wi-Fi, until it shuts down.

For more information on our testing process, check out our guide to how we test.

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The best touchscreen laptops of today offer something special: the ability to transform a machine into a handy notepad, a canvas for creative work (doodling included) and a portable screen to endlessly scroll through binge-worthy shows, as you would on a tablet.

What impresses me most? Just how visually stunning these touch displays can look. And with my team of experts' years of extensive testing on the latest laptops, I've made it my mission to find the laptops with the most tap-worthy touchscreens that are worth your money.

Right now, it's hard to deny all the perks the Dell XPS 14 (2026) offers with its gorgeous 2.8K OLED touch display, which is why we recommend it for most. But there are plenty more worth considering. Whether you need a simple yet extremely helpful way to tap, swipe and scroll your way through apps, or to take notes and draw right on screen with a stylus, here are the touchscreen laptops with our expert stamp of approval.

Many of the machines we've chosen below are synonymous with the best 2-in-1 laptops, since they're designed with touchscreens due to their versatility. However, 2-in-1s prioritize form factor, and you're here to find a laptop with the best touchscreens. So, our recommendations are focused on the PCs that offer top-rated touch displays over all else.

The best touchscreen laptops you can buy today

The best touchscreen laptop overall

The Dell XPS 14 (2026) is the comeback we've been waiting for from the company (since it tried to phase out the XPS lineup in 2025), and a wonderful return to form it is — due in small part to the absolutely stunning 2.8K (2880 x 1800) Tandem OLED touch display it boasts (thats stacking two OLED layers, by the way).

There's a lot to like about Dell's 14-inch masterpiece, from the incredibly strong Intel Panther Lake CPU it offers (with gaming chops from the Intel Arc B390 integrated graphics) to the ultra-premium, compact and practical design. But its touchscreen element truly shines with the 14-inch InfinityEdge display on show, featuring minimal bezels.

Touch is incredibly smooth and accurate for seamless input with its 120Hz refresh rate, and expect a flood of rich colors and inky blacks no matter what's on screen, and our tests prove it. It scored an incredibly high 126.6% sRGB and very impressive 89.7% DCI-P3 for color coverage, so this is a great shout for nailing colors for creative work, too.

One downside of the OLED model is that battery life is cut short, with the non-OLED boasting an epic 20 hours and 41 minutes. Still, the 12 hours and 23 minutes it lasts isn't anything to sneeze at, but we do wish it at least came with a microSD card reader to open up options for creatives.

Regardless, if there's one touchscreen laptop to keep on your radar right now, it's the Dell XPS 14. That said, if you're after even more screen real estate, then you'll find the equally impressive Dell XPS 16 (2026) is for you.

Read our full Dell XPS 14 (2026) review.

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The best value touchscreen laptop

Who said sub-$1,000 laptops can't have OLED? Well, I did once, but the Acer Chromebook Plus Spin 514 showed me otherwise. With its 14-inch 2.8K (2880 x 1800) OLED touchscreen, tapping and swiping across this screen is a dream, especially for its price.

Yes, $699 for a Chromebook is quite a high price, but just know that we frequently see this laptop for under $500. And for the premium features this 2-in-1 offers, even when compared to other pricey laptops in this guide, it's hard to beat value like that.

Expect super crisp details and splendid visuals on this OLED panel, which scored an impressive 114.3% sRGB and 80.9% DCI-P3 result. That means vivid colors and deep blacks, and with its 360-degree hinge, it's primed for watching shows in tent mode or getting creative in tablet mode. Stylus support is included, of course, but it's sold separately (unfortunately).

Everything is responsive to the touch, too, thanks to its zippy performance from its MediaTek Kompanio Ultra 910 CPU. Working your way through multiple tabs on Chrome at once is a breeze, and it certainly helps that its premium design offers up an ergonomically sound keyboard and touchpad.

If ChromeOS suits your style, and you're after a gorgeous touchscreen that won't cost you a small fortune, you'll want to put the Acer Chromebook Plus Spin 514 in your shopping basket.

Read our full Acer Chromebook Plus Spin 514 review.

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The best premium touchscreen laptop

If you can forget about all the Samsung bloatware (all the apps Samsung crams into the laptop) and the good-but-forgettable AI features, it's really hard to find anything wrong with the Samsung Galaxy Book6 Pro. For a luxury touchscreen experience, there's no better choice.

Speedy Intel Panther Lake performance (that's capable of playing games like Cyberpunk 2077 at a solid 60+ frames per second)? Check. An exemplary, premium-feeling slim design? It's got it. Battery life of over 15 hours to get you through a whole workday? You know it. But more impressive is its 16-inch (2,880 x 1,800) Dynamic AMOLED 2X touch display.

This is one bright laptop, impressively delivering 570 nits of brightness in HDR, and the touchscreen covers a wide range of colors, too, with lab results boasting 119.4% sRGB and 84.6% color gamut coverage. Think colors and details that burst onscreen no matter what's on show, and creatives will appreciate this for photo and video editing. Oh, and everything will look super smooth with its dynamic refresh rate going all the way up to 120Hz.

From its starting price of $1,899, this laptop will set you back quite a bit. But for those after a powerful machine with the touch capabilities to match, Samsung's Galaxy Book6 Pro won't disappoint.

Read our full Samsung Galaxy Book6 Pro review.

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The best dual-screen touchscreen laptop

You don't need to settle for just the one touchscreen on a laptop anymore. The Asus Zenbook Duo (2026) has made dual-screen laptops mainstream, and while you'll pay a hefty $2,299 price for it, this multi-monitor wonder will take you far.

As you might have guessed, the Asus Zenbook Duo stands out for one reason above all: its innovative 14-inch 3K (2880 x 1800) OLED touch displays. This two-panel design doesn’t just look different, it transforms how you work, letting you expand windows, run separate apps or sketch and edit simultaneously with all-day usability. And with its Intel Panther Lake performance, expect to run demanding apps without it breaking a sweat.

Both OLED displays boast a 120Hz refresh rate, making every tap, swipe and pen stroke feel smooth and immediate. For creative professionals, this means seamless multitasking and a more fluid experience, whether you’re editing photos, drawing or managing complex projects across both screens. Plus, these screens bring a flood of accurate colors, delivering 123.1% sRGB and 87.1% DCI-P3 color gamut coverage.

I know. Battery life is always in question with dual-screen laptops, but in our tests, the Zenbook Duo managed a full workday at over 14 hours. Impressive for its category, though still behind the longest-lasting single-display models. In any case, if you're willing to hand over $2,000, this dual-screen laptop has a lot to offer.

Read our full Asus Zenbook Duo (2026) review.

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The best touchscreen for creators

You don't have to stick with a MacBook Pro if you're looking for a creator-focused laptop anymore, not when there's the Asus ProArt GoPro Edition (PX13) to grab instead. For Windows fans, not only will you get serious performance to take advantage of the Adobe Creative Suite and 4K video edits, but also a compact, reliable notebook that offers a mesmerizing OLED touchscreen. You won't see a MacBook have that (yet)!

Thanks to the AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 395 CPU and, no joke here, 128GB of LPDDR5X RAM, we've used this 13-inch laptop to edit complex 4K video in Premiere Pro with After Effects graphics and run local AI. It can handle it all.

That 13-inch 3K (2880 x 1800) OLED touchscreen is also excellent to work with when color grading, scoring 125.4% sRGB and 88.8% DCI-P3 color gamut coverage. That's some of the best we've seen on a laptop, and even beats the MacBook Pro (which scored 81.7% DCI-P3, by the way). And with an accurate touch response, it makes pinpointing pixels a dream.

It does have its weaknesses, including a lack of a microSD slot (which limits transferring photo and video files) and its display topping out at a 60Hz refresh rate. What's more, the Asus-exclusive AI apps aren't all that helpful compared to pro-level creator apps. What also hurts is its $2,999 price tag, but for creatives, this is a touchscreen laptop that will last you for years to come.

Read our full Asus ProArt GoPro Edition (PX13) review.

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The best OLED touchscreen laptop

I had to include the Lenovo Yoga 9i 2-in-1 Aura Edition on this list. It may not have the latest specs, and it doesn't offer the best performance for its $1,549 price, but the 14-inch 2.8K (2880 x 1800) OLED panel on this touchscreen 2-in-1 laptop is simply phenomenal.

Compared to all the touchscreen laptops in this guide, and nearly any laptop we've tested, the range of colors and accuracy on this screen blows them away. Our lab tests came back with a 210.6% sRGB and 149.2% DCI-P3 coverage, which goes above and beyond for pro-grade visuals. You'll see vibrant and saturated colors with great accuracy, which is spot on for color correcting and editing in photos and videos.

This is a 2-in-1, so expect a 360-degree hinge to transform it into the machine you want (laptop, tablet or a portable machine for shows), and we found touch responsiveness is near-instantaneous with no latency.

With its Intel Core Ultra 7 258V, you're getting ample performance, too, and it's always a bonus to have all (work) day battery life at over 12 hours. Moreover, it's quite the looker with its premium aesthetic. This is a great machine for peak visual OLED quality on a touchscreen, even if it's a tad behind in performance for its cost.

Read our full Lenovo Yoga 9i 2-in-1 Aura Edition review.

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Display benchmarks

Laptops with a touchscreen demand the best visuals around, and our top recommendations prove they have high brightness, rich colors and great details in our testing.

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Frequently asked questions

How we test the best touchscreen laptops

Here at Tom's Guide, we put every laptop through a series of benchmarks and real-world tests. Our lab testing includes assessing a system's performance, battery life, design quality and, for touchscreen laptops in particular, display.

No matter the laptop, you'll be using the display more than any other part, especially if it has a touchscreen. To determine how well a display performs, we test the following features:

• Color: We use a high-end Klein K10-A colorimeter and DisplayCal software to measure two key display traits: Delta-E (color accuracy — lower is better) and color gamut volume (how much of a color space the screen can show). We report results for both sRGB (the standard for most displays) and DCI-P3 (covering a wider range of colors) color spaces.
• Brightness: Using the same Klein K10-A tool and Klein’s ChromaSurf software, we test display brightness at five points on the screen and average the results (in nits). For OLEDs, we adapt the test with a black background and a moving white window to account for brightness variation. If the device supports HDR, we also test brightness using 10%, 40%, and 100% screen patches.

Using these tests in a controlled environment, this helps us determine how bright a screen gets, the range of colors it offers and how accurate a display can depict this onscreen. This is to help you make sure you're getting the best touchscreen for your money.

For more details on our testing process, including our CPU, GPU and battery benchmarking methods, check out our guide on how we test laptops.

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The team at Framework this week announced plans to release a Chromebook edition of its Framework Laptop later this year in partnership with Google. And I'm here for it. 

Admittedly, this isn't the next big thing I was hoping Framework would attempt after making waves with its incredibly repairable Framework Laptop in 2021. In my Framework Laptop review, I called it one of the most exciting PCs of the last decade, and with good reason: these laptops are designed from the ground up to be easy to modify and repair with a single screwdriver, which Framework includes for free.

And in my experience, Framework laptops are really are easy to crack open and futz around in. That's due to the way the company designs the chassis to be easy to open and easy to understand, printing labels next to each replaceable part with QR codes that take you directly to a page with links to repair guides and replacement parts.

But one thing Framework Laptops aren't designed for, in my experience, is high-octane computing. With the latest 12th Gen Intel Core chips, they're pretty speedy in day-to-day tasks, but without a discrete GPU, you won't be playing many demanding games on these laptops. 

I'd hoped Framework might expand upon its initial offering by releasing a laptop with space for a replaceable discrete laptop GPU, or perhaps an Expansion Card slot for an external GPU, so that we might one day see a device as user-repairable as the Framework end up on our list of the best gaming laptops. 

But no, Framework went the opposite direction and built a Chromebook. And now that I've had some time to look over the details, I think it's clearly the right move —and a far smarter one than trying to wade into the gaming laptop market right now. Here's why.

Framework Laptop Chromebook Edition: Good idea, bad name

The Framework Laptop Chromebook Edition (talk about a mouthful) will begin shipping in December 2022. It's available for pre-order in the U.S. and Canada right now via Framework's website at a starting price of $999. 

That's about $50 less than the $1,049 starting price of the current Framework Laptop, which currently ships with 12th Gen Intel chips inside. Of course you can get the basic Laptop for cheaper if you opt for the DIY Edition, which must be assembled and starts at $819. For that price, though, you'll need to provide components like storage, RAM and the operating system yourself.

Framework does not appear to be offering a similar DIY edition for the Framework Chromebook, which is sort of a letdown since Chromebooks are frequently bought for students. You could easily envision a class of students being provided with Framework Chromebooks they assemble themselves to better understand how they work. 

That's part of why I'm so excited Framework is making a Chromebook: Classrooms. Students and teachers are core demographics for Chromebooks, and now that Framework sells one, it's easy to envision a future in which students ask for a replacement keyboard or screen after they've "accidentally" pushed their Framework Chromebook off the desk, instead of asking for a whole new Chromebook. 

Like the current Framework Laptop, the Framework Chromebook (or Framework Laptop Chromebook Edition, if you want to be on brand) ships with a 13.5-inch 3:2 (2,256 x 1,504) display in a chassis that weighs less than 3 pounds and is just 0.62 inches thin, making it nearly as thin and light as Apple's MacBook Air M2. 

Framework's Chromebook has the same customizable Expansion Card system as its laptop, so you can buy cards that slot into four slots on the bottom of the machine and provide ports (USB-A, USB-C, microSD, HDMI out, etc.) or extra storage. The Chromebook is designed to be fully user-repairable.

Unlike the Framework Laptop, the Framework Chromebook is currently only available for pre-order with an Intel Core i5-1240P CPU, 8GB of RAM and a 256GB SSD for storage. However, Framework will provide guides on buying and adding more RAM and storage — and it will sell memory and storage itself via the Framework Marketplace. The Framework Chromebook also comes with a Titan C security chip built in and sports louder speakers and a better-optimized battery than the Framework Laptop, according to the company. 

But perhaps most importantly, the Framework Chromebook ships with ChromeOS pre-installed. While you could achieve close to the same effect by installing ChromeOS Flex on an existing Framework Laptop, you would miss out on key ChromeOS features like native support for Android apps and Google Play, automatic firmware updates (the Framework Chromebook will get updates until June 2030) and the added safeguard of the Google-designed Titan C security chip.

The Framework Laptop Chromebook Edition will have all of these core Chromebook features, but on the outside, the only change you'll notice is the addition of a little Chromebook logo in the corner of the lid. Other than that, the new Framework Chromebook appears to share all the same strengths as the Framework Laptop, easily my favorite laptop of 2021. 

Framework Laptop Chromebook Edition outlook

Now that I've gotten over my initial surprise at seeing Framework partner with Google to build a Chromebook, I'm starting to get excited about what this means for the future of sustainable computing. 

When Framework first started pitching me on their plan to ship a user-repairable laptop last year, I thought it was a great idea that could never succeed in the marketplace because I doubted many people would want to mess around with their laptop's innards. When I got my hands on a review unit, I had to admit I was wrong, and that Framework really has made the most repairable and upgradable laptop in history readily available at a competitive price.

Now the company has taken meaningful steps toward a future in which kids are issued Chromebooks that are meant to be cracked open and futzed with. Admittedly, the $999 starting price puts the Framework Chromebook beyond the reach of all but the most well-endowed educational institutions. But that could change over time, and even if it doesn't, at least some kids will be using Chromebooks next year that they can repair and upgrade themselves. And that's fantastic news for anyone who cares about the future of tech education and sustainable computing.

Next: Read about how my colleague built a Framework laptop himself and it lived up to the hype.

During IFA 2022 Lenovo announced its first 16-inch Chromebook, the Lenovo IdeaPad 5i. Per the company’s press release, this laptop was built to facilitate both hybrid work and entertainment. Given its large display, it could prove one of the best Chromebooks for Chrome fans who like a big screen.

The Lenovo IdeaPad 5i Chromebook is well-equipped with features you would expect to find in the best laptops. All configurations pack a 16-inch display with a 16:10 aspect ratio, but the most decked-out version has a 2.5K LCD panel with a 120Hz refresh rate. Lenovo says this configuration can reach 350 nits of brightness and covers 100% of the sRGB color spectrum.

The large screen and refresh rate should make watching YouTube videos or other streaming content a more pleasant experience. There’s also the taller aspect ratio, which provides more vertical space for viewing web pages and documents.

In terms of design, the IdeaPad 5i is 14.3 x 10.0 x 0.8 inches and weighs 4.10 pounds. It will be available in Space Gray. This is fairly large and heavy for a laptop, though not egregiously so.

The Lenovo IdeaPad 5i Chromebook sounds like it could be a solid ChromeOS-driven machine for work. Spec-wise, it packs up to an Intel Core i3-1215U CPU, 8GB of RAM and 512GB of SSD storage. With regard to ports, the Chromebook has two USB-C ports, one USB-A port, a microSD slot, a headphone jack and a Kensington lock slot. Lenovo claims the IdeaPad 5i has a 12-hour battery life.

The built-in 1080p Full HD camera should make you look halfway decent during video calls. Likewise, the user-facing speakers tuned by the included Waves MaxxAudio application ought to make calls and whatever else you’re listening to come through clearly.

Lenovo also unveiled some other products at IFA 2022 in Berlin this week, including a promising OLED-equipped Chrome tablet: The Tab P11 Pro. This Android tablet features an 11.2-inch 2.5K (2560 x 1536) OLED touchscreen with a refresh rate of 120Hz. It also supports Dolby Vision and HDR10+, which is rare in Chromebooks. Lenovo says the screen can reach up to 600 nits of peak brightness and covers 100% of the DCI-P3 color gamut.

The company also claims the Tab P11 Pro offers “120% more power than the previous generation” thanks to its MediaTek Kompanio 1300T octa-core processor and up to 8GB of RAM. Speaking about productivity, there’s an included detachable keyboard if you want to use the tablet as a pseudo laptop. The optional Lenovo Precision Pen 3 should also facilitate productivity.

The Lenovo IdeaPad 5i Chromebook doesn’t yet have an official release date for the US market. However, at a recent event in New York City, Lenovo confirmed to us that the IdeaPad 5i would have a starting price of $399 in the United States (which you may be able to save on with one of our Lenovo coupon codes). It will cost €549 in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, with an expected release date of September in those territories. The Lenovo Tab P11 Pro has a starting price of $399 and is expected to launch on September 2022.

Be sure to check out our impressions of the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Fold 2022 and the Lenovo Glasses T1 based on our own hands-on time with both. Lenovo has also announced the IdeaPad Gaming Chromebook which looks set to make serious gaming on Chromebooks a reality.  Also, check out our IFA 2022 live blog for more news from the big event!

Read next: I used ChromeOS exclusively for two weeks — here's how that went. 

The Acer Chromebook Vero 514 ($499) is a new eco-minded 14-inch Chromebook packing the latest Intel Alder Lake laptop chips. Unveiled this week during Acer’s first-ever Green Day event (no, not that Green Day), the Chromebook Vero 514 is being positioned as the next big step on Acer’s path to being a more environmentally-friendly laptop maker that uses 100% renewable energy by 2035.

To back this up, Acer claims the Chromebook Vero 514 is designed to allow for easier upgrades, repairs, and recycling once you’ve wrung the last gasps of life out of it. Acer’s already taken some steps in this direction with its existing Vero line of more environmentally-friendly PCs — the Chromebook Vero 514 is the best example yet.

Much of the device itself is made out of recycled material, as is its packaging. It doesn't look like a bad Chromebook, either; the model of Vero 514 Acer unveiled this week packs an Intel Core i3-1215U, 8GB of LPDDR4 RAM, a 128GB PCIe NVMe SSD, a 1080p webcam and a 1080p 14-inch display into a $499 Chromebook. 

That's a little pricey for what you get, but if the Vero 514 can live up to the 300 nits of brightness and 10-plus hours of battery life Acer promises, it has a shot of earning a place among the best Chromebooks and the best laptops under $500 on the market. You may also be able to make a saving with one of our Acer promo codes.

All in all, it’s a compelling sales pitch for anyone who cares about the environment and is in the market for a $500 Chromebook. Acer's also planning to sell the Chromebook Vero 514 in a variety of configurations, including some with beefier specs or a 14-inch touchscreen, which sounds like it would be great for distance learning. And with another school year kicking off, there ought to be plenty of demand for good Chromebooks in the months ahead even after back-to-school sales wrap up.

Still, after looking over the laptop and getting in touch with Acer representatives, I think there’s a lot of room for improvement if Acer really wants to be a market leader in sustainable laptops. 

Acer's Vero 514 is a step toward the laptops we deserve

Admittedly, it’s not exactly a fiercely competitive market. If you care about making the most of your laptop and minimizing the amount of e-waste you spew into the world, there’s really only one decent option that’s reasonably upgradable and user-repairable: the Framework Laptop. 

Launched in July 2021, the Framework does a remarkable job of showcasing how to successfully design a laptop that’s almost completely user-repairable and upgradable. It's almost like a desktop PC in the extent to which it trusts you to tinker with and care for it. 

I’ve been impressed with the Framework Laptop ever since I saw an early pre-release model. That experience made me think the Framework Laptop is the future of laptops we deserve — or at least, the future I want to see realized. It's bad enough to see tech companies endlessly pitching us on new versions of things we already own, but when those things are expensive portable PCs expressly designed to be hard to upgrade or repair, it feels like companies actively disrespecting their customers. 

That's why I’ve watched with interest as competitors like Acer, Apple and Dell have taken their own small steps toward making more sustainable laptops in the year since the Framework hit the market.

We’ve watched Dell take a page from Framework with Concept Luna, a more repairable laptop concept, while Apple has finally added its M1-equipped MacBooks to the ranks of products supported by its DIY at-home repair program. These steps are welcome, and Acer appears to be moving forward in a similar fashion with the Chromebook Vero 514 and its promise of being a more repairable, upgradable Chromebook. 

Unfortunately, the scope of its sustainable design appears to leave room for improvement.

But we can do better

For starters, it doesn't appear as though you can expect to be able to replace more than the Chromebook Vero 514's storage yourself. I've confirmed this with Acer, and it appears like the extent of its support for "easier upgrades" and repairs is the use of standard screws on the bottom of the laptop instead of proprietary fasteners.

This is a welcome change from the way many vendors use proprietary or hard-to-find screws in their laptops (looking at you, Apple), and it does make the prospect of upgrading the Vero 514's paltry storage options seem feasible for your average laptop owner.

However, I was hoping to learn that Chromebook Vero 514 owners will be able to replace everything from the RAM to the screen to the mainboard, much like you can with a Framework. This would make it a better laptop for both customers and for the environment, since owners would have more options for replacing or repairing parts before discarding the entire laptop. 

It doesn't seem technically unfeasible, either; Framework did it, and Dell's Concept Luna prototype is designed in a modular way that offers similar component-swapping functionality. Heck, even Apple now lets you buy replacement logic boards for select M1 MacBooks so you can replace a defective CPU, though the Cupertino-based company won't go so far as to actually let you upgrade your MacBook's CPU yourself.

So all in all, it looks like Acer's taken a pretty small step forward in terms of designing this laptop to be user-accessible. Of course, we'll have to wait for the folks at iFixit to do a full teardown of the final product before we can really say what's inside and how it's all put together. We'd try something like that here at Tom's Guide, but regrettably we find laptop vendors typically prefer we don't take apart their review units.

A promising step forward

That said, it does look like Acer's at least done a decent job of ensuring a good portion of the Chromebook itself is made out of recycled materials.

 Notably, the chassis and screen bezel are made up of 30% PCR (post-consumer recycled) plastic, while the speakers and keycaps are made out of 50% PCR plastic. The touchpad surface is made out of 100% ocean-bound plastic, which means it’s manufactured out of plastic material that was recovered within a certain distance of a coastline or waterway. And while I don’t find the gray finish speckled with yellow very appealing, Acer says this paint-free chassis and its display panel are 99% recyclable.

Acer’s also done what looks to be an admirable job of packaging the Chromebook Vero 514 in a more eco-friendly way than most laptops. The company claims the box it comes in is 90% recycled paper, while the sleeve and bag protecting the laptop are spun of 100% recycled plastic. It also encourages you to recycle some of the packaging into accessories like a laptop stand or storage box, replete with instructions printed on the box.

Little touches like these seem like they make a minor difference to individual customers, but a big difference at scale. So while I’d love to see Acer and other laptop makers copy Framework more closely and start designing laptops from the ground up to be more repairable and upgradable, I’m heartened to see at least these small steps toward a more sustainable PC market. 

Chromebooks are getting some key upgrades, as an upcoming ChromeOS update will finally bring light and dark themes as well as some other cool new features.

Starting sometime in August 2022, you'll be able to select one theme (either light or dark) to remain on all the time. You'll also be able to have your Chromebook automatically transition from light to dark in accordance with your current time of day. Google says some new wallpapers are made for both themes and will change from Light to Dark when day turns to night. That sounds similar to the dynamic wallpapers on macOS.

This is a significant addition that makes Chromebooks more competitive, as light and dark themes are ubiquitous for Windows, Mac, Android and iPhone. Chrome did already have a dark mode option, but unlike the aforementioned platforms, it's not exactly easy to find, as we detail in our how to turn on Chrome dark mode piece.

The other big update coming to ChromeOS concerns Google Photos, which is getting a new movie editor and video editing features this fall. Available first on Chromebooks, the new movie creation features are meant to make it simple to create movies from photos and videos in Google Photos. Users will be able to use suggested themes or create movies from scratch. AI effects like Real Tone filters, the ability to add music and title cards, along with other features are also expected.

According to Google, Chromebook users will be able to open videos in the Gallery app and then continue editing them in Google Photos. Those who are unsure where to begin can select a theme and the photos they’d like to use. Google Photos will then generate a movie comprised of video clips and photos. It will apparently intelligently select “the most meaningful moments” from long videos. Google says all of this is possible because Google Photos will have deeper integration with ChromeOS.

Another related feature is Google Photos Wallpapers. You’ll be able to set wallpapers from one of your Google albums and also have it automatically change each day. This feature is set to arrive in August.

Google is also adding new PDF-editing features to the Gallery app, though they won't arrive until August. With this, you can fill out forms, highlight text, sign documents and add text annotations. Google also promises closer Calendar integration and notification improvements and an update to virtual desks that makes it easy to save and close an entire desk. The latter feature should arrive in September.

It's surprising how long it took for ChromeOS to get proper light and dark themes but we're glad the feature will soon be a reality. I enable automatic light-to-dark mode on all of my devices so I can't wait to toggle it on for Google Chrome. That will certainly create more cohesion between my electronics.

Samsung recently announced the Galaxy Chromebook Go, a 14-inch Chrome OS-based laptop that’s built to be a mobile workstation. With an Intel Celeron N4500, 8GB of memory, 720p HD webcam, the specs are modest at best. That said, the Galaxy Chromebook Go also offers LTE connectivity, making it a solid choice for those either working at home or on the go. The LTE version may even get Wi-Fi hotspot functionality in an upcoming ChromeOS update.

One could assume that Samsung’s main focus is productivity. Being able to quickly get on a Zoom call, check emails, and/or draft up a variety of documents while mobile is key. The Galaxy Chromebook Go should be capable in that regard as these types of activities aren’t very taxing on modern computer hardware; you don’t need a powerful CPU to submit a spreadsheet for instance. That’s not to say that there aren’t other perks as well. While this Chromebook’s 14-inch display won’t wow anyone, it’s adequate for streaming purposes. The lightweight build makes carrying it from your home to the library/Starbucks and back a breeze. And Chrome OS keeps your vital information secure with regular updates.

• Galaxy Chromebook 2 review
• These are the best Chromebooks out right now

Galaxy Chromebook Go Price

As of this writing Samsung hasn’t disclosed the price of the Galaxy Chromebook Go. The moderate specs place the laptop in the $300 range, going higher or lower based on which version is purchased — picking the LTE version with a larger storage size and memory will most likely cost more than a Wi-Fi variant sporting the base options.

Samsung also hasn’t revealed the Galaxy Chromebook Go’s release date or when retailers will have it available for purchase. You’d be safe to assume that it’ll show up on Samsung’s main website alongside the Best Buys, WalMarts and Amazons of the world.

Galaxy Chromebook Go Specs

Again, this is an entry-level Chromebook. You won’t be using the Galaxy Chromebook Go’s integrated innards to run Call of Duty: Warzone anytime soon. Its Intel Celeron N4500 processor, paired with Intel UHD graphics will be able to run several office-based programs though.

The Go also does a decent job in the storage department. It’s possible to get 32, 64, or 128GB eMMc storage. There’s also a port for a MicroSD card. When it comes to memory, you can choose between 4 or 8GB of LPDDR4X RAM. Chrome OS is snappy enough with its fast bootup times and speedy web browsing. Basically, 8GB is plenty.

When it comes to formfactor, the Galaxy Chromebook Go is sleek. Silver in color, the laptop weighs 1.45kg and sports slim 327.1 x 225.6 x 15.9mm dimensions. It has a 14-inch TFT HD (1366 x 768) display, a backlit keyboard and several ports — two USB Type-C, one USB 3.2, a 3.5mm Headphone/Mic jack, microSD and a Nano SIM slot on the LTE version.  

The last notable features is the Go’s 720p webcam, stereo speakers, and its 42.3Wh battery and 45W USB-C charge brick.

Galaxy Chromebook Go — is it worth it?

Samsung’s Galaxy Chromebook Go’s worth will depend solely on what you’re looking for in a laptop. The Go won’t play the latest games or have the fastest processor available. It also doesn’t provide the greatest HD experience for streaming/watching videos. Those elements are best left to more powerful laptops, like the recently released Razer Blade 14. 

When it comes to productivity though, Samsung has got you covered. Spec-wise, the Galaxy Chromebook Go has everything you need to work-from-home. And thanks to the LTE connectivity — taking into account the cost of a separate data plan — you’ll potentially be able to hop onto the internet when you’re out and about. As long as it isn't too expensive at launch, the Go should be well received. 

• More: These are the best Chromebooks for kids

It looks like you will no longer have to pull out your phone to set up a Wi-Fi hotspot.

In a new update coming to ChromeOS, Chromebooks equipped with LTE data may be able to serve as a Wi-Fi hotspot, just like your Android or iOS smartphone. The potential new feature was found in Chromium Gerrit as a new flag in chrome://flags and was first reported by 9to5Google.

There is no official confirmation from Google about this update, so there is always a chance that this update will be delayed or fail to make the cut. If it does make it into ChromeOS though, it will further increase the appeal of getting one of these affordable productivity machines.

Chromebook hotspots: How the competition stacks up 

Turning a device into a hotspot is nothing new. It is pretty simple to set up a Wi-Fi hotspot on Android, regardless of whether you have a Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra or a OnePlus 10 Pro. Have an iPhone 13? Well luckily, setting up a Wi-Fi hotspot on an iPhone is just as easy. The only catch is typically whether or not your cell phone plan allows you to use your phone as a mobile hotspot.

Your laptop computer can also be a hotspot. Windows 10 and 11 devices like the Dell XPS 13 Plus allow you to share your internet connection as long as it is first connected to the internet or LTE data. Same with MacBooks like the brand new M2 MacBook Air, though MacBooks currently do not come with LTE capabilities.

Chromebooks were one of the only devices lacking the feature, so this is a welcome update, even if it may not make the biggest waves. Keep in mind though, that this update will only apply to Chromebooks with LTE data capabilities.

Chromebook hotspots: Who currently offers LTE Chromebooks? 

Admittedly, there are not a lot of Chromebooks that have LTE capabilities. In fact, you’re largely limited to the $349 Samsung Galaxy Chromebook Go. The good news is that most of the major cell phone network providers such as T-Mobile, Verizon and AT&T offer this device, so you at least have options there. 

In addition to Samsung's Chromebook, AT&T also offers the Lenovo 300e Chromebook LTE; Verizon offers a couple of other Chromebooks, but none of them are on our list of the best Chromebooks. 

Regardless of whether you choose a model with LTE or not, make sure to check out the best deals on Chromebooks before buying one. 

After launching in beta back in February, ChromeOS Flex is now generally available to download and use by anyone that wants to revive their old PC or laptop. 

By installing ChromeOS Flex on an old PC or laptop or even just running it off of one of the best USB flash drives, you’ll be able to breathe new life into the devices you already have without having to spend a thing. 

The beauty of ChromeOS is that it’s easy to use, fast and new updates now arrive every four weeks. Google’s operating system also boots up in seconds and since it’s cloud-based, you can pick up right where you left off on one of the best Windows laptops or best MacBooks as long as you’re using Chrome.

However, this does come with some caveats, mainly that you won’t have access to Android apps or the ability to run Windows in a virtual machine using Parallels Desktop.

Moving to a web first mindset

Here’s something about ChromeOS you may not know: it was actually announced just nine months after the launch of Google Chrome more than a decade ago in 2009.

At that time, Google’s new open source operating system was created to initially target netbooks. While netbooks were cheap, readily available and quite popular, they just didn’t have enough power under the hood to reliably run Windows in the way that users had come to expect from a laptop or desktop.

According to a blog post announcing Chrome OS (now ChromeOS), the search giant explained that speed, simplicity and security were the key aspects of its new operating system and this still holds true today. 

Just like with the original Chrome OS, most of the user experience of ChromeOS Flex takes place on the web. While Android app support is certainly useful on the best Chromebooks, the latest iteration of Google’s desktop operating system takes things back to basics to provide the best experience possible. This also makes it easier to support a wider variety of existing laptops and PCs right from the get-go.

From CloudReady to ChromeOS Flex

Shortly after the launch of Chrome OS, Jonathan Hefter founded Neverware whose first product, PCReady, was designed to refurbish older computers in New York City’s schools. 

As Neverware soon faced stiff competition from Chrome OS and Chromebooks, the company responded by developing its own distribution of Chromium OS (the open source version of Chrome OS) called CloudReady.

Just as you can use ChromeOS Flex to revive an old PC, users were also able to do the exact same thing with CloudReady. However, in December of 2020, Neverware announced that it had been acquired by Google. The company explained in an FAQ regarding the news that it would eventually become an official Chrome OS offering.

Now two years later, CloudReady has become ChromeOS Flex and it’s ready to be downloaded and deployed today.

Years of support, for certified models

If you’re thinking about installing ChromeOS Flex on one of your older devices, the first thing you should do is take a look at Google’s certified models list.

Here you’ll find a list of PC and laptop makers that includes Acer, Apple, ASUS, Dell, HP, Lenovo, Microsoft and even some smaller brands like Minisforum and Zotac. Once you find the brand of your device, just click on the drop down menu to reveal all of the supported models from each manufacturer.

It’s worth noting that certified models (those with a green circle and a checkmark) are expected to work perfectly with ChromeOS Flex while models with minor issues expected (indicated by a grey circle with a lowercase “i”) are likely to support at least basic functionality. Another useful piece of information is the end of support date next to each model’s current status.

Before I decided to turn my old monitor a digital dashboard, my original plan was to put CloudReady on the mini PC I’m using to power it. According to Google’s certified models list though, my Zotac ZBOX CI327 will be officially supported to use with ChromeOS Flex all the way to the end of 2028. I plan on switching it from Windows 10 to ChromeOS Flex as DAKboard (the program I used to set up my digital dashboard) was designed to be used in Chrome. This way, my mini PC will start up even faster and I won’t have to worry about pesky Windows updates.

The perfect stepping stone to a proper Chromebook or Chromebox

So what if ChromeOS Flex doesn’t support Android apps and perhaps never will? The original vision behind ChromeOS is that it’s lightweight and designed to run on the web. Instead of installing programs like you do on Windows, Mac, most of the services people use these days are available online, which is what Chrome OS was designed for.

At the same time, you can also get quite a lot done on ChromeOS Flex as you have full access to Google’s online collaboration tools and they also work offline. As such, you can edit documents in Google Docs, work on spreadsheets in Google Sheets and put together and present all of the presentations you make in Google Slides.

Since ChromeOS Flex is free and likely always will be, it’s a great jumping off point for those considering making the switch to ChromeOS. A kind of try it before you buy it situation but without any limitations on key features.

If you enjoy using ChromeOS Flex, you can always upgrade to a Chromebook or even to a Chromebox (a desktop PC running ChromeOS) down the line if you want access to Android apps and the Google Play Store, full Linux support and the ability to run Windows in a virtual machine. 

For most people though, they’ll be more than happy enough to be able to get some extra use out of their old devices which are no longer officially supported or were just too slow to use comfortably before.

Read next: I used ChromeOS exclusively for two weeks — here's how that went.

Update: For Prime Day you can get the Acer Spin 311 for just $199

Acer’s Spin 311 is exactly what many people expect of a Chromebook: Small, inexpensive, and capable enough to handle work and light play every day. For students, children, or anyone looking for an extremely portable machine that gets the essentials right, the Spin 311 is one of the best Chromebooks for kids and best Chromebooks for students that can also compete with some of the best budget laptops of comparable price. 

It’s a highly functional unit with one of the best laptop keyboards I've seen yet. That said, I ran into some issues (and some strange design choices) while conducting this Acer Chromebook Spin 311 review. Although it’s a capable Chromebook around $300, it’s far from the only one.

Acer Chromebook Spin 311 review: Price and availability 

The Acer Chromebook Spin 311 released in July 2020 at a starting price of $259, though you can expect the price to rise into the $279 range if you choose a model with improved storage. You can buy it directly from Acer.com or seek it out at your retailer of choice. Before you buy, make sure you check our Acer promo codes for ways to lower the cost.

For an 11.6-inch 2-in-1 Chromebook, a roughly $300 price tag is par for the course. Lenovo’s C330 is the same price, while the Asus C204 is slightly more expensive (if you can find one in stock). There are other 2-in-1 Chromebooks that opt for a tablet design over the clamshell design of the Spin 311 that are cheaper, namely the Lenovo Duet.  

 Acer Chromebook Spin 311 review: Design 

The Spin 311 looks like the platonic ideal of a Chromebook: Thick bezels around the screen, an all-aluminum silver chassis, and a build that’s meant to be both durable and portable. 

And the Spin 311 is successful on those last two. There’s no flex around any point of the body, including the keyboard and the hinges. The screen is protected with Gorilla Glass, too, so it should be able to withstand a few falls. 

For portability, the Spin 311 has an advertised weight of 2.65 pounds, but we measured only 2.3 pounds on our test unit. The difference between the two is splitting hairs; at this size and weight, the Spin 311 isn’t likely to strain your back.

Speaking of size, the Spin 311 is tiny, with a footprint smaller than a standard A4 sheet of paper. It’s just a hair thicker than the Samsung Chromebook 4 -- 0.74 inches compared to 0.66 inches.

The Spin 311 is tiny, and that’s as much of a pro as it is a con. It doesn’t really matter what you’re doing on the machine, it feels cramped. For carrying around or casually using at home, the Spin 311’s size isn’t too much of an issue. For heavy users, though, the limited space is at least annoying, and at most a deal-breaker. 

That’s a criticism of a Chromebook this size, not of the Spin 311 itself. The build quality is excellent, and although the aesthetics are uninspired, it still manages to look sleek and attractive. 

 Acer Chromebook Spin 311 review: Ports

 The Spin 311 is light on ports, but Acer still went out of its way to include a USB Type-A connection. On the right side of the chassis, there’s the sole USB-A port next to a Kensington Lock and the volume rocker, and on the left, a USB-C connection next to a headphone/microphone combo jack and the power button. The USB-C port supports DisplayPort over USB-C, allowing you to use an external display. It’s also the charging port. 

The Spin 311’s port selection is in line with what I’d expect at this price, given that competing Chromebooks like Lenovo’s C330 come with the same range of ports. 

However, the C330, the Samsung Chromebook 4, and several other competing Chromebooks from HP and Asus all come with a USB 3.0 (or better) connection. The Spin 311’s USB-A port is only rated for USB 2.0. Even considering the price bracket, there’s really no excuse for an older USB standard when other devices and peripherals have already caught up. 

 Acer Chromebook Spin 311 review: Display

The Spin 311 sports an 11.6-inch IPS display with a resolution just above 720p (1366 x 768). It’s a screen of compromises. On one hand, the display is covered in antimicrobial Gorilla Glass, providing protection from most falls. On the other, the peak brightness is low, as is the resolution, and the bezels are thick. 

I watched through Gone Girl and Good Time to see how the screen would hold up. In Gone Girl, the Spin 311’s screen didn’t handle the various shades of gray in that movie’s color palette well, often washing the darker areas out with any nearby colors. Good Time had a similar problem, implying the correct colors without always hitting them.

Between both movies, however, the resolution stood out most. Even at 11.6 inches, the resolution was too low. It was like watching a video file that had been compressed one too many times, with fast-paced scenes falling apart in a smear of pixels. 

Our benchmarks back up much of what I experienced using the Spin 311. We measured a peak brightness of just 204.2 nits, dropping below the 200 mark in some corners. The Spin 311’s display also only produced 70.4% of the sRGB color spectrum, which is disappointing when you consider that a similarly-priced competitor like the Acer Chromebook R 11 is able to deliver a 73.2% sRGB spectrum rating.

In short, it’s not a great screen for watching movies or TV shows. That said, I fired up Destiny 2 on Stadia and didn’t have any issues. Even in a fast-paced FPS, the screen handled motion well, and in the context of a game, the lowered resolution is easy to forgive. 

As a touchscreen the display works well, but it’s not perfect. A few hiccups like accidentally clicking a link while scrolling keep the tablet experience from being perfect. At this price, though, a few minor annoyances are easy to contend with. 

Acer Chromebook Spin 311 review: Keyboard and touchpad

The Spin 311’s keyboard is undoubtedly  its strongest feature. Even as a self-proclaimed mechanical keyboard snob, I was able to fly while typing on the Spin 311. It even rivaled the typing experience of my Dell XPS 15, which is seriously impressive considering how inexpensive the Spin 311 is. 

It’s not an accident that the typing experience is great, either. The Spin 311’s keys have a travel distance of 1.6mm, adding a nice amount of snap and responsiveness to each keystroke. 

This is a feature Acer displays prominently, even on the Chromebook’s pre-applied factory sticker. It seemed like nothing more than a marketing gimmick, but after using the Spin 311, I’m a believer. 

The touchpad is similarly responsive, despite being on the small side (it measures 2.4 x 4.1 inches). It’s wide but short, so while I was able to swipe from side to side without issues, my finger would occasionally fall off when moving up or down. That’s not a criticism, but still something to note. 

Gestures are a fair point of criticism, however. Google hasn’t quite nailed the feel of Windows Precision drivers yet, but it’s close. Two fingers scrolls, and three fingers brings up an overview of your open windows. Scrolling worked most of the time, but using three fingers to bring up the overview usually required a few tries. 

Acer Chromebook Spin 311 review: Audio

The bottom-firing stereo speakers on the Spin 311 work surprisingly well, even if they’re not all that impressive. The speakers are small, and the sound has a heavy upper midrange bias. That’s great for movies and TV shows, accentuating the dialogue. 

For music, it makes certain instruments stick out more than others. In a riffing piano tune like Anomalie’s Valours, for example, the upper midrange of the piano would jolt out of the music. In such a melodically dense piece, the sudden jump in volume can be jarring. 

Still, the speakers work. They can get loud without distorting -- something even premium Windows machines struggle with -- and they were always clear, even when the Spin 311 was sitting on my lap. 

Acer Chromebook Spin 311 review: Performance

The Spin 311 is powered by MediaTek’s MT8183 eight-core processor. Four of those cores are built on ARM’s Cortex-A73 architecture, while the other four use the Cortex-A53 architecture. The result is an eight core processor with four dominant cores, plus an additional four for aiding or handling other tasks. 

Acer pairs the MediaTek chip with 4GB of memory, and either 32GB or 64GB of eMMC storage. 

The processing power is great for a machine of this size. Jumping from window to window feels snappy, even when you have a couple of lightweight applications open. For some hard numbers, we measured a multi-core score of 5,507 and a single-core score of 1,361 in Geekbench 4. 

The more telling benchmark is CrXPRT, which is built specifically to test Chromebook performance. In the latest version, the Spin 311 received an average score of 41. The Lenovo Duet received the same score, while Acer’s pricier Spin 715 earned a higher score (65). 

In addition to our lab testing, I put the Spin 311 through a Chrome torture test, opening as many tabs as possible before the notebook started to slow down. At eight tabs, Chrome became noticeably sluggish, but it didn’t break. You’ll notice slower performance if you’re switching between a lot of tabs (around 10) at once, but below that, it holds up.

For most use cases, that’s acceptable. The Spin 311 isn’t powerful, but it’s surprisingly efficient given the hardware inside. 

It’s not perfect, though. I also downloaded Asphalt 9 and Fallout Shelter to test a few games. Asphalt 9 crashed a handful of times before finally working, and although the game ran, it had framerate issues. Fallout Shelter was great, however, loading and running without any problems.

Acer Chromebook Spin 311 review: Battery life

The Spin 311 has a large enough battery to last through a full workday, but it still falls short of the advertised 15 hours of battery life. In our web surfing battery test, the Spin 311 lasted for 11 hours and 41 minutes, which is good, but still more than three hours shy of 15 hours. 

Given the display’s resolution, I hoped for more. The Lenovo Duet was able to last an hour longer in the same test, despite sporting a higher-resolution screen. 

 Acer Chromebook Spin 311 review: Webcam

You have to cut a few corners to get a usable machine under $300, and a popular place to do that cutting is in the webcam. The Spin 311’s 720p webcam isn’t very good. Even under decent lighting conditions, the webcam displays a layer of noise across the entire image, which is only exaggerated as things get darker. 

The colors aren’t great, either. My lips, for example, would appear either pale or blue under most lighting conditions (a mirror confirms this is, indeed, a webcam issue and not malnourishment). 

I never expected much out of the webcam, and you shouldn’t either. It does the job for video calls and the like, but you won’t be carrying around the Spin 311 to take pictures. 

Acer Chromebook Spin 311 review: ChromeOS 

ChromeOS is like Android for a full-sized machine, at least for the most part. Although you can still browse the Google Play store and download most apps to the Spin 311, there are still quite a few that aren’t supported. And they aren’t no-name apps, either. GeForce Now, for example, isn’t supported. 

Google Play is just one part of what makes ChromeOS a compelling option, however. Google has seamlessly integrated its ecosystem of apps in the operating system, not only because they’re pre-installed, but also because your search queries pull up documents you have stored in Google Drive alongside local files and applications. 

There are small, quality-of-life features, too. Casting a YouTube video, for example, takes no more than a couple of presses. 

ChromeOS isn’t nearly as feature-rich as Windows, but it still gets the basics right. Managing your apps is a breeze, and although multitasking features like split screen aren’t perfect, they’re at least present.

 Acer Chromebook Spin 311 review: Verdict

The Acer Chromebook Spin 311 is another sub-$300 silver Chromebook in a market swimming with them. That makes it hard to justify, especially compared to something like the Lenovo Duet, which does what the Spin 311 does better in many areas, and is even cheaper. 

The saving grace is the Spin 311’s keyboard, which is truly excellent. It’s not as good as the best laptop keyboards, but the fact that an 11.6-inch Chromebook is even in the discussion should speak volumes. The battery life is solid, too, and although performance isn’t great, it’s enough to handle light, day-to-day tasks.