Amazon’s October Prime Day Chromebook deals are nearly complete! We’re still watching retailers for the best Chromebook deals, part of Amazon’s “Prime Big Deal Days” that officially end on Oct. 11.
As we’ve done with previous Amazon Prime Day sales, we look at Amazon and competitors like Target and Best Buy for the best deals on Chromebooks, then explain why they’re a good deal. We feed these into our October Prime Day deals roundup.
Virtually all of these deal are limited to those who sign up for Amazon Prime (which you can do for free).
Best early October Prime Day Chromebook deals
- Lenovo 3i Chromebook, Celeron N4500/8GB RAM/64GB SSD/15.6-inch 1080p display, $254.99 (15% off at Amazon)
- Acer 2022 Chromebook 315, Celeron N4020/4GB RAM/64GB SSD, 15.6-inch 1080p display, $201.00 (66% off at Amazon)
- Samsung Chromebook 4+, Celeron N4000/4GB RAM/64GB SSD, 15.6-inch 1080p display, $205.00 (36% off at Amazon)
- Asus Chromebook C423, Celeron N3350/4GB RAM/64GB SSD, 14-inch 1080p display, $238.00 (21% off at Amazon)
- Acer Chromebook Spin 513, Qualcomm Snapdragon 7c/8GB RAM/64GB SSD, 13.3-inch 1080p display, $384.00 (17% off at Amazon)
- HP 15.6-inch Chromebook, Intel Core i3 N305/8GB RAM/128GB SSD, 15.6-inch 1080p display, $299.00 (40% off at Best Buy)
- Acer Spin 714 2-in-1, Core i5-1335U/8GB RAM/256GB SSD, 14-inch 1920×1200 display, $569.99 (19% off at Best Buy)
We’re hadn’t seen the perfect October Prime Day Chromebook sale before now, but now we have one to recommend: the Lenovo 3i is the ideal mix of hardware — but the discount isn’t extravagant, just 15 percent off. (I’m looking for at least three out of four requirements: a good discount, a (relatively) modern processor, 8GB of RAM, and a 1080p screen.)
We’ve also bumped up the second deal on the list — the Acer Chromebook 315 — because of a big last-minute sale. While 4GB of RAM isn’t great, that’s a massive sale, and at that $200 threshold we consider a steal.
I do encourage users to pick Chromebooks with large, viewable screens. The next three entries (the Samsing, Asus, and Acer Chromebook 315) satisfy that requirement. I’d much prefer you buy the HP Chromebooks we’ve listed, but that 768p display is a little iffy, and the Core i3 model is basically $300. That’s a good price for that particular hardware combination, but some people prefer lower prices.
The Chromebook makers would prefer you buy the higher-priced gaming Chromebooks. Those can be worth it, as good hardware is suited for a variety of tasks. I’m just not seeing those Chromebooks on sale right now, which is why I’ve opted to push you to the Acer Chromebooks (the Spin 513 or the Spin 714). A 13th-gen Core i5 is a rare thing to find inside of a Chromebook! And don’t worry about Arm processors like the Snapdragon. In Chromebooks they’re quite suitable.
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 to $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 Windows laptops may help you decide, as might our recommendations for the best Chromebooks. 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.
Google Chrome OS-powered notebooks have a support window. Once closed, they will not receive any additional features, patches, or security or OS updates. However, Google recently extended this support window to a full 10 years, which alleviates some of those concerns. We take this into account with our recommendations.
FAQ
How much should I pay for a Chromebook during October 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.
How will I know a good deal on an October Prime Day Chromebook?
Look first at the screen: A large 1080p display is a good starting point. If the system memory is 8GB, that 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.
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, its Chromebooks should be equally trustworthy.
Are the best Chromebook deals during October Prime Day at Amazon?
Amazon hopes so. We check other retailers, though, because we often find aggressive pricing from especially Best Buy, Target, and Walmart during the week of the October Prime Days. If we find a Chromebook deal from another retailer, we’ll include it.
Updated on Oct. 11, 2013 at 4:05 PM with updated October Prime Day sales.
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.