These Chromebooks for students really shine
The selling point of the Lenovo Chromebook Flex is its 10th-generation Intel Core i3 processor. Credit: CBS Interactive
Chromebooks have become standard equipment in most schools, with many districts now providing them to students. But the district-provided Chromebooks are usually smaller, underpowered models with limited utility. There's only so much you can do on an 11.6-inch display powered by an outdated CPU.
As the start of the 2022-23 school year approaches, here is a list of the best deals on Chromebooks, with prices starting right around $300. Many factors were considered in the compilation of this list, such as cloud storage, battery life, display size, keyboard quality, ease of web browsing, and whether it includes a headphone jack for music or lecture listening and classroom participation.
The highlight of this Lenovo two-in-one Chromebook is its 10th-generation Intel Core i3 CPU, which is common to many budget Windows laptops and has more than enough oomph to power the lightweight Chrome OS.
The Flex 5 also features a 14-inch touchscreen with a 1,920- x 1,080-pixel resolution. It offers pen support but you need to buy a stylus separately.
The following CNET staff contributed to this story: CNET contributor Matt Elliott, senior editor Josh Goldman and copy editor Jim Hoffman. For more reviews of personal technology products, visit cnet.com.
This Samsung Chromebook has a smaller display at 12.2 inches than the other models here, but the touchscreen can rotate 360 degrees into tablet mode so you can play Android games — once homework is done, of course.
The display boasts a sharp 1,920x1,200-pixel resolution and pen support for the included stylus. Inside, the system features an Intel Celeron processor, 4 gigabytes of RAM and 64 gigabytes of storage.
Acer's midrange convertible Chromebook, the 14-inch Spin 514, boasts a slim and durable all-metal body and features an AMD Ryzen 3 processor. It's a good middle ground between smaller, 11.6-inch models that might cramp your computing style and larger, 15.6-inch models that you might not want to lug across campus each day.
This AMD-based model is on sale right now, but you should know that an Intel model is expected soon that will feature the latest Wi-Fi 6 standard, better videoconferencing capabilities and a more compact enclosure.
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