Lenovo IdeaPad 3i Chromebook 11 Inch HD Laptop (Intel Celeron, 4GB RAM, 64GB Storage, Intel UHD Graphics 600, Chrome OS) – Onyx Black

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For so long, we've been stuck at 1360 x 768 pixels, and finally being to a point where you can't see every pixel at a glance is liberating.

Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 3i Chromebook (Gen 8) review: Bigger Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 3i Chromebook (Gen 8) review: Bigger

While multiple configurations of the Flex 3i (Gen 8) were announced, the only one we've seen for sale — and the one we reviewed — has the Intel N100, 4GB of RAM, and 64GB of internal storage. Or at least we didn’t until we had half a dozen Chrome tabs up and running with in-line video playback, and it’s tough to complain about that. All of which means that the subjective experience is much better than you’d get in the Windows environment with the same hardware. The rest of the specs are fairly standard for a Chromebook, with 8GBof RAM (which makes for a smoother, more responsive experience than a machine equipped only with 4), 128GB of storage, and a 1080p touchscreen. Lenovo’s Flex 3i is a convertible laptop, which means the keyboard hinge allows it to fold all the way around so you can convert the laptop design into a tablet.It feels cheap, the screen really isn’t up to scratch and you don’t have to spend much more to get a better device. Thanks to excellent battery life, a decent keyboard, and an attractive styling, the Lenovo IdeaPad 3 Chromebook offers impressive value for money, as long as you don’t need a high-resolution screen or powerful computing components. I’ve also covered the launches of dozens of groundbreaking technologies, from hyperloop test tracks in the desert to the latest silicon from Apple and Intel. With fewer pixels to power, the IdeaPad 3 manages extraordinary endurance away from the power outlet, lasting for nearly 17 hours in our battery-rundown testing. Lenovo has also placed a conventional USB-A port on both sides of the chassis, while a microSD card reader and volume rockers also make an appearance.

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Hopefully, this is the result of a Chrome OS bug with the new Intel N100, but for now, it's hard to recommend something this hobbled. I also remote into a virtual Windows desktop using an HTML5 client, as well as the Chrome Remote Desktop service, for managing remote computers. Linux applications, such as GIMP, can be processor and memory intensive, whereas streaming Netflix videos with a dim display is much kinder.The biggest power users on the machine will be the display panel, CPU, modem, and speakers, so running a CPU-intensive application with the screen brightness turned up drains the battery harder.

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Were this a Windows machine, that Intel Celeron chip, 4GB of memory and 64GB eMMC SSD would be enough to invoke fear of the almighty, as in almighty awful performance. To this end, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth come as standard, as do USB ports (both Type-A and Type-C, the latter often used for charging and video output, while Micro SD card readers are common. If there’s one good reason to get excited about the Lenovo IdeaPad 3 Chromebook, it’s that it’s astonishingly cheap. Obviously, you're not going to be reading it in full sunshine, but from the shade on the bus to a bright classroom with wall-to-wall windows — because why study when you can be blinded by glare for hours a day — it's perfectly fine.As for battery life, this is one seriously long lasting machine, notching up over 16 hours of video playback. inch, 1360 x 768-pixel panel that I've seen literally since my first rubberized education Chromebook back in 2015. These low specs don’t really matter, because Chromebooks are meant to be cheap and low-spec, and Chrome OS thrives with modest resources at its disposal. Chromebooks are online machines by nature, though having the internal storage to cache documents and files for offline use means you can still use one if the Wi-Fi goes out. If that experience doesn’t sound particularly reassuring, you’re probably not in the target market for a budget Chromebook.

Lenovo IdeaPad 3 Chromebook (11in) review: Now cheaper than

We’ve covered Chrome OS on the site before and I don’t want to reiterate all of our earlier words, so in short, Chromebooks are tightly integrated with the Google ecosystem. The scores in the Android Geekbench 5 benchmark are a little higher than the Celeron N4000-based Chromebooks, too, though not up there with the faster Pentium and Core i3 models. Being a trailblazer is attention-grabbing, but as we know, the first try is not always ready for primetime. An interesting bonus feature is the 4G mobile data integration, which means you can connect the Chromebook to the internet anywhere you can get a mobile signal, rather than being tied to Wi-Fi hotspots. For example, it could make a cheap, lightweight option for kids doing homework or a little sofa-based surfing.

As Jared has written before, if you aren’t heavily invested in the Google ecosystem, you’re likely to struggle with Chromebooks.