If you need to use rendering software, want to dive into animation, or play the latest games, you're not going to be doing that on this. You want more of a tablet-first form factor: This 2-in-1 laptop puts a heavy emphasis on laptop. The 16:9 screen ratio and 13.3-inch display makes using it in tablet mode somewhat unwieldy. The Acer Chromebook 311 (C722) will be available in North America in January starting at USD 299.99; and in EMEA in March starting at EUR 269.

So, it’s goodbye to the high-speed Intel Core i5 processor that was used in the high-end Chromebook Pixel, and hello to a dual-core Samsung Exynos 5 Dual ARM-based SoC instead. This move would be madness on a Windows-based laptop, but ChromeOS is designed for efficient CPUs. A low-end CPU like an Intel Celeron or Pentium or AMD A-Series will serve if all you do is browse with a tab or two open. Chromebooks based on Intel Core or AMD Ryzen processors will allow for more able multitasking, though they'll also be more expensive. Note that AMD offers a handful of C-series Ryzen mobile processors designed specially for Chromebooks.

Plenty of USB Ports

Battery life may vary depending on model and configuration. Based on Google power_LoadTest. Up to 20 hours with 48 Wh battery, and up to 15 hours with 36Wh battery You need a powerful device: Ultimately, this is a laptop built for the everyday, so you won't get any spectacular performance out of it. All that being said, the best Chromebooks are great laptops. Some are among the best 2-in-1 laptops, with touchscreens ideal for Android apps (which are not as good when used with a mouse and keyboard alone). And while Chromebooks are mostly seen as devices for students, the category now includes multiple elegant models that are viable replacements for business laptops.

So, if you’re looking for something with a terrific price-to-performance ratio, and you’re not into the Lenovo IdeaPad Duet 5 OLED Chromebook’s detachable form factor, this is worth your while. Not to mention, your money. With Chromebooks, you also don't need to worry about long-term lasting power. Google has just increased the supported life of all Chromebooks from eight years to 10 years, meaning that you have a full decade of use knowing that you'll continue getting automatic updates.

HP has fitted a high-quality 11in IPS screen with a resolution of 1,366×768. Given that Chrome OS takes up very little of the screen space with clutter and that there’s a full-screen mode, this is plenty of resolution. On this screen size, everything looks incredibly sharp and easy to read. How does this adequate performance translate to benchmark results? Compared to competitors, the Chromebook 11 offers middling performance on tests like WebXPRT 3, CrXPRT, JetStream 2, and PCMark for Android. That's exactly what we expect from a Chromebook at this price. (See more about how we test laptops.)