Although they've caught some flak over the years, Chromebooks provide a lightweight OS that Windows and Mac can't touch, offering an incredibly convenient and functional experience with much lower system requirements. We've reviewed hundreds of the best laptops over the years, testing for important qualities like performance, battery life, and display quality. And we've found that Chromebooks consistently excel at performance and reliability. You can find Chromebooks from Google, HP, Lenovo, Acer, and many others, and we've dug through them to find the best Chromebooks on the market.
The Chromebook laptops we've assembled here are something special. They offer solid performance, excellent functionality, and enough diversity to handle just about any need. Read on to see which models you should consider and maybe even acquire for yourself.
HP Elite Dragonfly Chromebook
The most innovative and feature-packed Chromebook
- Outstanding Chrome OS performance
- Superior haptic touchpad
- Beautiful display
- Attractive aesthetic
- Google Enterprise support with vPro
- Excellent connectivity with Thunderbolt 4
- Expensive
- Below-average battery life
Chromebooks haven't historically kept up with Windows and MacOS laptops in terms of overall innovations and features. But HP set out to change all that with the Elite Dragonfly Chromebook, an expensive machine that serves as the new standard bearer for the platform.
First, it's well-equipped with Intel 12th-gen CPUs and up to 32GB of RAM, an obscene amount of memory and power for the lightweight Chrome OS that makes it one of the fastest Chromebooks ever. It's built as well as any premium laptop, and it enjoys an impressive 13.5-inch 3:2 display at a high 2,256 x 1,504 resolution.
But then toss in the first haptic touchpad on a Chromebook and you're talking real innovation, with extra features that make the haptic engine even more valuable. The display is touch- and pen-enabled, and HP included a fingerprint reader that's also unusual for Chromebooks. The machine supports Chrome OS Enterprise, making it a secure and manageable choice for enterprises. Taking everything into consideration, the Elite Dragonfly Chromebook is the best Chrome OS laptop you can buy today.
Acer Chromebook Spin 714
Best 2-in-1 Chromebook
- Very good performance
- Evo certification
- Thunderbolt 4 support
- Conservative good looks
- Good touchpad
- Excellent 3:2 display
- Battery life took a step backward
- Chassis could feel a little sturdier
- Keyboard wasn't as crisp as some
If you're looking for a 2-in-1 Chromebook that's also powerful, you need the Acer Chromebook Spin 714. We reviewed the previous model, and the new version just ups the ante. It's not an inexpensive Chromebook, but it's worth every penny.
An all-aluminum chassis reaches near premium laptop levels in terms of build quality, reminding you that you've bought something classy. Impressively, it has Thunderbolt 4 support which you don't normally see on Chromebooks along with the usual selection of USB ports, a full-size HDMI port, and 3.5mm audio jack. It's powered by Intel 12th-gen CPUs with plenty of RAM and storage, making it a very fast Chromebook.
The display is now a 16:10 aspect ratio with a resolution of 1920 x 1200, providing sharp text and images. Acer added an active pen that has its own silo, an improvement from the previous model. Don't count on it being an ideal display for working outdoors under a bright sun but for everything else, it's good quality with colors that seem natural and not oversaturated. The downside? Speaker quality is a little weak for listening to music but it's adequate.
Lenovo Chromebook Duet 3
A highly affordable Chromebook
- Good enough productivity performance
- Excellent battery life
- Surprisingly good display
- Folio kickstand and keyboard included
- Strong value
- Keyboard is too cramped
- Limited to Wi-Fi 5
The Lenovo's Duet 3 is a detachable tablet Chromebook for not a lot of money. That's precisely why Mark Coppock mentioned it was "$300 well spent" in his review. It got high marks for decent productivity performance, excellent battery life, a surprisingly good display, and the folio kickstand and keyboard it comes with — all of it makes for a very strong value. If you're a student, or on a budget, pay attention to that, because it means your money goes further here.
Inside the unit is a Qualcomm Snapdragon 7c Gen 2 processor and 4GB of system memory, which is reasonable given the price. The 64GB of eMMC flash storage offers space to store photos, documents, and offline files, but Chromebooks also benefit from Google's cloud storage solution and Google Drive.
With up to 12 hours on a single charge, you have plenty of power and support to get work done, do some studying, listen to music, watch some media, or do whatever else you want to do on the go. You also get WiFi 5, Bluetooth 5.1, a 5MP user-facing camera for video calls, and an 8MP "world" or rear-facing camera for high-quality shots. Overall, it's a great little device.
Lenovo IdeaPad Duet 5
Best OLED Chromebook
- Acceptable productivity performance
- Very long battery life
- Excellent display
- Solid build quality
- Affordable
- Display is in the old-school 16:9 aspect ratio
- Limited to Wi-Fi 5
- Kickstand add-on is inconvenient
Lenovo's Duet 5 is a Chromebook tablet with an OLED display, one of the first and also one of the most inexpensive. The beautiful 13.3-inch beautiful OLED display is definitely the tablet's highlight, providing the usual excellent colors and deep contrast that only OLED can provide. The tablet's portability pairs nicely with an impressive degree of power, thanks to the Qualcomm Snapdragon SC7180 octa-core processor and 8GB of system memory.
The 128GB of eMMC flash storage offers plenty of space to store photos, documents, and offline files when you need them. The Duet 5 has WiFi 6 onboard for faster, more stable wireless connections, but also offers wired connectivity too when you're near an Ethernet port.
The Lenovo Duet 5 offers acceptable productivity performance, long battery life, excellent display, and solid build quality. It also offers surprisingly good build quality for the price, along with an included keyboard that's comfortable and offers a usable touchpad. Overall, it's one of the better Chromebook bargains.
Acer Chromebook 516 GE
Best Cloud Gaming Chromebook
- Performance and endurance
- Great display
- Good price for the specs
- Well-built
- Play AAA games without your lap turning into lava
- Gaming-related bugs and crashes
- No touchscreen
- Could use customizable keys
It's a bit strange seeing a Chromebook that's branded for gaming, especially since that's not what their core purpose is. However, Acer certainly pulled it off here. You can play AAA games without your lap turning into lava because the system is overheating. That's possible thanks to all of the power under the hood. Cloud gaming via GeForce Now or Xbox Cloud Beta is the way to go, but this system is fully capable of that and more. Chromebooks also have access to Google Play and this thing will certainly handle any Android-viable games you throw at it.
It has an Intel Core i5 processor, running at a base clock speed of 1.7GHz, paired with 8GB of energy-efficient LPDDR4 system memory — expandable up to 16GB. Games, movies, and streaming media look fantastic on the 16-inch TFT LCD at a WQXGA resolution (2560 by 1600), with a brightness rating of 350 nits. The 256GB NVMe solid-state drive is faster and larger than what you get with most comparable systems.
Our review clearly lays out the details of using the system, especially for cloud gaming. It's also praised for being well-constructed with a durable chassis, has excellent specs for the price, and delivers great performance and endurance — battery life included.
Editors' Recommendations
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