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Lenovo is back with yet-another addition to the ever-growing family of Flex Chromebooks. This time around, the PC giant has debuted the first-ever ChromeOS laptop to feature Intel’s latest N-series CPUs. These chips, from the Alder Lake processor family, are the first to take a departure from the long-used Celeron and Pentium branding we all know and loathe. While still low-powered, efficiency-focused chips, the N-series will feature up to 8 cores in the higher end processors. We don’t know much about these chips at this point so, let’s move on to what we do know. The Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 3i Chromebook.
The new Flex 3i is a bit of a departure from Lenovo’s typical offerings as this model features a 12.2″ 16:10 display and we were pleasantly surprised to see that this Chromebooks screen actually pumps our 300 nits of brightness. This is something that we hope to see more manufacturers doing in these mid-range, budget-friendly devices. Bearing the “Flex” branding, this Chromebook is obviously a convertible and as such, has a touch-enabled display.
Thanks to Intel’s new N-series CPUs with all efficiency and no power cores, Lenovo is touting up to 12 hours of battery life from this ChromeOS 2-in-1. Obviously, we’ll have to test that out when we get our review unit. If it gets a solid 9-10 hours on average use, I’ll be impressed enough. Additional features included an optional backlit keyboard and TÜV Rheinland low blue light certification to reduce eye strain.
Around the outside, the Flex 3i offers up 2 x USB-A ports, a single USB-C, one HDMI, and a MicroSD card slot. Yes, there’s a headphone jack. The new IdeaPad Chromebook also gets the latest Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.2 which offer solid, reliable connectivity. It also gets a 1080P webcam with a privacy shutter along with dual speakers tuned by MaxxAudio.
The Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 3i Chromebook will come in Cloud Grey or Abyss Blue and there will be options for 4GB/64GB and 8GB/128GB. The Flex 3i will be available starting in May of 2023 with a starting price of $349.99. We’ll get our hands on one of these as soon as possible and let you know how it stacks up to the rest of the Flex family. Read more about the Flex 3i and everything else new from Lenovo here.
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