Running on the Chrome OS operating system, the Chromebook has become a more economical alternative to traditional laptops. Equipped with a much more powerful navigation system, it is suitable for other office and multimedia tasks. But with the multitude of ranges on the market, it is not easy to choose such equipment to our requirement. That's why we have written this buying guide for you.
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Our selection
"Discover a better value for versatility and performance with HP chromebook X360 12b-ca0010nf. This ultraportable computer brings together the best of Chrome and Android on…"
"Here's a 2-in-1 Chromebook that transforms into a touchscreen tablet with the help of its sturdy hinges. It combines a 10.1" touchscreen with a MediaTek…"
"Experience great power and unwavering quality with the Acer Cromebook Spin CP713-2W-50T5. This Chromebook packs a 10th-generation Intel core i5 processor with a speed of…"
"A compact yet full-featured tool, the ASUS C523 NA-A20071 is a Chromebook that was designed to be the best option to boost your productivity and…"
Discover a better value for versatility and performance with HP chromebook X360 12b-ca0010nf. This ultraportable computer brings together the best of Chrome and Android on a 12-inch display with a 360-degree hinge.
454 £ on AmazonPacked with performance and features, the HP Chromebook X360 12b-ca0010nf is an ultraportable computer that brings together the best of Chrome and Android. It features a 12" screen with a 30.5 cm screen and a 360° hinge. This computer has a battery life of up to 13 hours and 15 minutes, perfect for long use. Its sleek and stylish design is the result of a sleek and high quality metal design for a dimension of 27.2 x 21.6 x 1.73 cm for a weight of 1.35 kg. For its wireless connectivity, it adopts an Intel Wireless-AC 9560 Wi-Fi card and Bluetooth 5 Miracast and MU-MIMO compatible system.
For its performance, the Chromebook is equipped with a dual-core Intel Celeron N4020 processor with 4GB LPDDR4-2400 SDRAM. The computer comes with 32GB eMMC storage and accompanied by 100GB of storage offered via the cloud activating the one-year trial offer to Google One. On its display, it includes an Intel UHD 600 graphics card for 4K content on an HD IPS touch screen with a 178° viewing angle. It embeds a webcam with a wide-angle field of view of 88 °. As for its connections, this Chromebook has a USB 3.1 port, two USB Type C ports, a micro SD card reader and an audio/microphone combo jack.
Here's a 2-in-1 Chromebook that transforms into a touchscreen tablet with the help of its sturdy hinges. It combines a 10.1" touchscreen with a MediaTek P60T dual-core processor and 4GB RAM for smooth browsing.
215 £ on AmazonLenovo Chromebook Ideapad Duet is a 2-in-1 Chromebook combining elegance and lightness, a convertible function from laptop to tablet by detaching keyboard. The device features a unique two-tone design in ice blue and steel gray with a high-end fabric on the base cover. For its display, it is equipped with a 10.1" IPS display, surrounded by a 9.13 mm bezel and having a Full HD resolution with a brightness of 400 nits. The Chromebook 2-in-1 has a battery life of up to 10 hours with a built-in battery of 7000 Mah.
The device is powered by a MediaTek P60T processor with two cores, one with 4 x A73 @2.0GHz and the other with 4 x A53 @2.0Ghz. The latter is allied to a 4GB LPDDR4 RAM with 128GB eMMC storage. To this end, the Ideapad Duet takes less than 8 seconds to boot up. It also consists of two built-in cameras, including an 8MP rear camera and a 2MP front camera. To the connectivity, the device is characterized by a Wi-Fi Lenovo Wireless 2 x 2 AC sensor and a Bluetooth 4.2. To close the package, the Chromebook is equipped with USB Type C connectivity as well as two built-in Dolby audio speakers.
Experience great power and unwavering quality with the Acer Cromebook Spin CP713-2W-50T5. This Chromebook packs a 10th-generation Intel core i5 processor with a speed of 1.6 GHz as well as 8 GB DDR4 RAM and 64 GB storage.
664 £ on CdiscountThe Acer Cromebook CP713-2W-50T5 comes with great quality and high-level performance. The Chromebook packs a quad-core 10th generation Intel core i5 processor with a speed of 1.6 GHz as well as 8 GB DDR4 RAM and a 64 GB SSD storage drive. For its display, it is equipped with a 13.5-inch IPS touchscreen with 2256 x 1504 resolution in 3:2 format, supported by an Intel QHD Graphics 620. To its structure, the reference Spin defines a hinge that allows the screen to tilt up to 360 ° convertible in 4 modes.
Benefiting from a sober design, the device adopts a metal chassis with a streamlined and reinforced design. It takes a dimension of 298 mm in length, a width of 235 mm and a thickness of 16.9 mm for a weight of 1.4 kg. As far as networking and communication are concerned, this Chromebook includes a Wi-Fi 6 sensor and Bluetooth 5.0, as well as a 720P webcam, a microSD card reader and two speakers. In terms of connectivity, there is also a USB 3.0 port with 2 USB 3.1 Type-C, an HDMI 1.4 output and a headphone/microphone combo audio connector.
A compact yet full-featured tool, the ASUS C523 NA-A20071 is a Chromebook that was designed to be the best option to boost your productivity and entertain you. This device gives you up to 10 hours of battery life with a quad-core Intel Celeron N3350 processor as well as 8GB of RAM.
360 £ on DartyAny specific needs?
The best entry-level Chromebook
Your guide :
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| TOP OF THE TOP | CHEAP | TOP OF THE LINE | VERY GOOD | |
In accordance with our commitment, this buying guide does not contain any sponsored products. |
8/10 |
8/10 |
9/10 |
9/10 |
| OUR SELECTION |
HP Chromebook x360 12b-ca0010nf
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Lenovo Chromebook IdeaPad Duet
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ACER Chromebook CP713-2W-50T5 - GREY
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ASUS CHROMEBOOK C523NA-A20071
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Discover a better value for versatility and performance with HP chromebook X360 12b-ca0010nf. This ultraportable computer brings together the best of Chrome and Android on a 12-inch display with a 360-degree hinge.
|
Here's a 2-in-1 Chromebook that transforms into a touchscreen tablet with the help of its sturdy hinges. It combines a 10.1" touchscreen with a MediaTek P60T dual-core processor and 4GB RAM for smooth browsing.
|
Experience great power and unwavering quality with the Acer Cromebook Spin CP713-2W-50T5. This Chromebook packs a 10th-generation Intel core i5 processor with a speed of 1.6 GHz as well as 8 GB DDR4 RAM and 64 GB storage.
|
A compact yet full-featured tool, the ASUS C523 NA-A20071 is a Chromebook that was designed to be the best option to boost your productivity and entertain you. This device gives you up to 10 hours of battery life with a quad-core Intel Celeron N3350 processor as well as 8GB of RAM.
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Screen size
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12 inches
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10.1"
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13.5 inch
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15.6 inch
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Processor
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Intel Celeron N4020
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MediaTek P60T dual-core
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Intel core i5-1021
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Intel Celeron N3350
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RAM
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4 GB
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4 GB
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8 GB
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8 GB
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Storage capacity
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32 GB eMMC
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128 GB eMMC
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64 GB eMMC
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64 GB
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Battery life
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13 hours
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10 hours
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10 hours
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10 hours
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The usual native display resolution on a Chromebook will be 1920 x 1080 pixels, also known as 1080p, but some cheaper Chromebooks may display at a lower resolution, and the higher-end models may have a higher resolution. For most mid-sized Chromebooks with 13- to 15-inch screens, 1080p is fine.
A low-end processor like a Celeron or Pentium will serve you just fine if you're just browsing with a tab or two open. Chromebooks based on Intel Core processors like the Core i3 and Core i5 will allow for more efficient multitasking. They'll also be more expensive; a $300 Windows laptop with an Intel Celeron processor and 4GB of memory may be unpleasantly slow on a day-to-day basis under Windows 10, but a Chromebook with the same specs should provide a good user experience. If you tend to multitask, opt for a Core processor.
Most of your files on a Chromebook will be stored in the cloud. So Chromebooks only include a small portion of eMMC storage, usually 32GB or 64GB, on which to save your local creations. If this is a problem for you, consider checking that the Chromebook you want to buy has an SD card slot.
Most Chromebook connections are wireless, as you'll be using the machine almost exclusively connected to Wi-Fi. Ethernet ports are not common. If you give presentations often, look for a Chromebook with a video-out port, such as HDMI, that matches the displays you'll have available. Also check for a USB port or two if you want to connect a mouse or other device via cable.
Chromebooks produce much less heat than laptops and desktops because of their SSD hard drives and energy-efficient processors. For this reason, most, but not all, Chromebooks offer fanless designs that are quieter, less prone to breakage, and more energy efficient than their more powerful cousins. If this is an issue for you, you'll probably want to look at the higher-end Chromebooks.
Most laptops run Windows, and those made by Apple run macOS, but Chromebooks run Chrome OS. Chrome OS is just another operating system, but if you're used to Windows or macOS, it will look different. Rather than programs, Chrome OS has apps, and it runs mostly online, with most of your documents stored online, in the cloud.
Because Chromebooks rely on cloud storage, you can access your files from other computers and devices, as long as you have an Internet connection. Chrome OS is based on Google's Chrome web browser, so it's very easy to learn and get used to.
They are also incredibly secure. Google provides frequent updates, and if a Chromebook is lost or stolen, you can log out remotely so no one else can access your content (and setting up on a new Chromebook is as easy as logging into your Google account).
Because of their lightweight operating system and SSD hard drives, Chromebooks take only eight seconds from power up to startup. Chrome OS is also faster than Windows and Mac OS because it isn't burdened by dozens of processes running in the background.
On the other hand, Chromebooks are seriously limited in offline mode. Also, you won't be able to use your existing software (Photoshop or Microsoft Office) on a Chromebook. Finally, when it comes to storage, while the cloud has definite advantages, you'll probably end up paying for cloud storage.
One of the advantages of classic laptops over Chromebooks is that you will find more sizes and styles when it comes to Windows laptops, especially if you need optimal processing performance and graphics.
Also, being offline is much less of a problem since you are using installed software that saves to internal storage. And finally, when it comes to storage volume, you'll have a lot more leeway with a traditional laptop.
Chromebooks work great if most of what you do can be done with a browser: checking email, binging on Netflix, checking social media, etc. Social media enthusiasts and internet users will have fun using these machines. You can use Google Drive for documents, spreadsheets and presentations. Google Drive can also harness the power of the cloud for your storage needs.
But if you need a powerful computer for your games, or software, look to traditional laptops instead. Same if you need a lot of free storage space.
The price
To get an entry-level Windows 10-powered laptop or even a MacBook, you're looking at anywhere from 400 euros to more than 1,000 euros (with Apple pricing). That's a pretty big financial outlay for a machine that can only be used for document editing, Netflix, YouTube and mostly browser-based tasks. Since Chromebooks aren't really spec-based, you can easily get a sub-$500 laptop that will last 5 years or more without any major issues. They are perfect for simply taking a machine for online meetings, homework, perhaps as a shopping portal.
Battery life
Since you're only running the Chrome browser, you're not really doing many tasks that require a lot of processors. This means that your Chromebook should last much longer than a comparable Windows laptop or MacBook. Getting a laptop with battery life that reaches double digits is really impressive, and there are many more Chromebooks capable of reaching the 10-hour mark than similarly priced Windows machines. It's more pronounced toward the higher end, but for the most part, you'll get better average battery life with a Chromebook than with a Windows 10 or macOS laptop.
The form factor
Because Chromebooks aren't so dependent on hardware, they tend to be lighter and more compact than comparably priced Windows laptops. You can even get 2-in-1 machines that offer the flexibility of a tablet alongside a "traditional" dockable laptop form factor. Of course, you have choices on all types of laptops, but Chromebooks have obvious form factor advantages that don't often exist on the Windows and Mac side. You want durable plastic construction, you can have it. You prefer materials that are more premium. You have options on screen sizes, finishes, etc.
Stability and support
Unlike desktops or other laptops, chrome OS is not nearly as resource intensive as the chrome browser. It is much lighter and even with modest internal components, it runs smoothly and consistently. Windows and macOS can sometimes shut down due to the resource overhead required to keep everything running simultaneously. That's not all, as Chromebooks also include the ability to run Android apps, which means you can enjoy some of your favorite mobile apps without needing your smartphone nearby. It may not be quite the same as standalone software, but if you want a great complement to the Chrome browser, Android apps are a great addition.
Backup and restore
One of the main advantages of Chromebooks is that everything is done in Chrome. This means you can switch devices without losing files, photos or anything else. Backups to the cloud are essentially built in. That means you can switch between devices without losing files, except for any offline content. Simply connect to another machine and you'll have everything waiting for you without any recovery or transferring required.
In our opinion, the best brands of chromebooks in 2022 are :
Asus is a Taiwanese company known for its high quality components: it offers an excellent range of laptops (classic or Chromebooks). The designs of Asus computers are very well made, they allow a quick grip and user experience.
Lenovo is a Chinese brand created in 1984 and specialized in personal computers. It is known for the excellent build quality of its PCs and their components. Today, the brand offers the most powerful Chromebooks on the market.
This Taiwanese brand created in 1976 offers very high quality machines. The computers and Chromebooks from this brand are highly functional and efficient. And they are available at affordable prices.
HP is an American brand created in 1998. It has quickly become a leader in the field of desktop and personal computer hardware with products that perfectly combine style and functionality. The products they manufacture are intended for a very wide range of consumers.
The Samsung brand is best known for its mobiles and home appliances. However, it also ranks among the manufacturers of computer hardware (including Chromebooks) in the market. Its Chromebooks offer excellent value for money.
The diagram below will help you to get an idea of the typical prices for each price range (entry-level, mid-range and high-end).
However, more expensive does not necessarily mean better.
We therefore advise you to always consult our ranking before deciding, rather than blindly relying on price ranges.
Use a third-party DNS.
There are many reasons to use third-party DNS, a kind of "address book" for the Internet, when you are on the web. Some say they're faster, others claim they're more secure, either way it's a great way to bypass all the useless content blocks that can be set up on your ISP's servers. Using them on your Chromebook is easy. Open the settings page and click on the name of the network you want to change. In the window that opens, select the Network tab. At the bottom, you can choose which domain name to use. You'll see Google's automatic options, or you can enter some manually if you know exactly what you want.
It's synced!"
Chromebooks
syncs your bookmarks, passwords, and apps. So if you use Chrome and your Google account on another device, all your bookmarks and other preferences will be replicated to your Chromebook.
View all keyboard shortcuts.
Chrome
OS offers many handy keyboard shortcuts to reload a page or go to your home page in the browser. In fact, there are so many that it's almost impossible to keep track of them all. There is a trick that can help you know which ones to remember. Press Ctrl + Alt + ? and you'll see a keyboard overlay with all the key functions and shortcuts.
Use an SD card for additional storage.
Most Chromebooks offer an SD card slot, whether MicroSD or standard. This is a feature that can be very useful for transferring photos from your camera or moving files between computers. The SD card can also be useful as semi-permanent external storage. Because you will often have no more than 32GB or 64GB of internal storage on your Chromebook, you may find yourself wanting more. Insert a 64GB SD card into your Chromebook and use it as you would local storage or Google Drive. The SD card shows up in the Files app as another folder, where you can use it however you want.
Share your Chromebook securely.
When
you first set up your Chromebook, it may seem like it can only be used for your personal Google account. But one of the advantages of Chrome OS is that it has the ability to work with any Google account. When you're on your Chromebook's lock screen, you can click "Sign Out" in the lower left corner and let someone else sign in with their own Google account. They won't have access to your main account, and all their previous activity on any other Chrome device will be set up on this new machine in its own profile.
The best chromebook depends on your needs and your budget. Read our buying guide for the best products out there.
You
can use your Chromebook when you're offline, but you won't be able to take advantage of all its features. However, you'll still be able to access locally stored files (for example, play movies or edit photos you have stored on your hard drive). You'll also be able to use Google Drive in offline mode to create documents or spreadsheets, read articles saved in Pocket, and play various games.
Unfortunately
, Chromebooks are not a good choice for games. You'll be able to download game apps, but they'll mostly be basic games of the type you might play on a smartphone, rather than sophisticated video games. Also, you can't run or install programs on a Chromebook, so you won't be able to install your favorite video games.
The
biggest thing about Chromebooks is that they run almost exclusively online and you can't download or run executable programs (only apps), which means they can't be attacked by a virus. Of course, you might download a bad Chrome extension, but once you remove it, everything will return to normal. Occasionally, you may find a third-party Chrome OS extension causing problems, but again removing the extension will solve all the problems.
The
biggest limitation is that you won't be able to install software. This is due to its low internal storage capacity.
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