Best Chromebook 2023: 5 picks from the best Chrome OS laptops
We discuss the merits of Chromebooks compared to Windows laptops, and look at the best Chromebooks available to buy
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If you’re looking for the best Chromebook in 2024, or simply want to know more about Chromebooks and whether they make sense for you, look no further. We will be going through the pros and cons of various Chromebooks which we consider to be the best options available in their specific niche, to help you work out which one (if any) you should buy.
Should you get a Chromebook or a laptop?
A Chromebook is essentially a laptop that operates using the Chrome Operating System (Chrome OS) developed by Google, which is closely integrated with the Google Chrome web browser. Unlike a conventional laptop, most functions are done via the Chrome web browser (Word processing, applications for business, creative workflows, etc.) meaning Chromebooks are heavily reliant upon an internet connection and access to the cloud to function. The advantage of this though, is that Chromebooks do not require the same SSD storage space or as powerful CPUs or other core components to operate effectively, meaning they are substantially cheaper than conventional Windows laptops with the same quality display, keyboard etc.
For more information, read the Things to Consider before you buy a Chromebook in 2024 section below plus take a look at our Chromebook vs laptop guide.
Best Chromebook 2023: Products at a glance
Acer Chromebook Spin 713 (2021)
CPU
Intel Core i3-1011OU / i5-1021OU
RAM
8GB
Storage
128GB
Screen Size
13.5″
Resolution
2256 x 1504
Touchscreen?
Yes
Lenovo IdeaPad Duet 5 Chromebook
CPU
Qualcomm Snapdragon 7c Gen 1 / Gen 2
RAM
4GB/8GB LPDDR4X
Storage
64GB/128GB eMMC
Screen Size
13.3″
Resolution
1920 x 1080
Touchscreen?
Yes
Acer Chromebook Spin 514 (14″)
CPU
MediaTek Kompanio 828 ARM Cortex A76 / AMD Ryzen 3 3250C
RAM
4-8GB
Storage
64-128GB eMMC
Screen Size
14″
Resolution
1920 x 1080
Refresh rate
60Hz
ASUS Chromebook CX9
CPU
Intel Core i7-1165G7
RAM
16GB
Storage
512GB
Screen Size
14″
Resolution
1920 x 1080
Touchscreen?
Yes
ASUS Chromebook Flip CX5500
CPU
Intel Core i3-1115G4 / i7-1165G7
RAM
8GB
Storage
128GB / 256GB SSD
Screen Size
15.6″
Resolution
1920 x 1080
Touchscreen?
Yes
Best Chromebook 2023: reviews
Acer Chromebook Spin 713 (2021)
CPU
Intel Core i3-1011OU / i5-1021OU
RAM
8GB
Storage
128GB
Screen Size
13.5″
Resolution
2256 x 1504
Touchscreen?
Yes
- powerful CPU for a Chromebook
- 2256 x 1504 display
- decent battery life
- user-upgradable 128GB SSD
- good build quality
- mediocre speakers
- average keyboard
- some fan noise under stress
The Acer Chromebook Spin 713 is the best overall Chromebook out there in terms of its overall features relative to its cost. The handy 2-in-1 design makes it a flexible tool for work and leisure, the high-resolution screen is great, and the CPU is one of the more powerful Chromebook options available.
The Acer Chromebook Spin 713 has been at the top of best Chromebook lists for the past couple of years now, and it continues to offer a great high-end experience for those after a premium-grade Chromebook who don’t mind spending a bit more for it. Although the Spin 713 is definitely within the premium price range, you do get a good amount for your money.
The lush, bright and colorful, high-resolution 2256 x 1504 display is a delight on the eyes when watching video media/viewing imagery, and the 3:2 aspect ratio gives you more screen headroom to work on and when reading documents. The Intel Core i3-1011OU CPU option is a solid performer, but the i5-1021OU model is particularly powerful, for those after a Chromebook with a bit more oomph. Indeed, for this price, this is the most powerful Chromebook you will find.
The 8GB of RAM is solid, and the 128GB SSD is on the higher end for a Chromebook, plus can actually be upgraded at a later date should you wish to, which isn’t that common in the Chromebook world. The overall build quality is sturdy, including the 2-in-1 hinge which lets you transition from the conventional laptop form factor to the tablet formation, and the 13.5” size machine is nice and portable. Battery life at half brightness will extend to around 9 hours, which is decent if not the best out there.
In terms of the weaker points, the keyboard is fine but fairly average: for some, the keys might feel a bit spongy to type on and we’ve seen better examples out there. Similarly, the speakers could be better, though they do the job. Although fan noise is generally fine, under stressful loads this Chromebook can get a bit on the louder side compared to the average.
You may want to consider the Google Pixelbook Go if you’re interested in a slightly longer battery life (an additional hour or two), better speakers, a slightly slimmer body, and an even better keyboard; but this will be at the expense of a weaker CPU, less high-end display options, and a higher price point. Ultimately we think the Acer Chromebook Spin 713 offers the best overall price-to-performance ratio of any model out there, and takes our top spot for best Chromebook in 2022.
Best Chromebook with detachable keyboard & OLED display
Lenovo IdeaPad Duet 5 Chromebook
CPU
Qualcomm Snapdragon 7c Gen 1 / Gen 2
RAM
4GB/8GB LPDDR4X
Storage
64GB/128GB eMMC
Screen Size
13.3″
Resolution
1920 x 1080
Touchscreen?
Yes
- superb OLED display
- great color replication, brightness & contrast
- superb battery life
- light and portable
- weak CPU
- limited ports & sockets
- speakers could be better
The Lenovo IdeaPad Duet 5 Chromebook has a 13.3” display and a detachable keyboard design, allowing you to easily transition between the conventional laptop form factor and a tablet configuration. The superbly bright and colorful 1080p OLED display this machine comes with is great value for the MSRP, and whilst the CPU is not very powerful and it’s lacking in ports, its battery life certainly impresses.
The ‘Duet’ in the name of the Lenovo IdeaPad Duet 5 Chromebook signifies that it is of a detachable keyboard design, meaning you can separate or attach the keyboard to the display to switch from tablet to laptop mode. This Chromebook comes in a couple of different configurations, but we’d recommend going with the full spec 8GB RAM, 128GB SSD, and Gen 2 Snapdragon 7c processor version. Even this higher-specced CPU is one of the weakest you’ll find in this shortlist, but it still manages the job for web browsing and word processing.
The sacrifice in terms of CPU power (not the biggest priority in a Chromebook after all) is what enables the IdeaPad Duet 5 to have such an impressive display for the price. The OLED screen has 100% sRGB color gamut coverage, and even 85.2% DCI-P3 coverage, with an excellent color accuracy delta of 0.23. It has a great contrast ratio, and a peak brightness of 361 nits, making it suitable for outside use. You won’t find a better display for this price.
You might think that the OLED screen would hamper the battery life, but at around 13 hours of general usage at 50% brightness, it has the best longevity of any selection on this page.
The speakers on the Duet 5 are of reasonable quality but lack much in the way of bass replication. There’s nothing wrong with the keyboard, but it lacks some of the travel distance of other options on this page. Relative to most detachable keyboard Chromebooks, propping up the IdeaPad Duet 5 in a position that’s easy to type on is actually fairly easy, and it manages to stand up in place in a relatively sturdy fashion. The machine is very light, and thin and small enough to be easily portable.
Finally, there aren’t much in the way of ports on this machine, a mere 2x USB-C 3.2 slots, and no 3.5mm audio jack, but if you can overlook this the Lenovo IdeaPad Duet 5 Chromebook is a great choice.
Best Chromebook for battery life
Acer Chromebook Spin 514 (14″)
CPU
MediaTek Kompanio 828 ARM Cortex A76 / AMD Ryzen 3 3250C
RAM
4-8GB
Storage
64-128GB eMMC
Screen Size
14″
Resolution
1920 x 1080
Refresh rate
60Hz
- Excellent battery life
- Affordable
- Convertible 2-in-1 design
- Good quality speakers
- Elegant aesthetic
- Poor trackpad
- Screen could be brighter
The Acer Chromebook 514 is about low-mid range when it comes to price-point in the Chromebook market, and for this money you get one of the best battery life durations you’ll find in any Chromebook, not to mention well-above-average speaker quality.
The aforementioned battery duration will last you around 11 – 13 hours on battery saving mode – more than enough to last you the working day. The exact battery life will depend on which generation 514 you buy and what CPU it comes with. The older MediaTek Kompanio 828 ARM Cortex A76 processor is a decent performer by Chromebook standards, though, the AMD Ryzen 3 3250C CPU in the most recent model has more processing power though a slightly lower battery life.
You can get options with 4GB-8GB of DDR4 RAM plus 64GB-128GB of eMMC flash memory, and we’d opt for the higher amount where possible, particularly when it comes to the RAM.
Given you can pick up one of these for below $400, it’s an excellent option for budget-conscious writers who require a portable device, that being said it’s not perfect. The touchpad is pretty poor indeed – being unresponsive and inaccurate, however, this can be partially solved by using a mouse. Fortunately, the keyboard is of a respectable standard with a decent amount of key travel. The other drawback is the display’s brightness – at around 225 nits on peak brightness settings, it will do for indoor use but isn’t suitable for typing outside. Still, for the money, this is a great affordable device.
Best high-powered Chromebook
ASUS Chromebook CX9
CPU
Intel Core i7-1165G7
RAM
16GB
Storage
512GB
Screen Size
14″
Resolution
1920 x 1080
Touchscreen?
Yes
- very powerful CPU & iGPU for a Chromebook
- 16GB of RAM
- 512GB SSD
- thin & light despite power
- great keyboard
- great build quality
- very expensive
- battery life could be better
- speakers could be better
- webcam could be better
There’s no arguing that the CPU of the ASUS Chromebook CX9 is one of the most powerful in any Chromebook; the display, keyboard, and touchpad are all great, the design lightweight and the aesthetics top-notch. Whether you’d want to pay the very high price for it though, given the speakers and webcam aren’t the best, is the question.
The core components of this ASUS Chromebook are likely the most powerful you will find. Not only do you get an 11th gen Intel Core i7-1154G7 CPU with integrated Intel Xe graphics, but 16GB of RAM and 512GB of SSD storage, which are specs you’d more likely see in a Windows laptop. Besides this, the ASUS Chromebook CX9 remains thin, light, and portable with great build quality and a top-notch keyboard and touchpad. The body of the laptop also raises upward to improve the typing experience and increase airflow.
The primary reason the ASUS Chromebook CX9 is not in the top spot on this guide though that it is arguably too expensive for a Chromebook, particularly given the lackluster speakers and fairly poor webcam. The issue is that, for this price, you could pick up a fully-fledged Windows laptop like the HP Spectre x360 14 for only slightly more money which would come with the same i7-1165G7 CPU, but have better utilization of it via Windows operating system, leading to better performance.
Still, if you’re committed to the Chrome OS, you do get a brighter 366 nits screen, a great 1,663:1 contrast ratio, and lush color replication that covers 97% of the sRGB spectrum. The screen is also fairly color accurate, with a Delta measurement of 1.4, meaning it’s definitely suitable for color-accurate work. This is generally better than what you’d get for a Windows laptop of the same price and overall quality.
Battery life at 50% brightness will get you around 7-8 hours, which is a lot less than the 14 hours claimed but isn’t terrible. Overall, the ASUS CX9 is a Chromebook of excellent quality.
An alternative 2-in-1 Chromebook with OLED display & stylus
ASUS Chromebook Flip CX5500
CPU
Intel Core i3-1115G4 / i7-1165G7
RAM
8GB
Storage
128GB / 256GB SSD
Screen Size
15.6″
Resolution
1920 x 1080
Touchscreen?
Yes
- superb OLED display
- great color replication, brightness & contrast
- superb battery life
- light and portable
- weak CPU
- limited ports & sockets
- speakers could be better
The ASUS Chromebook Flip CX5500 is a larger 15-inch 2-in-1 model, which may not be to the taste of those who are looking for something smaller and more portable, but it’s still an impressively thin and light machine. It has great build quality and battery life, a fairly powerful CPU, a good quality trackpad and keyboard with a numpad, and comes with its own stylus, though the speakers and screen are somewhat lacking.
As far as more upper-mid-range Chromebooks go, the ASUS Chromebook Flip CX5500 offers solid value in most areas. This larger, 15” Chromebook has a quality look and feel to it, with sturdy build quality, including around the 2-in-1 hinge. The keyboard feels nice to use, and even comes with a numpad. The trackpad is similarly solid and you also get a stylus included to use on the touchscreen display.
The CPU options are pretty powerful for a Chromebook, especially the Intel Core i7-1165G7 loadout, and the SSD size can be kitted out up to 256GB should you wish.
Unfortunately, the screen of this Chromebook disappoints somewhat. It has only around 240 nits of peak brightness, which is below average and hinders its usefulness in outdoor settings. It also only covers around 63% of the sRGB color space, which is well below what you’d want for any kind of color-based workflows, though still good enough for watching YouTube / Netflix on. The speakers, whilst loud, are also of a disappointing audio quality.
Still, you can expect around 11 hours of battery life during general usage at half brightness, which is pretty great for a 15-inch machine. Despite its flaws, in most areas the ASUS Chromebook Flip CX5500 is a great bit of kit.
Things to Consider before you buy a Chromebook in 2024
What are the prices of Chromebook devices?
Chromebooks are generally much cheaper than their laptop equivalents, due to there being less of a need for powerful core components. Still, there exist some high-end Chromebooks which do cost up to, and beyond the $1,000 mark.
The industry tends to loosely categorize Chromebooks into the following price ranges, and this is how we will be referring to them in this guide:
- Low-range / budget Chromebook price: up to $350
- Mid-range Chromebook price: $350 – $650
- Premium Chromebook price: $650+
Chromebook AUE: the Chromebook expiration date
AUE stands for Chromebook Auto Update Expiration date, and signifies the effective shelf life of your Chromebook.
Compared to conventional laptops, gaming laptops in particular, Chromebooks do have the advantage of needing to upgrade their core components less frequently, due to their reliance on the cloud rather than hardware. However, on the flipside, given how intertwined their operating system is with the Chrome browser, Chromebooks are very dependent upon updates from Google in order to maintain functionality.
Past a certain point, as denoted by the AUE, a Chromebook will no longer update, meaning it will begin to function much less effectively past this point, and eventually cease to be useful at all. As a result, it is always important to find out the AUE of a Chromebook before you buy it by checking the information provided by the retailer.
Best Chromebooks 2023: FAQs
Who make the best Chromebooks?
There isn’t one specific brand that can be said to be the best Chromebook maker overall, however, the top three names which regularly make it into our ‘best Chromebook’ lists each year are: Acer, ASUS, and Lenovo.
This is not to say that every Chromebook these brands produce is worth your money, but that the ones that are worth your money are probably made by one of these three brands.
How many years will a Chromebook last?
Typically the lifespan of a Chromebook is somewhere between 5-8 years. This is usually the amount of time until the Auto Expiration Date hits, though if you’re buying an older model / secondhand machine / refurbished model then this could be sooner.
In more recent years, the lifespan of Chromebooks that hit the market has been improving, as the AUE date is set later.
Other Chromebook guides
If you’re looking to learn more about how to use a Chromebook, have a read of the below guides for some more tips and tricks.
- How to delete apps on Chromebook
- How to turn off caps lock on Chromebook
- Chromebook won’t turn on? How to fix it
- How to connect AirPods to Chromebook
- Friday Night Funkin Chromebook installation guide
- Auto clicker for Chromebook devices
- How to screen record on Chromebook
- How to screenshot on Chromebook
- How to right click on a Chromebook
- How to copy and paste on Chromebook
- How to restart Chromebook devices
Best Chromebook 2023: Final Word
This has been our guide to the best Chromebook 2023. With any luck you’ve found the model you’re looking for, or at the very least acquired a better understanding of the Chromebook market and what to look out for. If you think you’d prefer a Windows laptop instead, why not have a read of our best touch screen laptop guide. If your interests are more in the area of gaming, do be sure to have a look at our best gaming laptop page for some options across all price ranges.
