Black Friday has been forcefully evolved into a month-long event thanks to the current state of affairs in our county. Retailers are doing whatever they can to bolster sales and offer rolling holiday discounts on products while attempting to reduce the number of in-store shoppers that would normally venture out the day after Thanksgiving. Walmart is kicking off its Black Friday with back-to-back sale weeks that start this Wednesday and run through November 16th with subsequent deals happening closer to Black Friday. Target is running daily and weekly deals and the retailer has vowed to match any Black Friday pricing all the way up to December 25th.
Best Buy is known for Black Friday blowouts and 2020 is no exception. The retail giant has already launched a plethora of “Black Friday Now” deals on everything from smart home tech to vacuum cleaners and everything in between. Like many other retailers, Best Buy has been dropping deals left and right on top of the stores Daily Deals that run, you guessed it, daily. While most of the Chromebook deals have come and gone, you can still score some major discounts on some great Assistant tech such as these deals on the Lenovo Smart Clock and Smart Clock Essential.
You can bet that we’ll see more great Chromebook deals over the coming weeks and that’s why I’m here to tell you that you should wait before pulling the trigger on a new device. Unless you absolutely have to have a Chromebook right now, Best Buy has some savings headed our way that will take some of our favorite Chromebooks to their lowest prices ever and that’s worth the wait. Best Buy has a half dozen Chromebooks on the “upcoming” Black Friday sales page but there are two, in particular, that piqued my interest.
Samsung Galaxy Chromebook
No, we haven’t forgotten Samsung’s Project Athena Chromebook that stopped the show at CES 2020. The fact of the matter is, the Galaxy Chromebook is still one of the most well-designed, capable, versatile, and gorgeous Chrome OS devices ever made. That said, it’s tough to recommend at $1,000 when there are so many other awesome devices out there that cost much less. The Acer Spin 713 is a prime example. You get a great display, powerful (fanned) internals, USI support, and much more for only $629. Not to mention the fact that the Acer and others do not suffer from the poor battery life that Samsung has apparently yet to fix on the Galaxy. Still, it’s an amazing Chromebook and Best Buy will soon be selling the ultra-premium convertible for $799 which makes it a lot more palatable.
For many users, such as myself, the battery life of a Chromebook doesn’t really come into play as I spend 90% of my time docked to an external monitor. The Samsung Galaxy Chromebook gives you all the power of a 10th Gen Comet Lake CPU, a beautiful UHD AMOLED display, and that snazzy stowable stylus. While I would still choose a Spin 713 if I were going solely off of internals, those wanting the premium Chrome OS experience combined with the best aesthetic in the business will likely go after the Samsung and that’s totally okay. When the Black Friday deal goes live, you can pick up the Fiesta Red or the Mercury Gray Galaxy and save $200.
HP Chromebook x360 14c
When it comes to bang for your buck, HP’s second iteration of the Core i3 Chromebook x360 is second only to the Acer Spin 713. Priced at the same $629 as the Acer, you get a marginally slower processor and a display that pales in comparison to the Spin. That said, the HP is still a formidable and well-built device and recent sales have brought the 2-in-1 down to an impressive $449. At that price, I can recommend this Chromebook seven days a week and I guarantee you’ll get your money’s worth. Sadly, that discounted price is no more at Best Buy but that’s okay, the retailer has something better in store very soon.
When the HP Chromebook x360 14c goes on sale again, it’s going to be slashed to an all-time low of only $379. That’s $250 off of retail and now we’re talking a premium, flagship-caliber Chromebook that is selling squarely in the budget price range. Unless something crazy happens and the Spin 713 gets a steep price cut, this will be that absolutely best Chromebook you can buy under $400 during the holiday shopping season. For $379, you’re getting 10th Gen Core 13, 8GB of RAM, a fingerprint sensor, and an overall awesome convertible Chromebook.
So, when can you expect these deals to show up? Well, that’s still a bit of a mystery at this point. I did find Best Buy’s corporate announcement about the ongoing deals and when to expect new sales to drop. There aren’t any specific details on these Chromebooks but we do have some key dates that you’ll want to note if you’re looking to score one of these deals or save on anything else Best Buy may be peddling. The first set of dates start this week with Best Buy’s “Wish List Sale.” That will start on November 5th and run through the 8th. After that, there will be weekly promotions on top of Daily Deals and we’ll do our best to make sure you stay ahead of those sales. The official start of Best Buy’s “normal” Black Friday is slated for November 22nd at which point the retailer says “nearly all Black Friday deals become available.” Here’s the full list of dates and a snapshot of the Chromebooks that will be discounted.
- Nov. 5-8: The Wish List Sale
- Nov. 11: The Treat Yourself Sale
- Nov. 12-15: Our Coolest Deals Sale
- Nov. 16-17: My Best Buy Member Early Access Sale – Thousands of deals from the Black Friday ad available early, for My Best Buy Members only.
- Nov. 22: Black Friday Starts Now! – Nearly all Black Friday deals become available.
Shop Best Buy’s Black Friday Preview
