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It has only been three days since Google announced the first-ever “gaming” Chromebooks designed for an optimal cloud gaming experience. These Chromebooks feature high-res, high refresh rate displays, the fastest connectivity available, and game-centric features like RGB keyboards with anti-ghosting capabilities. Featuring 11th and 12th Gen Intel CPUs, this new generation of ChromeOS devices will support the best that cloud gaming has to offer as well as Steam on ChromeOS when it finally makes it out of Alpha at some point in 2023. (Hopefully)
Acer, Lenovo, and ASUS all debuted their gaming Chromebooks the day of the announcement. The same day, Acer and ASUS’ gaming Chromebooks were up for sell at Best Buy but Lenovo’s listing on Walmart.com showed “out of stock” until earlier today. With the internals that these devices are rocking and the laundry list of premium features that come with them, we were shocked when we learned that most of these high-end gaming Chromebooks were going to retail for around $650. That’s less than most of the 12th gen consumer flagship models on the market.
What was more shocking was the fact that we were told by Google that one device would have a starting price of only $399. That being the Lenovo IdeaPad 5i Gaming Chromebook. When Lenovo rolled out its press release, the official announcement said that the company’s Chromebook would actually start at $599. That caused a bit of confusion but I was assured that the Core i3 model that Walmart would be selling would, in fact, sell for $399 when it launched. Today, that price was confirmed and the all-new Lenovo IdeaPad 5i Gaming Chromebook is available to order and ready to ship. There will be beefier models of the Lenovo in the future but the Core i3 model that’s available at Walmart has plenty of horsepower for work and play. Here’s a quick look at what $400 get you.
Lenovo IdeaPad 5i Gaming Chromebook
- ChromeOS
- Intel Core i3-1215U
- 8GB RAM
- 128GB eMMC storage
- 16″ 2.5K (2560×1600) IPS 350nits Anti-glare, 120Hz, 100% sRGB, TÜV Low Blue Light
- 4-Zone RGB Backlit keyboard
- Aluminum top
- FHD webcam with privacy shutter
- 2 x USB-C
- 2 x USB-A
- MicroSD
- Audio jack
- Stereo speakers, 2W x4, optimized with Waves MaxxAudio
- Wi-Fi 6/Bluetooth 5.1
Now, I’m not telling you to run out and buy this Chromebook but I will say this. If you’re in the market for a powerful, 12th gen Intel Chromebook at an incredible price, this is it. There are device at Best Buy right now that have the same internals that retail for over $600. Even if you aren’t a gamer, this is a powerful and attractive Chromebook that’s still stylish enough to take to the office or just to use at home. I’m sure that we’ll see plenty of deals on premium Chromebooks as we approach the holidays but $399 for everything this Chromebook is offer, well, that’s just crazy. You can grab the new Lenovo gaming Chromebook from Walmart at the link below.
