3.
What should I look for in a Black Friday Chromebook?
We still expect low-end Chromebooks—say, those with a 768p screen, Intel Celeron processor, 4GB of RAM and 16GB of SSD storage—to be priced about $100. And if they get much below $100, they become essentially a stocking stuffer for most people.
That said, look for these specs in a respectable Chromebook: an Intel Celeron N4000 chip or higher, 8GB of RAM, and a 1080p screen. A Pentium Silver N6000 processor is a step up from that. A Core m3-8100Y isn’t, but may still be satisfactory.
More memory (that is, 8GB rather 4GB of RAM) will allow for more browser tabs and a smoother browser experience. A 1080p screen will offer a comfortable laptop-like viewing experience. Onboard storage really doesn’t matter all that much, though at least 32GB is preferable storing for apps, screenshots, and the like.
If you’re familiar with our lengthy laptops versus Chromebooks explainer, you know that one of the potential gotchas is buying a Chromebook whose support window expires soon. We try to factor that in, so you won’t get stuck with a Chromebook that will lose support in the near future.
