The best Prime Day Chromebook deal actually has the lousiest discount
Image: Lenovo / Amazon
The best Chromebook deal of Amazon’s October Prime Day event doesn’t actually boast a huge discount. But still it’s one of the best prices of the year for what you’re buying.
The Lenovo IdeaPad 3i Chromebook is on sale for $169.99 at Amazon, just 10 percent off. Yes, our list of the best Chromebook deals for Amazon’s Prime Big Deal Days does include some cheaper prices, especially at a couple of retailers other than Amazon. But in general, Amazon holds its own, delivering some of the best fall bargains on Chromebooks.
If you’ve been following our Chromebook deals coverage for the past few years, you’ll know our criteria are straightforward: first, memory counts. More memory means more available tabs and apps, and a lot of deals cut corners by offering just 4GB of memory. The IdeaPad 3i offers a full 8GB, and that matters. Second, I like at least a 1080p screen. The 3i offers one, and at a nice spacious 15.6-screen size, too. I care less about the processor, but the 3i’s Celeron N4500 is a dual-core chip from 2021 — about average.
Lenovo’s ThinkPads and IdeaPads typically offer solid, comfortable keyboards, and the 15.6-inch display sneaks in a bonus: It’s wide enough for a dedicated number pad. That’s not a necessity, but it certainly makes any data entry a lot easier.
Lenovo also boasts 10 hours of battery life, too. That’s dependent on how you use it, of course, but it’s a solid baseline nevertheless.
I care less about some other aspects of a Chromebook, such as the ports. Still, the IdeaPad delivers, with a pair of USB-A ports, a USB-C port, and even a dedicated HDMI port in case you want to connect an external display for some additional screen real estate.
One of the arguments for a Chromebook is that it’s simply easier to manage than a Windows machine. But as we move further (for better or for worse) into the age of AI, a Chromebook doesn’t mess around with trying to have you use local AI. Google wants you to connect to its cloud AI, Gemini, but you can also open another tab and just connect to ChatGPT as well.
(Remember, Google also offers an AI subscription with its Chromebook Plus program. You can review our Prime Day deals for a more detailed explanation, but the best Chromebook Plus deal is the Acer Chromebook Plus 516 for $299, or 38 percent off at Best Buy.)
Sure, the 10 percent discount Lenovo is offering for Prime Day doesn’t pop. But really, all a sale is offering you is the best price available, and the IdeaPad 3i is already cheaper than Chromebooks with much weaker specifications. This is my recommendation for the best Chromebook deal for Amazon’s October Prime Day sale. I think you’ll like it.
Get the Lenovo IdeaPad 3i for $169.99 for Amazon Prime Day
Author: Mark Hachman, Senior Editor, PCWorld
Mark has written for PCWorld for the last decade, with 30 years of experience covering technology. He has authored over 3,500 articles for PCWorld alone, covering PC microprocessors, peripherals, and Microsoft Windows, among other topics. Mark has written for publications including PC Magazine, Byte, eWEEK, Popular Science and Electronic Buyers’ News, where he shared a Jesse H. Neal Award for breaking news. He recently handed over a collection of several dozen Thunderbolt docks and USB-C hubs because his office simply has no more room.
