Finally, a deal that makes the Samsung Galaxy Chromebook 2 worth looking at

The Samsung Galaxy Chromebook 2 was a bit of an oddity when it was released. After the eager reception of the original Galaxy Chromebook and the subsequent downfall of that audacious device, we were all a little hesitant and confused when Samsung unveiled a Chromebook that appended a “2” to the name of its predecessor and took a step back in most of the statistical categories.

All that said, the more-humble approach to the Samsung Galaxy Chromebook 2 largely worked, but the value proposition never felt quite right. After all, when it arrived, we were on the cusp of 11th-gen Intel-powered Chromebooks hitting the market and asking consumers to fork over $699 for a device with lots of plastic, a 10th-gen processor, and less ports than most felt a bit off.

Still, the Galaxy Chromebook 2 wasn’t without its charm. In my review, I pointed out the fact that while this device was inferior to the Galaxy Chromebook in nearly every way, there was something nice about using it. Getting back to a fanned solution for the body gave room for better speakers, and the combination of better battery life, a fantastic keyboard/trackpad, and a still-amazing FHD QLED screen made the Galaxy Chromebook 2 a lot of fun to use when you ignored the pricing.

It has been on sale here and there, but even at $100 off, it only got it close to what I’d consider paying for a device with these specs. But at $150 off MSRP, we’re starting to get to the point where this is a nicer Chromebook than you may expect for the price. And for the moment, over at Best Buy, you can snag the Core i3 model with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage for only $549 – a price far more in line with what the Chromebook is capable of.

Is this the greatest deal we’ve ever seen on a Chromebook? No, not by a long shot, but it does finally get the solid Galaxy Chromebook 2 down to a price that puts it into the conversation again. While the 10th-gen Intel Core i3 is fine for most tasks, this won’t be a Chromebook that is great for something like LumaFusion or Steam gaming down the road. If that sort of stuff isn’t really in your list of needs, however, this device could be a good fit and a solid buy at this sort of price. And if that’s the case, move quick. This deal likely won’t last too long.