You don’t need a lot of money to get a great Chromebook. ChromeOS is a great, lightweight operating system, and because you don’t need powerful specs to accomplish basic tasks like web browsing, you can get a Chromebook for less than $1,000. If you’re on an even more limited budget, there are Chromebooks for you too. One of them is the new IdeaPad Slim 3 Chromebook for a little over $300. Even though it’s not the most premium when compared to some other devices and ChromeOS tablets, it still manages to impress.
It packs a really great 14-inch FHD resolution touch display that gets quite bright. And because it’s made of plastic, it’s also quite lightweight. While the Arm-based MediaTek Kompanio 520 processor isn’t the fastest chip, it still helps make this ChromeOS device decent enough for web browsing and running Android apps. This is a great budget device, especially for a child, a student looking for a cheap Chromebook, or anyone dipping their toes into the world of Chromebooks for the first time.
Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3 Chromebook
Recommended budget Chromebook
The Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3 Chromebook is a surprisingly good ChromeOS device for under $400. It has a bright and big 14-inch FHD display, and it’s very lightweight and portable. The Abyss Blue colorway is striking, and the MediaTek chip under the hood results in good battery life and performance for running Android apps.
- Operating System
- ChromeOS
- CPU
- MediaTek Kompanio 520
- GPU
- ARM Mali-G52 2EE MC2
- RAM
- 4GB LPDDR4X-3733MHz (Soldered)
- Storage
- 64GB eMMC
- Battery
- 47Wh
- Display (Size, Resolution)
- 14-inch FHD 1920×1080 resolution, 300 nits brightness, touch
- Camera
- 720p webcam with privacy shutter
- Speakers
- 2x2W Stereo Speakers with MaxxAudio
- Color
- Abyss Blue
- Ports
- microSD card slot, USB-C 3.2 Gen 1, USb-1 3.2 Gen 1, headphone jack
- Network
- WiFi 6 802.11AX (2 x 2), Bluetooth 5.1
- Dimension
- 12.83 x 8.73 x 0.73 inches
- Weight
- 2.86 pounds
Pros
- Long battery life
- Arm-based SoC is great for running Android apps
- Super lightweight
- Abyss Blue color looks beautiful
Cons
- Not for heavy multitasking
- No backlit keyboard
Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3 Chromebook: Price and availability
You can buy the IdeaPad Slim 3 Chromebook right now from Lenovo.com and Best Buy. There is only one model right now, and it’s the one that I have here, priced at $320. It features the MediaTek Kompanio 520, 4GB RAM, and 64GB of eMMC storage. This isn’t to be confused with the IdeaPad Flex 3i Chromebook, which is the 2-in-1 that features Intel CPUs. You can frequently find this device on sale for under $200, though this wasn’t the case at the time of publication.
Design and hardware
Fantastically plastic
Priced at $320, don’t expect the IdeaPad Slim 3 Chromebook to be anything fancy. That said, Lenovo added some subtle touches that set it apart from other Chromebooks. For one, there’s a gorgeous dual-tone lid with a striking Abyss Blue colorway. It’s a visual treat in a world where most Chromebooks are gray, black, or silver. The rest of the design is standard. The left side of the lid has a Chromebook logo and a brushed finish, while the right side is just plain plastic.
The Abyss Blue colorway is a visual treat in a world where most Chromebooks are gray, black, or silver.
I mention the plastic build a lot here because it’s important for Chromebooks in this price range. You simply don’t get anything premium-feeling, like aluminum. It’s why when I bent the lid during testing, it flexed like crazy. Even pressing on the keyboard deck caused the chassis to flex a bit. Critical areas of the device, though, like the hinge and the palm rest, feel sturdy, so it won’t fall apart on you despite the plastic build. I accidentally dropped it off my table once, too, and the device wasn’t damaged. Plastic is quite strong.
Besides, plastic has a huge benefit in making devices lightweight. Even though this is a 14-inch laptop, it’s plenty portable at just 2.89 pounds. It’s so light that I held it between my two fingers like a piece of paper. It also measures 12.83 inches in length and is about 0.73 inches thick. There are also no vents on this device because it’s fanless. All of this makes it really easy to carry the Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3 Chromebook from room to room or place to place.
You might need a dongle
The IdeaPad Slim 3 Chromebook is a decently connected Chromebook. The ports you’ll likely care about are on the left side: there’s USB-C, USB-A, a headphone jack, and a microSD card port. The right side only has a Kensington lock.
The connectivity is generally lacking without an HDMI port. The absence of HDMI means you might need a dongle if you plan to connect this device to a monitor. That said, I had no issues with connecting a mouse to this Chromebook. It ended up being especially helpful, too, since the keyboard and trackpad are quite lacking.
Keyboard and trackpad
Just meh
The keyboard and the trackpad on the IdeaPad Slim 3 Chromebook aren’t too impressive. Since everything is plastic, the keycaps feel a bit too shallow, and pressing too hard causes the keyboard deck to bend slightly. The keyboard is also not backlit, so using this device at night can be tricky. The Abyss Blue color and dark gray keys made discovering the keycaps in a poorly lit environment tough. Everything is so dark!
The trackpad is a bit more forgiving. It’s smack in the middle of the chassis and is decently sized. It’s still made of plastic, though, which makes scrolling and clicking on it tricky sometimes. I do like how “heavy” it feels, though, which is great considering how cheap the keyboard feels.
Display
Really bright
The most surprising part of using this Chromebook was the display. Usually, when I’m offered a budget Chromebook for review, I’m prepared to be let down and get a device with a low 720p resolution non-touch screen. But the IdeaPad Slim 3 Chromebook is in a different league.
Since this is a 14-inch display with an FHD 1920×1080 resolution, I had no issues taking this Chromebook for a spin in my daily workflow. After adjusting the scaling in ChromeOS, I was able to stack windows side by side and get some work done easily. I also pulled up a YouTube video where a vlogger was talking about his trip on the Amtrak Zephyr, and I was struck by how bright the display got. My colorimeter doesn’t work in ChromeOS, so I went outside with my Chromebook to judge the brightness. I was still able to make out the shiny Amtrak trains in the video outdoors Lenovo claims this Chromebook can hit 300 nits of brightness and cover 100% of the sRGB spectrum, and I see no reason why that’s not true. The display on this Chromebook is plenty vibrant, and it even supports touch, which makes scrolling webpages and using Android apps more engaging.
However, you still get a 720p webcam. We usually look for 1080p webcams these days, and a 720p webcam in 2023 is quite poor. You won’t look good in video calls. The webcam does have a privacy slider, though, which helps keep you safe when you don’t want to be seen.
Performance
The MediaTek Kompanio 520 isn’t too bad
Under the hood of the IdeaPad Slim 3 Chromebook is a pretty special chip. This is one of the first Chromebooks to use MediaTek’s new Kompanio 520, which is a new entry-level chip from the company. It’s an octa-core SoC with two Arm Cortex-A76 cores running up to 2GHz and six Arm Cortex-A55 cores running up to 2GHz. The GPU onboard is the Arm MAki G52 MC2 2EE. That’s the technical jargon, but it basically means that you’ll want to set performance expectations low. This is meant to compete with Intel’s N-series CPUs, as you’d find on the IdeaPad Flex 3i Chromebook, which are for web browsing and not much else.
It’s pretty decent for simple web browsing and common tasks. But once you push things hard, it’s going to leave you behind.
When I benchmarked this chip, I got results that were quite poor. It’s why I am leaving out the usual comparison table in this review. There’s not a lot in our library of Chromebook benchmarks to compare it to on the low end. In 3D Mark, results were a mere 723. Even when I ran the Speedometer 2.0 test, which tests web browsing performance, it scored 44.9 out of 140. This shows that the GPU onboard isn’t quite powerful for gaming, and the CPU isn’t for serious web browsing.
In real-world use, I didn’t have any major issues when web browsing. The 4GB RAM and slower eMMC storage hold this device back a bit, but I still managed to open about four tabs in Chrome at once before I felt slowdowns. I also pulled up multiple YouTube videos on the device without it slowing down. Again, it’s pretty decent for simple web browsing and common tasks. But once you push things hard, it’s going to leave you behind.
However, this SoC is built for Android. I tried playing Grand Theft Auto III as an Android app on this device, and it was playable but froze from time to time. When using other Android apps, though, performance was pleasant. I didn’t notice any lag when opening two apps at once, like Telegram or Twitter.
Battery life is the strength of this IdeaPad Slim 3 Chromebook. Lenovo quotes up to 13.5 hours, and I did get just about that. With the screen at 50% brightness and completing my everyday web-based tasks, I got to about 11 hours of battery life. These Chromebooks with Arm-based chips always have great battery life since the devices are fanless and thermals aren’t a worry.
Should you buy the Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3 Chromebook?
You should buy the Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3 Chromebook if:
- This will be your first Chromebook
- You want a Chromebook to use Android apps
- You want a Chromebook with good battery life
You shouldn’t buy the IdeaPad Lenovo Slim 3 Chromebook if:
- You’re going to do some heavy multitasking
- You’re going to do gaming
The IdeaPad Slim 3 Chromebook isn’t premium by any means, but it is super affordable and with some cool perks, like that 14-inch FHD display and a stylish design. You also get amazing battery life. Just remember, keep your expectations in check, as the MediaTek SoC powering this Chromebook isn’t the most powerful for tasks beyond using Android apps and simple web browsing.
Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3 Chromebook
Recommended budget Chromebook
The Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3 Chromebook is a surprisingly good ChromeOS device for under $400. It has a bright and big 14-inch FHD display, and it’s very lightweight and portable. The Abyss Blue colorway is striking, and the MediaTek chip under the hood results in good battery life and performance for running Android apps.