The most sensible cheap laptop on sale, provided you check the automatic-update expiry date before you buy. That date, not the hardware, is when a Chromebook stops being usable.
This entry is written from the 4 sources listed at the bottom of the page. The numbers are our editorial estimates drawn from that material, not measurements, and no statistical sample sits behind them.
On the evidence gathered here, yes. 81% of owners say they would buy it again, and satisfaction is still 8.0 out of 10 two years in. Reviewers rate it the best budget Chromebook currently available.
It still boots in seconds and does what you bought it for. The one date that matters is the update expiry, so look it up.
When updates stop, the machine is effectively retired. Local storage is small and fills quickly. Hinges and plastics are the physical wear points.
Reviewers rate it the best budget Chromebook currently available. Sentiment across the ownership period stays close to flat, which is rare: it reads 8.4 out of 10 in the first week and 8.0 two years later.
Worth it for: Web, documents and video; Students and family second machines; People who hate maintaining a computer. Think twice if: Creative software or development; Offline-heavy workflows; You want to run Windows applications.
Our reading of how sentiment moves across an ownership period, drawn from the sources below. It is an editorial estimate, not tracked longitudinal data.
| At purchase | 8.1 / 10 |
|---|---|
| First week | 8.4 / 10 |
| One month | 8.2 / 10 |
| Six months | 8.1 / 10 |
| One year | 8.0 / 10 |
| Two years or more | 8.0 / 10 |
Owner reviews move this score. The researched figure stays visible next to it, so you can always see what the sources said before anyone voted.
Leave a review on the live pageEvery complaint and every piece of praise above traces back to these. The summaries are ours; nothing is quoted, and no link, quote or username anywhere on this site is invented.
Independent review of performance and value.
Review of the convertible variant.
Detailed review of battery life and build.
Repair-shop perspective on the machine.