Tech

These are the best Chromebooks you can buy right now

Jeff Dunn

Updated

2016-07-05T12:54:00Z

Chromebooks are on the verge of a big upgrade. Later this September, several of the web-centric laptops will gain access to the Google Play Store, meaning they’ll be able to run the thousands of Android apps that come with it.

This is a good thing. I recently previewed the new setup, and while there are definitely some growing pains for Google to address, fusing with Android has the potential to make Chromebooks much more appealing to everyday people (beyond schools, where Google’s seen most of its growth thus far.)

It also makes actually buying a Chromebook a little more complicated.

Traditionally, the market here has consisted of a big block of mediocrity at the low-end, a couple excellent but obviously overpriced machines at the top, and just a handful of worthy values in the middle. Now, since Android apps are still made for mobile, the ideal Chromebook is one that comes with a touchscreen. Unfortunately, most of those “worthy values” don’t have that.

What this means is, right now, there’s no one Chromebook you can look at and say, “okay, buy this.” Instead, as is often the case with inexpensive laptops, the best ones do some things well, but still force you to accept a few clear compromises.

If you don’t want to wait for someone to get it all right, though, there’s still a smattering of Chrome OS devices worth considering today. Expect this list to be updated in the future, but for now, here are the best Chromebooks you can buy.

Dell Chromebook 13

All told, the Dell Chromebook 13 is the top Chromebook available today.

It feels more expensive than it is, its keyboard is fantastic, and its 13-inch 1080p IPS display is sharp and altogether solid. It doesn’t have any real issues with performance, and it gets awesome battery life — about 14 hours on average. You can even get one with that all-important touchscreen.

It’s just a little too expensive for comfort. Its base configuration — which uses a weaker but still solid Intel Celeron 3215U chip — goes for $430. Adding touch — and a beefier Core i3 chip — brings you up to at least $630.

That’s a bit much for an OS that, even with Android’s help, is meant to rely on the web browser. (I’m not going to even bother with Google’s $1,300 Chromebook Pixel here.) If you can afford it, though, it’ll easily give you the least trouble.

Acer Chromebook 14

There’s no touchscreen on the Acer Chromebook 14, so it’s less futureproofed from the jump. If you can live with that, though, you’ll get an impressive aluminum frame, a respectable 14-inch 1080p display, and a good 9 or so hours of battery life.

Its keyboard is a smidge too shallow for my liking, and the whole thing isn’t the fastest around, but most of the package here is impressive for a $299 machine. Just know that there’s no SD card slot, so you’re stuck with 32GB of storage.

Toshiba Chromebook 2 (2015)

So, this one’s tricky. Up until a few months ago, the latest Toshiba Chromebook 2 was far and away the smartest purchase you could make on a Chromebook. For $299, you get a machine that’s faster than either notebook above, with a 13-inch IPS display that’s just as sharp and has better colors. The keyboard is fine, the trackpad is good, and while it doesn’t feel as nice as the Acer or Dell, it’s still light and not-flimsy.

A couple things have happened, though. One, as noted above, is the Play Store’s arrival — although the Chromebook 2 will gain access, it’s not getting a touchscreen.

That ties to thing number two: Toshiba's stopped making consumer laptops in the US. It’ll still honor warranties, but it’s not actively selling the Chromebook 2 anymore. Pretty soon, it’ll be gone for good.

As of this writing, though, it’s still hanging around. It might fluctuate in price, but if you can find it on Amazon or any other trusted retailer, it’s still worth the plunge.

Asus Chromebook Flip

The 10.1-inch Asus Chromebook Flip is probably too tiny to serve as a main computer, its keyboard is a bit cramped as a result, and its Rockchip processor gets you just okay performance.

But it’s built very well, with a fully convertible (or, “flippable”), touch-enabled display, and a superb 11-12 hours of battery life. Plus, at $266, it’s very affordable.

If you only want to use your Chromebook as a secondary or travel device, you could do much worse. Just make sure you get the version with 4GB of RAM.

Acer Chromebook R11

Likewise, the 11.6-inch Acer Chromebook R11 is more of a backup computer than something you’d use to do things, but it too is rotatable, long-lasting, and affordable. You can’t push its 2GB of RAM too hard, and its 1366x768 (touchscreen) display isn’t sharp, but if you need the extra screen real estate, it could work. Again, it’s all about compromises.

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