How good are cheap Chromebooks?

[tech3475]

Basically, I'm thinking of picking up a Chromebook (~£100-150) because I want a relatively small (11"), relatively light (~1KG/2.2lbs) with half decent battery life (at least 6 hours) that sits somewhere in between my tablet and my laptop which I can also walk around with.

It would only really be used for casual browsing (e.g. typing posts like this, webui stuff when working on something, ssh, following guides, etc.), maybe the odd Android app e.g. MS Office, Ring, watch videos, as well as receive notifications from my Android phone.

The types of machines though are on the lower end, such as this:
https://www.argos.co.uk/product/3200072

For the casual, light stuff would a machine like this be ok? I've never used Chrome OS before so I don't what it's like to actually use and I don't have a spare low end machine to test Flex on.

The alternatives I can think of are a new tablet keyboard case, but the ones I've seen are either too flimsy and/or expensive and weight balance could be an issue.

Alternatively I could pick up something like this:
https://www.argos.co.uk/product/3930823

If necessary, also installing Linux on it, although I'd have to be careful of driver support.

Although the downside is I'd then then have to look at Android emulators like Bluestack if I still want that functionality.

I don't really want to buy an old second hand laptop because of concerns over battery life.

Thank you.

Update:

I managed to find a laptop on ebay (Thinkpad X280, i5 8250u, 8GB RAM, FHD screen, 256GB storage) which is light enough to be within my tolerances and the seller promised at least 50% battery life (roughly 4+ hours according to some reviews I saw) for about £120 thanks to some discounts/voucher and a returns policy.

Hopefully it does what I want, even has certified Chrome OS Flex support.

 

[SylverReZ]

I don't really like Chrome OS, do prefer installing another Linux distro though.

 

[Magsor]

1080p seems to be the sweet spot nowadays. I would disregard any device at any price if it does not have it.

 

[Latiodile]

careful, too cheap and you're stuck with an ARM paperweight that's either extremely hard to install linux to, or has a locked bootloader, but also very very slow for the x86 alternatives

 

[tech3475]

1080p seems to be the sweet spot nowadays. I would disregard any device at any price if it does not have it.

For the casual stuff I intend any such machine for, I'd be happy with a lower resolution myself.

careful, too cheap and you're stuck with an ARM paperweight that's either extremely hard to install linux to, or has a locked bootloader, but also very very slow for the x86 alternatives

AFAIK the machines I'm looking at are X86 but are relatively locked down minus some chroot shenanigans. Chromebooks do have an EoL which I'd consider as part of any purchase, should I choose to go down this route.

https://support.google.com/chrome/a/answer/6220366?sjid=8648668307537561778-EU

In the case of the Asus I linked to, apparently it's supported until June 2031.

 

[Marc_LFD]

I once bought a Chromebook thinking it'd be no different than an Android phone/tablet, but most apps were incompatible so I had to return the Chromebook for a refund.

Just know what you're buying so you don't make the same mistake I made.

 

[tech3475]

I once bought a Chromebook thinking it'd be no different than an Android phone/tablet, but most apps were incompatible so I had to return the Chromebook for a refund.

Just know what you're buying so you don't make the same mistake I made.

Yeah. I've been asking around and the Android support apparently won't be good.

By that point I might as well look at something more 'generic' where I have the choice of Windows, Linux or even Chrome OS Flex.

I think Google missed out on a potential opportunity here.

 

[Marc_LFD]

Yeah. I've been asking around and the Android support apparently won't be good.

By that point I might as well look at something more 'generic' where I have the choice of Windows, Linux or even Chrome OS Flex.

I think Google missed out on a potential opportunity here.

Yeah, just go with a notebook and install a Linux distro.

Zorin OS looks very interesting, imo

https://zorin.com/os/

 

[The Catboy]

Yeah, just go with a notebook and install a Linux distro.

Zorin OS looks very interesting, imo

https://zorin.com/os/

Zorin is honestly a fun distro.
That said, Chromebooks can be a real crapshoot when installing Linux. It would be way more practical to either buy an old high-end PC and install Linux or a new mid to install Linux.

ChromeOS is still a limited mess that just isn't fun to work with. I would even recommend MacOS over ChromeOS.

 

[Latiodile]

Yeah, just go with a notebook and install a Linux distro.

Zorin OS looks very interesting, imo

https://zorin.com/os/

last time i used zorin i managed to render it unbootable by trying to install a newer version of wine, but this was zorin... 12

 

[tech3475]

Zorin is honestly a fun distro.
That said, Chromebooks can be a real crapshoot when installing Linux. It would be way more practical to either buy an old high-end PC and install Linux or a new mid to install Linux.

ChromeOS is still a limited mess that just isn't fun to work with. I would even recommend MacOS over ChromeOS.

The weirdest Chromebooks IMO are the mid-high end ones. Unless you're forced to use one for some reason, at that point they just seem like a waste of hardware given the limitations/restrictions of the OS, even in light of attempts to expand it e.g. VMs, Steam, etc.

On the lower end, at least I can see potential advantages, especially for casual consumers who wouldn't mess with Linux and just need a web browser.

Or even if there was decent Android support. I could have seen these cheaper machines as an alternative to a lower end tablet, which is what I wanted, instead of just a web browser.

 

[Jemigax]

Basically, I'm thinking of picking up a Chromebook (~£100-150) because I want a relatively small (11"), relatively light (~1KG/2.2lbs) with half decent battery life (at least 6 hours) that sits somewhere in between my tablet and my laptop which I can also walk around with.

It would only really be used for casual browsing (e.g. typing posts like this, webui stuff when working on something, ssh, following guides, etc.), maybe the odd Android app e.g. MS Office, Ring, watch videos, as well as receive notifications from my Android phone.

The types of machines though are on the lower end, such as this:
https://www.argos.co.uk/product/3200072

For the casual, light stuff would a machine like this be ok? I've never used Chrome OS before so I don't what it's like to actually use and I don't have a spare low end machine to test Flex on.

The alternatives I can think of are a new tablet keyboard case, but the ones I've seen are either too flimsy and/or expensive and weight balance could be an issue.

Alternatively I could pick up something like this:
https://www.argos.co.uk/product/3930823

If necessary, also installing Linux on it, although I'd have to be careful of driver support.

Although the downside is I'd then then have to look at Android emulators like Bluestack if I still want that functionality.

I don't really want to buy an old second hand laptop because of concerns over battery life.

Thank you.

I don't see the point in such devices

 

[Marc_LFD]

I don't see the point in such devices

I love using Android so if there was a laptop-like with an Android OS I'd buy it and use its apps, but Chromebook just isn't that.

 

[tech3475]

I don't see the point in such devices

For what I wanted the laptop for, small size, decent battery life, web browser, limited Linux and Android, if it did these things well at this price along with guaranteed updates till at least 2031, I'd have been happy.

In particular the Android support as these have always had issues/limitations when I tried them on Windows e.g. WSA and Blue stacks.

As things stand from what I've heard in regards to Linux and Android support, yeah, I'm just going to stick to a more generic laptop which offers more capabilities/flexibility.

 

[Marc_LFD]

For what I wanted the laptop for, small size, decent battery life, web browser, limited Linux and Android, if it did these things well at this price along with guaranteed updates till at least 2031, I'd have been happy.

In particular the Android support as these have always had issues/limitations when I tried them on Windows e.g. WSA and Blue stacks.

As things stand from what I've heard in regards to Linux and Android support, yeah, I'm just going to stick to a more generic laptop which offers more capabilities/flexibility.

Have you tried Waydroid? That looks interesting.

https://waydro.id/

Windows 11 has Android support (ish), but I'd never recommend that OS to anyone.

 

[tech3475]

Have you tried Waydroid? That looks interesting.

https://waydro.id/

Windows 11 has Android support (ish), but I'd never recommend that OS to anyone.

I have tried WSA on my Steam Deck and laptop, but in the case of say the Ring app it simply doesn't work, either requiring specific versions or displaying no video.

 

[Marc_LFD]

Got an alert my thread about the Chromebook I bought and returned has gotten over 1k views, and it reminded me of this one, too.

https://gbatemp.net/threads/bought-...cant-install-a-lot-of-play-store-apps.617579/

That was a very good lightweight notebook, it just sucks about incompatibility with Android apps.

 

[SylverReZ]

They're great for running Linux Mint on if you want a light-weight fast computer for your needs.

 

[Kazesama]

@tech3475 Most Chromebooks are cheap, I would stay away from them. Personally I would buy a used Lenovo laptop and install Chrome OS. At least you'll get decent specs (8-16gb ram/ssd/i5-i7 cpu) , and better than most Chromebooks out there.

Why I think they are bad?

• emmc storage is slow
• 4gb/8gb ram is way too little
• slow CPUs (Celeron or ARM)

Check out the Chrome OS installer:
https://github.com/sebanc/brunch

You could even setup dual boot Windows - Chrome OS/Linux/Android

 

[Marc_LFD]

@tech3475 Most Chromebooks are cheap, I would stay away from them. Personally I would buy a used Lenovo laptop and install Chrome OS. At least you'll get decent specs (8-16gb ram/ssd/i5-i7 cpu) , and better than most Chromebooks out there.

Why I think they are bad?

• emmc storage is slow
• 4gb/8gb ram is way too little
• slow CPUs (Celeron or ARM)

Check out the Chrome OS installer:
https://github.com/sebanc/brunch

You could even setup dual boot Windows - Chrome OS/Linux/Android

Chrome OS is just a browser and not much else?