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・・・・・・・
Well, we made it. 2020 is coming to a close and it's that time of year where we name our favorite Chromebooks for the last 12 months. There have been some great ones and there have been some misses, too. All told, our lineup doesn't look drastically different here at the end of the year than it did back in July when we did our Best Chromebooks of 2020 So Far.
Let's face it, this has been a strange year all around and that means strange things when it comes to Chromebooks, too. In a year where Chromebook demand was higher than ever, pandemic production issues have us finally at a spot where devices are getting on store shelves again, but we haven't seen the number of new devices we were expecting. Regardless, we have our best affordable, mid-range, and premium Chromebook picks to share with you, so let's get to it.
Read more: https://chromeunboxed.com/the-best-chromebooks-of-2020-video/
Join our newsletter: http://bit.ly/2WjCDm7
・・・・・・・
Shop Chromebooks on CHROME SHOP: https://chrmshop.com/
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0:00
well everyone we made it it's nearly the
0:02
end of 2020
0:03
and we've made it through this crazy
0:04
year and though there have been ups and
0:07
downs and
0:07
all kinds of disruptions across the
0:09
board they've also been some really
0:11
awesome chromebooks released and
0:13
there's honestly more demand right now
0:14
for chromebooks than we've ever seen in
0:16
the past
0:17
so we want to take a moment to reflect
0:19
back on all the devices that have been
0:21
released
0:22
and let you know what our favorites are
0:24
for this year
0:26
[Music]
0:29
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0:30
nordvpn they're the vpn of choice for
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today now before we get into all these
0:48
chromebooks
0:48
a quick refresher on how we go about
0:50
doing all this we break things up into
0:53
three basic categories and you can call
0:55
those categories whatever you want
0:56
we like to think of them as affordable
0:58
mid-range and high-end
1:00
and the affordable category starts at
1:01
zero dollars moving all the way up to
1:03
299 dollars while the mid-range category
1:06
goes from 300 to 649 dollars
1:08
and then we have the high-end category
1:10
at 650 and up for each category we'll
1:12
pick a clear winner but we'll also give
1:14
a handful of honorable mentions in each
1:16
category because ultimately
1:18
we think that this or that chromebook is
1:20
the best but we want to give you some
1:21
options on devices we think are good
1:23
contenders
1:24
but maybe not what we feel like is the
1:26
best so that while you're out shopping
1:27
you've got some flexibility and some
1:29
different ideas of the ways that you can
1:30
go about buying things
1:31
finally we have a really awesome
1:33
giveaway we're announcing as part of
1:35
this video
1:36
so be sure and stick around to the end
1:37
and hear more about that all right so
1:39
let's get things started
1:40
in the zero to 299 dollar affordable
1:42
category with the samsung chromebook
1:44
four plus
1:45
this is a device we reviewed a few
1:46
months ago and again chromebooks in this
1:48
price range aren't going to bring a lot
1:50
of flash or pizzazz to the table but
1:53
they'll bring the essential things that
1:54
you need and the celeron 4000 or n4020
1:58
processor we see in these more
1:59
affordable chromebooks has come to the
2:01
point where
2:02
it's good enough to get most of your
2:03
basic everyday tasks done
2:05
and that's honestly what we found in the
2:07
four plus from samsung now the display
2:09
isn't
2:10
the best quality it's not the most
2:12
pristine build quality and
2:14
you know those are just things that we
2:16
understand with low price chromebooks
2:17
but again it's enough to get your work
2:19
done
2:20
and that's kind of the point with these
2:22
chromebooks you want to get a device
2:23
that's going to be good enough for kids
2:24
good enough to knock around the house
2:26
and
2:27
the samsung provides a much larger
2:28
screen than most chromebooks in this
2:30
price category and we found it to be
2:31
good enough
2:32
to handle all the basic tasks you expect
2:34
from a chromebook moving on the acer
2:36
chromebook 315
2:37
specifically the full hd version with
2:39
touch capability
2:40
is in a similar boat with the samsung
2:42
chromebook 4 plus in that it's not
2:44
flashy but it gets the job done this one
2:46
does add a numeric keypad to the right
2:48
and you get a full hd screen
2:50
that's both ips and touch and you're
2:52
getting the same
2:53
n4000 celeron 32 gigs of storage and
2:55
four gigs of ram acer has it
2:57
on their own store right now for 229
3:00
dollars and it's 299 dollars normally so
3:02
it really sits in the same price
3:03
category as the samsung
3:05
while offering a few key upgrades just
3:07
be careful where you go to buy it
3:08
because there are versions that are more
3:10
expensive with less features on board
3:12
out there on the internet and you just
3:13
don't want to lose your money that way
3:15
finally in our honorable mentions in the
3:17
sub 299 category we have the stalwart
3:19
lenovo chromebook 3 and
3:21
this thing has just been kind of a
3:23
marvel since it came out mainly because
3:24
of its price
3:25
it's a smaller chromebook it's not a big
3:27
15 inch it's actually an 11.6 inch
3:30
device
3:30
and the screen on it isn't great to be
3:32
honest it's just standard hd and
3:34
you're going to get a tn panel here so
3:36
it means your viewing angles aren't
3:38
going to be great
3:39
but inside this thing you're getting a
3:40
faster cellar on n4020 processor which
3:42
has a lot more capability than the
3:44
standard n4000 processor from intel
3:47
and you're getting a nice package with a
3:48
great keyboard and a great track pad
3:51
that cost just 169 most of the time at
3:53
the end of the day it's just a crazy
3:55
good deal that anyone looking to buy an
3:56
affordable chromebook
3:58
should be considering finally the winner
4:00
in this category and the easiest
4:01
recommendation in the sub 300
4:03
price category for us all year long has
4:06
been the lenovo chromebook duet and for
4:07
reasons that probably don't even need to
4:09
be mentioned here
4:10
this is by far the best chromebook value
4:12
of 2020.
4:14
you're getting a great ips display
4:16
you're getting a detachable chromebook
4:17
that can act as a tablet when you want
4:20
you get the keyboard in the box it's usi
4:22
stylus compatible
4:23
there's plenty of usb styluses out there
4:25
that you can buy that work with it right
4:27
now
4:27
out of the box and it's fast enough to
4:29
do most of the things that you need to
4:31
do
4:31
it's great for kids it's great for
4:33
remote learning it's great for remote
4:35
work and it's
4:36
a great tablet and great for tablet
4:38
optimized android applications that you
4:40
can get
4:41
from the play store and it's just a fun
4:43
device to use with a great overall
4:45
aesthetic and build quality and a screen
4:47
that's far better
4:48
than anything else you're gonna get in
4:49
this price category and the fact that it
4:51
stays under three hundred dollars
4:53
constantly
4:54
because that's the msrp and it's also on
4:56
sale a lot nowadays from anywhere from
4:58
230 to 300
5:00
it's just mind-blowing and so overall
5:02
when you talk about the best bang for
5:04
your buck the best overall experience
5:05
for your dollars
5:06
it's just no question the lenovo
5:08
chromebook duet is the winner in the
5:09
affordable chromebook category next up
5:11
let's move on to the 300
5:13
to 649 category and this is honestly in
5:16
2020 the meat of the chromebook lineup
5:19
because of what's happened this year
5:20
we've seen the flagship type specs and
5:22
build qualities that we would have
5:24
gotten a couple years ago on the high
5:25
end price range
5:27
come down into this mid price range and
5:29
it all started with a couple different
5:30
chromebooks that launched
5:32
for less money than we would expected
5:34
and it's just continued to be this trend
5:36
throughout 2020 where we've got great
5:38
chromebooks
5:38
in a mid-range type price that are all
5:41
fantastic deals for anyone looking
5:43
for a decent chromebook first up in this
5:45
group is the pixelbook go
5:47
and while it barely gets into this price
5:49
category i mean
5:50
its msrp is 649. so it's just right at
5:53
the top
5:54
the build quality the keyboard the
5:56
trackpad the great screen just the
5:58
overall aesthetic and pixelbook go
6:00
feel just sets it apart from about
6:03
anything else out there in the market
6:05
the processor inside is the 8th gen corb
6:07
3 with 8 gigs of ram 64 gigs of storage
6:10
it's got plenty to get most people
6:11
through a day and it's just a fun device
6:13
to use
6:14
it's still one we go back to over and
6:16
over again the speakers on it are
6:18
amazing and when you pick it up to use
6:19
it
6:20
it's just easy to recommend even a year
6:23
after it's been released
6:24
next up is the lenovo flex 5 and this
6:27
device kind of shattered
6:28
all kinds of barriers whenever it first
6:30
entered the scene because it showed up
6:32
kind of quietly when it was released
6:34
after the very popular
6:36
sought after lenovo chromebook duet it
6:38
came in bearing a bunch of cool stuff
6:40
at a very low and competitive price and
6:42
its msrp is only 409
6:45
that's what it cost on just a normal day
6:47
and it stayed there more or less
6:48
all year long we're talking ips 13.3
6:52
inch full hd screen
6:53
good backlit keyboard solid trackpad
6:56
good overall build quality
6:58
upward firing speakers 10th gen core i3
7:01
processor
7:02
4 gigs of ram 64 gigs of internal
7:04
storage usi compatibility
7:06
and a webcam with a privacy shade with
7:08
all of that on board
7:09
this one set the trend for the rest of
7:11
2020 after it came out by making other
7:13
chromebooks with similar specs
7:15
and bigger price tags way harder to
7:17
recommend after all you can't roll up
7:19
with a similar chromebook that cost
7:21
200 more and expect anyone to buy it now
7:24
the flex 5 is straight up just a
7:26
disruptor and that's why it's on this
7:28
list
7:28
the final honorable mention goes to the
7:30
new hp chromebook x360 14c
7:33
it's one of the newest chromebooks on
7:35
the list and one of the few new notable
7:37
chromebooks that came out since we made
7:39
our list in the summer
7:40
of the best chromebooks of 2020 so far
7:43
at first when the x360 14c
7:45
came out because of its price it was
7:47
really hard to recommend i mean it was
7:49
630
7:50
and at that price point it's hard to
7:52
convince anyone that it's worth the
7:53
extra money when the lenovo flex 5 that
7:56
does a lot of what this chromebook can
7:57
do
7:58
is a couple hundred bucks less but like
8:00
hp does with all their other chromebooks
8:02
this one went on sale almost immediately
8:04
and we started seeing a hundred dollars
8:06
150
8:07
off and so it just became a no-brainer
8:09
to pick this one up whenever it's on
8:10
sale like that with this device you get
8:12
all sorts of niceties
8:14
upward firing speakers left and right
8:16
stereo separation
8:17
a fingerprint scanner by the way which
8:19
is the only one in this category that
8:21
has that perk
8:22
you get a superb build quality superb
8:24
backlit keyboard a great buttery smooth
8:27
trackpad
8:28
and a really good screen i do wish hp
8:30
will give us a little bit more
8:31
brightness on their screens but
8:32
it's a good 14 inch full hd ips display
8:36
it's got a convertible form factor usi
8:38
stylus compatibility
8:39
and just an overall nice looking premium
8:41
looking premium feeling chromebook
8:43
that may have an msrp of 630 dollars but
8:46
constantly shows up for far
8:48
less than that asking price finally our
8:50
favorite chromebook in this price range
8:52
is
8:52
by far the acer chromebook spin 713.
8:56
this device just brings so much to the
8:58
table for the price that it's kind of
8:59
ridiculous
9:00
making things even sweeter is the fact
9:02
that it's gone on sale a couple of times
9:04
and even went on sale right before we
9:05
started working on this video dropping
9:07
a hundred dollars off the starting msrp
9:10
of 629. but even at that standard 629
9:13
dollars this thing is by far my favorite
9:15
chromebook across the board in 2020.
9:17
starting with the screen it's a 3x2
9:19
aspect ratio which i love
9:21
but it also is 13.5 inches qhd
9:24
and really bright at 400 nits so you're
9:27
getting 3x2 which is awesome because it
9:29
gives you just
9:29
more overall screen real estate to work
9:31
with but it's bright
9:33
and it's high res so it's just a great
9:35
combo on the screen you get a great
9:37
keyboard
9:37
it's my favorite keyboard actually yet
9:39
from acer it's backlit
9:41
you get a big squared off glass trackpad
9:43
that's been fantastic in use and you get
9:45
a mostly aluminum build
9:47
a convertible form factor that works
9:48
with usi stylus
9:50
and you get crazy fast internals i mean
9:52
inside this thing we're talking 10th gen
9:54
core i5 processor 8 gigs of ram and 128
9:58
gigs of nvme storage
10:00
so it checks all the performance boxes
10:02
you could want along with awesome i o i
10:04
mean usb type c
10:05
on both sides usb type a full size hdmi
10:08
slot
10:09
micro sd card slot headphone mic jack
10:11
and so everything you would want to hook
10:13
up to this thing is always there
10:15
always waiting for you and with a
10:17
high-performing functional
10:19
powerful chromebook like this it's just
10:21
absolutely amazing that they fit it all
10:23
in for 629
10:25
and across the board again my favorite
10:27
chromebook of 2020
10:29
by far finally let's look at our
10:31
high-end chromebooks and i've got to say
10:33
at this point in 2020
10:34
this has just become a bit of an odd
10:36
category mainly because of the great
10:38
chromebooks that exist in the mid-range
10:40
category we just came from
10:41
that feel very premium and aren't going
10:43
to cost you an arm and a leg however
10:45
that being said
10:46
there are some niceties in these
10:48
high-end chromebooks that you frankly
10:50
can't get on mid-range chromebooks so
10:52
let's talk them through first up in this
10:54
category is the hp
10:55
elite c1030 the weird part about this
10:58
chromebook and this recommendation
11:00
is it isn't even out yet but looking at
11:02
the spec sheet and looking at the way
11:04
this thing is built
11:05
it was supposed to arrive earlier this
11:06
year and we still haven't seen it yet so
11:08
you know you can probably thank the
11:09
pandemic and
11:10
difficulties in manufacturing for all
11:12
that but this chromebook looks to be a
11:14
legit one thousand dollar chromebook
11:16
that's going to bring some stuff to the
11:17
table that we just don't have in the
11:19
lower price categories first up there's
11:22
the
11:22
almost bezel-less display all the way
11:24
around the thing it's a nice three by
11:26
two aspect ratio and
11:28
the fact that there's an option to get
11:29
it to a thousand nits a thousand nits
11:32
so bright you can use it outdoors is
11:34
kind of mind-boggling
11:36
there's also usi stylus compatibility
11:38
and it looks like hp's pen will actually
11:39
come right in the box with this one too
11:42
again we're gonna get hp's awesome
11:44
keyboard and track pad
11:45
and the all-aluminum build and super
11:47
slim design and a convertible form
11:49
factor
11:50
and this crazy specked out internals
11:52
with 10 gen core i5s and i7s and up to
11:55
16 gigs
11:56
of ram and 256 gigs of nvme storage but
11:58
the problem is we just
11:59
don't have an option to order it yet so
12:01
it's hard to recommend that you go buy
12:02
it right now obviously because you can't
12:04
but it should become available by the
12:06
end of the year and if it is
12:08
it'll likely immediately be in
12:09
contention for the best high-end
12:11
chromebook you can buy
12:12
you just can't get it right now next up
12:15
is the pixelbook go
12:16
core i5 or i7 variant and while there is
12:19
the pixelbook go core m3
12:21
in the previous category these other
12:23
versions obviously go up in price a bit
12:25
and for that price bump you get a little
12:27
bit more performance
12:28
more internal storage there's also the
12:30
option for a 4k screen with the core i7
12:32
variant
12:33
but as we've shown in a side-by-side
12:35
comparison between it
12:36
and the samsung galaxy chromebook if a
12:38
4k screen
12:39
in the display of your chromebook is
12:41
really what you're after
12:42
the galaxy chromebook's probably going
12:44
to be a better buy our final honorable
12:46
mention goes to the asus chromebook flip
12:48
c436 and
12:50
while i wasn't high on this device
12:51
earlier in the year when it came out
12:53
it was still a compelling chromebook so
12:55
if you're a fan of asus's build and
12:56
design
12:57
the way they feel and look and perform
13:00
this could be a great chromebook for you
13:01
it's still expensive the price hasn't
13:03
really come down at all throughout the
13:05
year and it's
13:06
not odd for asus honestly they launch
13:08
their chromebooks and they just kind of
13:10
hold their value
13:11
as time goes on so there's two versions
13:13
an 800
13:14
and a thousand dollar version and they
13:16
both come with a lot of niceties like
13:18
fingerprint scanners nice keyboards
13:20
even though i don't care for the way
13:22
they do keyboard backlighting i think
13:23
it's hard to see during the day
13:25
a big glass trackpad great connectivity
13:27
options
13:28
tiny bezels convertible form factor usi
13:31
stylus compatibility
13:32
all the high-end internals you know the
13:34
thousand dollar version has a core i7
13:36
with 16 gigs of ram and 256 gigs of nvme
13:39
storage and
13:40
the 800 version has a core i3 with 8
13:42
gigs of ram and 128 gigs of storage so
13:45
they're both going to be great
13:46
performers
13:47
decently bright 14 inch full hd ips
13:50
screen
13:50
and you know a nice pearl lid that you
13:53
can get on one option they're good
13:54
chromebooks don't get me wrong
13:56
they're just not my favorite at this
13:58
kind of asking price
13:59
so if you like asus chromebooks it could
14:01
be the one for you they're just
14:03
not the top of my list finally the clear
14:05
overall winner in the premium chromebook
14:07
category basically for the entire year
14:09
of 2020 i mean we saw this thing debuted
14:11
at ces in january
14:13
is the samsung galaxy chromebook and
14:15
while samsung hasn't done much to really
14:17
assuage the issue with the battery life
14:19
as they promised it's still a great
14:21
premium chromebook and the best example
14:23
i think of what it looks like to have a
14:25
premium device
14:26
versus the mid-range chromebooks we just
14:28
talked about this is the lightest
14:30
thinnest 13-inch chromebook you're gonna
14:32
find and it's as premium as any
14:34
chromebook that's ever been made
14:35
and it just looks beautiful it's kind of
14:38
stunning actually to pick up and hold
14:40
and use
14:41
it's convertible it's got a stowed
14:42
stylus that's not usi but its own emr
14:45
stylus that slides right into the side
14:47
it's got great internals a 10th gen core
14:49
i5 with 8 gigs of ram and 256 gigs of
14:52
nvme storage
14:54
it's got the only oled display on a
14:56
chromebook it's got one of the only 4k
14:58
displays on a chromebook and it's by far
15:00
the best looking display you can
15:01
currently get on any laptop running
15:03
chrome os
15:04
so if you're in it for the display and
15:06
aren't that concerned about battery life
15:08
the galaxy chromebook's basically a
15:09
standout in every category
15:12
it makes really good use of the 999
15:14
dollars they ask for it
15:15
with its build quality fantastic
15:17
keyboard and track pad
15:19
and that screen it just brings
15:21
everything to the table it's like
15:22
they went in and said we want to do it
15:24
all bigger and better and went out and
15:26
just built this thing
15:27
it's just a shame they couldn't figure
15:29
out the battery portion to go along with
15:31
it so that's it for our best chromebooks
15:33
of 2020.
15:34
if you can't tell it's becoming
15:35
increasingly clear this year that
15:37
mid-range chromebooks are having a bit
15:39
of a heyday
15:40
affordable chromebooks are coming in
15:42
high number and we expect a lot of those
15:44
to come even through 2021 because of the
15:46
pandemic and people having to learn and
15:48
work from home
15:50
it makes sense that those types of
15:51
chromebooks are selling like hotcakes
15:53
but this year i think the biggest change
15:55
and the biggest move
15:56
has come in the mid-range category where
15:59
we're finally seeing higher end hardware
16:01
higher end internal specs come down into
16:04
a more mid-range price category
16:06
and it's nice to see how much chromebook
16:07
you can get right now for five or six
16:09
hundred bucks these days
16:10
compared to what it was just a few years
16:12
ago before we head out though
16:14
a bit more on that giveaway we are
16:16
beyond excited to partner with acer to
16:18
give away a brand new
16:19
acer spin 713 to one lucky winner
16:22
as our favorite overall chromebook this
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year this is a giveaway you don't want
16:26
to miss out on
16:27
you can check the link in the
16:28
description to see all the ways you can
16:29
get entered
16:30
so good luck but guys that's been it for
16:32
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16:50
[Music]
16:53
[Applause]
16:53
[Music]
16:59
you
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