Best Chromebook 2021 | Android Central

The best Chromebook can provide a top-notch computing experience today and for years. They’re perfect for students, grandparents, and anyone looking for a trouble-free laptop with long battery life. We’ve reviewed and rated the absolute best Chromebooks so that you can find the best value on any budget.

Our buyer’s guide will help you find the perfect Chrome OS laptop or tablet if you switch from a Windows or Mac or buy your first laptop entirely.

What are the best Chromebooks you can buy today?

The beauty of the Chromebook market is that there are so many options. There are numerous dependable choices if you want something specifically for portability and battery life. Similarly, if you don’t plan to move it from a desk and would prefer a big, beautiful display and plenty of CPU power to back it up, there are many options, too.

Our top pick is the Lenovo Flex 5 Chromebook, which hits all the right markets for a laptop, including build quality, performance, battery life, and longevity — all for a very fair price. The only problems with the Flex 5 were that it’s been selling out very quickly over the last few months (though supply seems to have stabilized) — and that it doesn’t have an 8GB RAM option for those who are more demanding on their system.

If you want an 8GB Chromebook that looks fabulous and won’t break the bank, grab the Acer Chromebook Spin 713, which will run you a little more money but comes with a brighter 2K screen in a 3:2 aspect ratio. As a Project Athena Chromebook, the Spin 713 is powerful enough for gaming and running virtualization software like Parallels. Not everyone will need it, but this is the one to beat if you do.

On the more compact and lightweight side of things, the Lenovo Chromebook Duet is an excellent companion device. At the same time, the Acer Chromebook Spin 311 is a perfect 11.6-Inch Chromebook for students and light on-the-go work.

Bottom line: With a powerful 10th Gen Intel Core i3 chip, a beautiful 13-inch 1080p touchscreen, a backlit keyboard, and a remarkably reasonable price, the Flex 5 is a great Chromebook for everyone. Despite a slim and lightweight build, the Flex 5 has a 360-degree hinge for easy conversion to tent or tablet mode, upward-firing stereo speakers, and support for both USI Stylus and Wi-Fi 6 for power users.

The best Chromebook you can buy isn’t necessarily the most powerful or expensive. If your next laptop is here to work hard (and play harder), check out our favorite Chromebook on the market today, the Lenovo Flex 5 Chromebook. Barely more significant than an 11.6-inch Chromebook — the Flex 5 has the best blend of value and performance at both dimensions and price. It combines many features into a compact body that will appeal to almost all Chromebook users, from novices to experts, students to professionals.

The best Chromebook offers power and productivity for less. The bezels around the Flex 5’s 1080p screen are pretty slim — just enough to grip when flipping between laptop, stand, and tablet modes. That means you’ll get a compact laptop with a big enough screen for quite comfortable split-screening. You’ll also get a backlit keyboard that’s comfortable enough to type on for 10 hours a day — it’s what I’m using to write this right now — and sitting on either side of the keyboard are speakers that will get nice and loud (though a bit tinny when you start blaring).

This version comes with Intel’s latest 10th Generation i3 processor along with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage, plenty of power for today’s complex business tasks. Like many of the newer Chromebooks on this list, the Flex 5 comes with two USB 3.1 Type-C ports, a single legacy USB-A port, a MicroSD slot for expandable storage, and a headphone jack. You get Wi-Fi 6 for faster, more reliable connectivity — and Bluetooth 5.0, so your headset won’t drop out as often — and the 45W charging brick in the box tops the 52.5Whr battery in just 90 minutes.

Chrome OS was built to run well on modest hardware, so things are smooth and stable on the Flex 5’s mid-range hardware. While we’re not thrilled, there aren’t more extensive storage and memory sizes. Would it kill Lenovo to offer 8GB models?! 4GB has been enough for all my work, even when multiple Windows and Android apps are open. All that aside, there’s very little to complain about otherwise here.

When I initially agreed to review the Flex 5, it didn’t seem all that amazing on paper, especially compared to the Project Athena Chromebooks that came out last year. Once I’d spent a few days with it, though, the Flex 5 had utterly won me over. It’s more than the sum of its parts — and way more than its modest price tag would have you believe.

One purchasing note to remember: Lenovo sells some Celeron versions of the Flex 5, but I highly recommend the Intel Core i3 model instead. It will be more capable and fare better during long schoolwork or actual work sessions. If you can find a model with 8GB of RAM, that’s also a worthy upgrade, but it’s harder to come by. Its replacement, the Flex 5i, is also starting to trickle out, but not the Intel Core models we’d recommend — yet. Hopefully, those are coming soon, but until then, the Flex 5 is a good Chromebook that will serve you well for years. Could you read our full Lenovo Flex 5 review now?

Bottom line: If you need performance and power in your Chromebook, you’ll want to look at a Project Athena Chromebook to know it’s powerful, fast, and secure. This 13.5-inch 2-in-1 outdoes the rest of the current Project Athena crop in ports, durability, and value, giving you a robust laptop for hundreds less than its competitors. There’s even an HDMI port built-in for professionals who constantly hooks up to external monitors or the projector in the conference room.

Like the Acer Spin 13 before it, the Acer Chromebook Spin 713 is one of the most potent Chromebooks out there that doesn’t just go completely overboard in terms of price. Project Athena is a program started by Intel, working with manufacturers to produce laptops that will be fast, powerful, and reliable. So, as a Project Athena Chromebook, there’s an expectation of speed and power that the Spin 713 delivers.

Premium performance without an ultra-premium price tag.

Even with dozens of tabs open and a couple of Android apps, this Chromebook keeps cruising along, though the fan may kick on from time to time — yes, the i5 processor here needs a fan to keep it terrific once you get it going. The laptop’s bottom doesn’t heat up too much, so you can still use it in your lap pretty quickly, but you will hear the fan now and then.

Acer differed the Chromebook Spin 713 from the first two Project Athena Chromebooks in two ways. Firstly, you have more than the USB-C ports. There are also USB-A and HDMI ports on the 713, so you aren’t scrambling for a USB-C hub immediately. Secondly, while there are some more pricey configurations if you want an i7, the standard i5/8GB/128GB model is an entirely reasonable price — and it’s even more affordable for the newly released $700 Acer Chromebook Spin 713 (3W), which adds Thunderbolt 4 and upgrades to 11th Gen Intel processors.

Many professionals swear by the 3:2 aspect ratio on the Acer Chromebook Spin 713’s screen on their work machines. That aspect ratio isn’t as fun for watching movies, but it’s great for seeing more data on your screen at a time, especially while split-screening, and the 2K resolution gives you a more crisp image. USI stylus support also means you can use a better Chromebook style for sketching and signing on that vibrant screen.

Bottom line: If you want a tablet that offers up the best of Google’s services and software without instantly falling behind on software updates the way Android tablets do, the Lenovo Chromebook Duet is the perfect couch companion that can pull double-duty as a light-duty laptop. At the same time, your kids co-opt the family desktop.

Lenovo first debuted the Duet at CES, giving us hope that we might see a Chromebook tablet finally done right. The Lenovo Chromebook Duet has a battery that goes on and on and on, especially if you’re doing some reading and casual games, and the screen is nice and bright for videos and comics. The specs say the battery lasts 10 hours, but I’ve averaged 10-12 hours on average.

The detachable keyboard can feel cramped if you’re using it for hours and hours on end — if you have larger hands, you’ll probably want to invest in a full-size keyboard for your desk to use instead for stationary use — but as a companion device or a couch computer, the Duet is perfect. The screen is bright, the videos are crisp, and the comics look lovely. The speakers are quiet, but as a slim 10-inch tablet, I’m okay with pairing headphones or a Bluetooth speaker for YouTube binges.

Since the day pre-orders opened, the Duet has been very, very hard to find in stock, so if this seems like the Chromebook for you, you’ll want to check back early and often to see if the store has just been refreshed. Having learned from the Google Pixel Slate’s mistakes, it’s worth the wait for a Chromebook tablet that’s affordable, reliable, and fully accessorized out of the box.

There’s only one port on the Duet, one single USB-C port, so you’ll want to use Bluetooth for headphones and leave the port free for charging. The lack of a headphone jack is not a huge loss, but some will be turned off by it; I’m more disappointed there isn’t a USB-C port on both sides the way that every Chromebook released in the last two years has.

It’s worth mentioning that the charger in the box here is a piddly little 10W USB-A charger — Hey, Lenovo had to cut costs somewhere — so you’ll likely want to swap that out for an 18W Power Delivery charger instead. The Duet still charges in less than 90 minutes, but I wish it at least had 30W charging instead of the same 18W charging that most phones use.

Since there’s no microSD slot for expanding the internal storage, do yourself a favor and buy the 128GB version if you intend to download many videos and comics for those holiday trips home to see the family.

Please read our full Lenovo Chromebook Duet review now.

Bottom line: 11.6-inch Chromebooks still make up a massive section of the Chromebook market, and the best blend of power, portability, and price to be found right now are the latest generation of the Acer Chromebook Spin 311. It sheds ports in exchange for a lighter weight and battery that will go all day and then some.

We highly recommend purchasing the 64GB configuration due to the lack of a MicroSD slot. Without a MicroSD slot, you can’t expand the internal storage using only a USB-C port to plug in a flash drive.

Usually, when shopping for a new laptop, it’s easy to get caught up in specs and buy the giant, most powerful laptop you can afford. However, for Chromebooks, that doesn’t necessarily earn you a better experience. Big screens and fancy features are all well and good, but when I leave my apartment to write in a brighter and more fun atmosphere, I bring a lightweight 11.6-inch Chromebook like the Acer Chromebook Spin 311.

Acer slimmed down the sides of the 311 and pared down on ports while it was at it. However, you still get a USB-C port for 45W Power Delivery charging as well as using hubs, adapters, and external monitors, a USB-A port for legacy peripherals like wired keyboards and old flash drives, and a 3.5mm audio combo jack. You may have noticed that list did not include a microSD slot, a rarity for a Chromebook in this price range, and yeah, it’s weird that we don’t have one. But at least we have a 64GB version if you care about storage.

This new model is also slated for almost eight years of Chrome OS updates, with an AUE date of June 2028. It’s lightweight and highly portable, easy to slide into a bag as you move from meeting to meeting, and quick to wake up once you get where you’re going. The bezels around the screen are significant, but they come in handy when you flip it over into tablet mode, and the keyboard is easy to type on for hours at a time.

Speaking of hours at a time, Acer says that this Chromebook can last up to 16 hours in its spec sheet, and with actual work use, I usually get 12-14 hours on a single charge, depending on how much I crank up the screen brightness.

Bottom line: Good things come in oversized packages, too. This 15.6-inch Chromebook offers a great blend of striking design, consistent performance, and durable reliability at a more than reasonable price. You have 8GB of RAM for better multitasking, a nicely backlit keyboard, and a number pad for late-night number-crunching.

ASUS has been one of the most well-known Chromebook manufacturers since day one. What sets the company apart from the competition is focusing on creating a premium hardware experience in as affordable and compact a package as possible. While there’s only so much you can do to slim down a 15.6-inch laptop, ASUS did wonders with the ASUS Chromebook Flip C536.

Within the crisp white shell sits an obsidian abyss, illuminated by a 15.6-inch 1080p touchscreen where you can quickly spread out two or three windows as you rush to finish all your work by the weekend. The 2-in-1 design here means you can flip the laptop over into tablet or stand mode while you’re working, but I only did that when I wanted to use the touchscreen while at my standing desk. After all, a 15-inch tablet is too unwieldy, but stand mode will let you prop up the screen at a nice angle if you’re having a movie marathon in bed.

AIf you do a lot of typing, you won’t be disappointed by the keyboard onASUS C536. Giant glass trackpad and a full keyboard with a number pad match that nice big screen. The keyboard is softly backlit, which is helped by the high contrast between the black keys and white lettering.

Powering this supersized Chromebook is an 11th Gen Intel Core i3 with 8GB of RAM, and that extra RAM will come in handy if you need to keep multiple tabs or windows running during a video call. ASUS also has i5 and i7 models of the C536, but I’ve yet to find them on sale.

You get a USB-C port on each side (USB 3.2 Gen 2), HDMI 2.0, USB-A (also USB 3.2 Gen 2), microSD, and an audio combo jack. You’ll have little use for the microSD port, given that it has 128GB of SSD storage inside, but it’s always nice to have options, I suppose.

This model just debuted this summer, so there haven’t been many sales yet, but I’m sure they’ll start coming as we get closer to the holiday shopping season. That said, the regular price is quite reasonable for the build quality, latest-gen processor, long support life, and large screen.

Bottom line: Lightweight and portable, the ASUS Chromebook Flip C214 is one of the most versatile Chromebooks. It’s got a spill-resistant keyboard and has been Mil-STD 810G certified, which means a drop from a bag or table won’t hurt it, making it perfect for a student of any age. Plus, the included stylus makes it school-friendly!

The 11.6-inch ASUS Chromebook Flip C214 folds completely flat into a tablet with a high-strength zinc alloy hinge that shouldn’t wear out no matter how hard your kid — or you — are on it. With a channeled, spill-resistant keyboard, dropping a drink on it shouldn’t immediately send you to a repair store, just to the kitchen for a cloth.

ASUS has several student-friendly features on the C214, including a fully-articulating hinge, a built-in stylus on the premium model, and plenty of ports for plugging in accessories. The main draw here, though, is how portable the laptop is: it can fit in the smallest of backpacks, making it perfect for kids starting out bringing a computer to school.

You’ll also get a school-friendly battery life of around 12 hours, which should get most people through an entire day. Even better, ASUS has thought of every use case, adding a rubberized grip to the edges of the C214, ensuring that clumsy hands won’t drop it while toting it around the classroom, and the anti-scratch coating should keeps it from looking too scuffed after months and years of constant attention.

There is only 4GB of RAM, which should be fine for everyday homework and research. I would try to keep tab-switching while on video calls under control, but 4GB should be enough for most kids’ workloads. 8GB would be better, but there’s no option for it in this generation, maybe in the next version.

The other problem facing the C214 isn’t a product issue. It’s a market issue. This year’s surge in distance learning and working from home led to a run on education-grade Chromebooks, so while you can find the C214 pretty easily, chances are the price will be marked up about $50-$100 by resellers. It’s a captive market, and resellers are taking full advantage, but I wouldn’t go higher than $450 for the non-stylus version or $500 for the stylus version.

ASUS debuted the C214 in 2019, so we’re also due for a refreshed model soon. Hopefully, prices will stabilize then, but given the C214’s popularity, it might sell out entirely first.