Here are all of Black Friday’s best Chromebook deals

Black Friday sales are already flowing and some of the best Chromebook models you can buy are already on sale. We are just about a week away from the big day, but that’s not stopping retailers from starting the party a bit earlier than normal this year. Unfortunately, Chromebook availability hasn’t been plentiful since the pandemic broke out, and any time you can find one in stock is a good time to buy one.

We are rounding up all of the best Chromebook Black Friday deals that we can find from around the web, including those from the ads that have already leaked from Best Buy, Walmart, and others.

Keep in mind some of the deals on this list might not be live just yet. Most of the best Chromebook Black Friday deals will start later in the month, likely due to limited availability, but we have spotted a few that are ready to be purchased now. Here are all the best Black Friday Chromebook deals you can buy today.

Black Friday Chromebook Deals

We have actually been a bit surprised by the lack of Chromebook deals during Amazon’s Prime Day and other recent savings events at other retailers. It looks like Black Friday is definitely going to be a bounce-back period for the Chromebook, but you’ll still have to be a little patient to find the one you want. Remember there are several retailers that sell Chromebooks, including Google, Amazon, Walmart, Best Buy, and others. We suspect that some retailers may hold some stock and offer some great Cyber Monday Chromebook deals as well so be on the lookout for them.

What you need to look for when buying a Chromebook

There’s always a ton of specs and features you typically need to juggle when shopping for a laptop, but for Chromebooks, the buyer’s guide can be summed up pretty well into four points:

1. Get a touchscreen. — Unless you’re anti-fun, there’s no reason not to get a touchscreen model; they do not cost that much more and it’s always worth it. Touchscreens make it easier to interact with Android apps as well as making it easier to do things like sign documents or zoom in precisely.
2. Pick your screen size first. Decide right now if you want something compact (11.6 inches), mid-size (12.5-13.5 inches) or large (14-15.6 inches). Processors and storage are pretty standard across each size category, so size is one of the defining features you’ll want to sort out early.
3. 4GB of RAM is good, 8GB is better. — Most Chromebooks sold today come with 4GB of RAM, and 4GB is perfectly fine for running a video call plus a dozen or so tabs in Chrome. More RAM is always better, but 4GB is still okay. If it says it has 2GB of RAM — or 16GB of internal storage — close the tab and walk away.
4. Check the expiration date!!! — Yes, Chromebooks come with expiration dates, after which they are no longer guaranteed to receive Chrome OS updates. It’s called the AUE date, and they’re listed for every single Chromebook model on Google’s support page, so take 10 seconds and look the Chromebook in your cart up on this page. The shorter the time before a Chromebook’s AUE date, the less time you have to enjoy the full benefits of your Chromebook. Most Chromebooks that launched last year have six years of support and most models launched in 2020 have eight years of support ahead of them.