Best early Prime Day Chromebook deals

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Amazon Prime Day is nearly upon us, and retailers are getting ready to launch their Prime Day Chromebook sales. These Chromebook deals will be in full swing when Prime Day begins on July 11, but we’ve begun curating the best early Prime Day Chromebook deals in preparation for next week’s bargains.

Our recommended Prime Day Chromebook deals include bargains from Amazon as well as other retailers. We also explain why you should buy our recommendations at the end of this story.

Based on what we saw at last year’s Prime Day, many of Amazon’s deals were exclusive to Prime members. You may want to sign up for Amazon Prime (for free) to take advantage of all of Amazon’s Prime Day Chromebook deals. We’ll update this page frequently through July 11 and 12, when Amazon’s Prime Day ends.

Best early Prime Day Chromebook deals

HP 14-inch Chromebook (14a-ne0013dx), Celeron N4120/4GB RAM/64GB SSD, 14-inch 768p display, $149.00 (50% off at Best Buy)

Acer 317, Celeron N4500/4GB RAM/64GB SSD, 17.3-inch 1080p display, $189.99 (16% off at Walmart)

Samsung Chromebook 4+, Celeron N4000/4GB RAM/64GB SSD, 15.6-inch 1080p display, $219.00 (32% off at Amazon)

Lenovo Chromebook S330, MediaTek MT8173C/4GB RAM/64GB SSD, 14-inch 1080p display, $194.00 (~30% off at Amazon)

Lenovo Flex 5i 13, Core i3-1115G4/8GB RAM/64GB SSD, 13.3-inch 1080p display, $365.00 (~26% off at Amazon)

HP 15.6-inch Chromebook (15a-nb0023dx), Core i3-N305/8GB RAM/128GB SSD, 15.6-inch 1080p display, $369.00 (26% off at Best Buy)

We generally expect Chromebook deals to be priced between $170 to $250 or so, depending on the configuration. Keep in mind that retailers will dump older Chromebooks for less than $100 — we take a close look at these to determine whether they’re trash or treasure. We’ve factored in the Chromebook support window to our recommendations, which tends to extend for between two to five years on discounted Chromebooks. We prioritize modern, more powerful Chromebook processors, too.

Some of the Chromebooks listed here are just slightly more expensive than their Prime Day 2022 lows; the Acer 317, for example, is just $20 more, and the Lenovo Chromebook S330 is essentially the same price. We like the S330’s price, but be wary: support runs out in June 2025. It’s also unusual for HP’s 15.5-inch Chromebook to receive a discount, as its up-to-date i3 chip was released in 2023.

What to think about when buying a Chromebook

Generally, Chromebooks tend to fall into three categories: ultracheap models at about $100, which can offer solid discounts but can hide gotchas like a subpar screen; midrange $200-$350 Chromebooks, the typical price point; and premium Chromebooks at $500 and above. The latter are essentially PC laptops with Google’s Chrome OS on top, and might be too expensive for your tastes. Our story recommending Chromebooks over laptops may help you decide, as might our recommendations for the best Chromebook. We have a more detailed comparison of laptops versus Chromebooks, too.

Discounted Chromebooks used to cut corners, like using 768p screens. We try to highlight more eye-pleasing 1080p screens, but smaller Chromebooks may look just fine with an older screen instead. Unlike a laptop, you should worry less about the processor: an Intel Core chip guarantees solid performance, but Celerons are much more common. Don’t snub either a Qualcomm Snapdragon or Mediatek Arm chip, either. Instead, Chromebooks with more memory generally perform a bit better. Consider a USB-C dongle to connect to an external display, if it doesn’t already come with an HDMI port.

FAQ

1.

How much should I pay for a Chromebook during Prime Day?

Expect to pay between $170 to $250 or so, depending on the configuration. You’ll see bargain-basement options below $100, and more premium versions will cost $300 and above.

2.

How will I know a good deal on a Prime Day Chromebook?

Look first at the screen: a large 1080p display is a good starting point. If the system memory is 8GB, that’s also signals a quality Chromebook. Don’t be so concerned about the microprocessor, as they tend to vary between Intel Pentium and Celeron processors and Arm (Qualcomm and Mediatek) processors. Anything powered by an Intel Core chip or AMD Ryzen (not an A-series) chip should deliver solid performance.

3.

Does a Chromebook’s brand matter?

Virtually all Chromebooks are manufactured by name brands: HP, Samsung, Asus, and so on. If you trust a laptop brand, the Chromebook brand should probably be no different.

4.

Are the best Chromebook deals during Prime Day at Amazon?

Amazon hopes so. We check other retailers, though, because we often find aggressive pricing from Best Buy and Target during the week of Prime Day. If we find a Chromebook deal from another retailer, we’ll include it.

Updated on July 7, 2023 to reflect early Amazon Prime Day 2023 sales and additional questions.

Author: Mark Hachman, Senior Editor

As PCWorld’s senior editor, Mark focuses on Microsoft news and chip technology, among other beats. He has formerly written for PCMag, BYTE, Slashdot, eWEEK, and ReadWrite.

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