1. We’ll bury Chromebook deals
(Image credit: Future / Acer / HP) For both work and play, few things match the efficiency and affordability of a good Chromebook, and the best student Chromebooks – and even some higher-performing enterprise Chromebooks – are also some of the best-selling products on Prime Day. Because they start out so affordable (generally speaking), getting a Chromebook deal on Prime Day can often net you significant savings, making an already cheap laptop even more of a steal. And with their prices so low, retailers are making sure to push these Chromebooks as hard as they can, as they need them to sell in enough volume to make the price cut worthwhile. With the school year winding down, many unsold Chromebooks now have to go somewhere else to make room for next year’s inventory. And, because the supply is generally higher, the selling price for these Chromebooks is generally going to drop even more. This is definitely something you’ll want to take advantage of when buying a new laptop in a few days. The best deals on Chromebook laptops today
2. Don’t expect too steep a price drop
(Image: Konstantin Savusia/Shutterstock) Chromebook deals will be plentiful if past experience tells us anything, but that doesn’t mean retailers will be selling at a loss. If you see a Chromebook you really like for 25% off this weekend, don’t be afraid to snap it up and lock in the deal. Some Chromebooks are going to see price cuts of up to 50% or more, but these will usually be deals on Chromebooks that were already cheap to begin with, or were way overpriced and have come back down to Earth and reasonably priced. Most deals will likely be in the 20-30% range, and if you insist on an even deeper price cut you may miss out on a deal entirely.
3. Fewer premium Chromebook deals this year
(Image: Future) There have been some pretty impressive experiments with premium Chromebooks in recent years, like the Google Pixelbook Go and the Samsung Galaxy Chromebook 2, but in the last couple of years they’ve become much rarer. First, there’s the global chip shortage that makes any silicon you can find more valuable. I love a good Chromebook, but manufacturers will shift to higher-margin electronics in this environment, and even the best premium Chromebooks aren’t going to set you back enough to use a Core i5 or even a more powerful chip at this point. Second, as fun as a premium Chromebook is, there’s not much you can really devote all that power to. Chromebooks have access to the entire Google Play store, sure, but none of the games on Google Play really push the boundaries of what today’s technology can do. Without a really good reason to justify them, premium Chromebooks are really way ahead of their time right now. Their time may be coming, but it won’t be Prime Day 2022.
4. Cheap 2-in-1s will be the big Chromebook Prime Day deals
After the last couple of years, we’ve seen how education and technology have become so intertwined that it’s almost unthinkable to think of schools going back to plain old textbooks and slips of paper. The fact is that educational laptops are here to stay, and as students progress in their education, their technology will need to keep up with the new demands. The best 2-in-1 Chromebooks have been some of the biggest sellers in the entire PC market since 2020 and even before, with the value a hybrid laptop-tablet configuration adds to the product becoming impossible to understate. The trend is only going to accelerate, and now that the school year is over, retailers will likely want to clear out all of last year’s Chromebook 2-in-1s to make room for this year’s models, and Prime Day is a great way to do so. that.
(Image credit: Asus)
5. Expect to see some surprisingly strong deals
Wait, didn’t I just say premium Chromebooks were shelved for now? Yes, I sure did, because I’m not talking about a premium Chromebook, I’m talking about the workhorse kind of Chromebook that has a simple exterior, 8GB of RAM, and an AMD Ryzen or Intel Core lineup. No, we shouldn’t expect Core i7-12700Hs yet, but Core i3? Certainly, and for a Chromebook, the Core i3 is a high-end item. Likewise 8 GB RAM and PCIe SSD. These were rare during Chromebook sale events, but there are so many 8GB RAM and 256GB SSD Chromebooks out there that it’s increasingly become the type of Chromebook you target when looking for great Chromebook Prime Day deals. While these specs might struggle with a more powerful Windows 11 OS, for a Chromebook these kinds of specs will absolutely chew through productivity and even serious multimedia workloads. So unless someone is offering a 4GB RAM, 32GB eMMC storage Chromebook with a MediaTek chip from three or four years ago for $50, look at some of those impressive dollar numbers. Look for three key specs before you even look at the price: 10th Gen Core i3 or better, 8GB LPDDR4 RAM, and 128GB PCIe SSD or higher. Find a good cheap Chromebook with these specs and you’ll have a good laptop that will last you the rest of this decade.
