Google has massively evolved the Chrome OS platform and today’s Chromebooks support Android, Linux, and even Windows applications (at the time of writing, Windows support via Parallels emulation is only available for corporate customers). Customers can buy Chromebooks with different specifications, including size, form factor, and specification. All Chromebooks offer the same core Chrome OS experience, which means the Chrome browser, Android apps via the Google Play Store, with Linux apps offered under a beta. Higher specification models offer a smoother, faster user experience.
The Lenovo Chromebook Flex 3i is targeted towards the lower end of the spectrum is priced at $389 on Amazon. The Flex 3i has a low-end hardware specification but benefits from a convertible chassis; you can fold the display around to turn the Chromebook into a thick tablet or use it in tent mode, ideal for watching videos.
Is the Lenovo Chromebook Flex 3i able to give customers a good laptop for work or school during the day, and then flip it around for some Netflix time after hours? Let’s find out.
Design
The Lenovo Chromebook Flex 3i comes in an almond color, which looks close to bronze or gold. It’s attractive and not too bright, managing to look distinctive but not like it’s trying too hard. The Chromebook has an aluminum top, which opens to reveal the 11.6-inch display surrounded by a large bezel. The keyboard is finished in gray with white letter stencils and is one of the better Chromebook keyboards I’ve used – it’s relatively large, comfortable, and responsive, but it’s not backlit as we find on more expensive models. The trackpad works as intended, and is as responsive as most other trackpads I’ve used.
Lenovo's Flex 3i is a convertible laptop, which means the keyboard hinge allows it to fold all the way around so you can convert the laptop design into a tablet. In tablet mode, the Flex 3i feels thick and bulky compared with a genuine tablet, but it’s not impossible to use like this. The thick bezel I mentioned above is old fashioned and something of an eyesore, but is very useful when handling the Chromebook in tablet mode as it gives you an easy way to hold the device.
The Chromebook can also be used in tent mode, which makes it a useful way to watch media without needing the keyboard in front of the display. The Chromebook takes up less desktop space in this mode and can be placed on an uneven work surface – handy if you are following directions or instructions from a YouTube clip but don’t have much space for the display. In tent mode, the stereo speakers – located on the bottom of the laptop – sound better, but this isn’t a laptop for audiophiles.
Hardware
The Chromebook Flex 3i is about the same size as most other Chromebooks or Windows laptops based around an 11.6-inch panel, but thicker than many. By the dimensions, you’ll find it 11.41-inch wide, 8.18-inch deep, and 0.7-inch thick. It weighs 2.64lbs. Comparing this to a typical full-size tablet, the Chromebook is much bulkier and heavier. Comparing the Chromebook Flex 3i with the 13-inch Apple iPad Pro (not exactly a fair comparison as the iPad Pro costs considerably more) and the Flex 3i is considerably thicker, but easier to fit into a more compact bag or tote.
Each side of the device includes both a USB Type-A and USB Type-C port. On the left side, there’s a microSD card slot and a combined headphone / microphone port. There’s a Kensington lock slot, the volume, and the power / lock button on the right hand side.
Under the skin, Lenovo has given the Chromebook Flex 3i modest hardware specification: it’s based around a dual-core, non-Hyper-threaded Intel Celeron N4020 processor, backed up by 4GB of RAM and 64GB of local storage. The 11.6-inch touch-enabled display is 1366 by 768 pixels in resolution, has a glossy finish, and up to 250nits of brightness. There’s a 720p camera for video calling or selfies. Everything is kept powered up by a 42Wh battery inside, which Lenovo says is good for ten hours. Finally, there are two 2W speakers under the machine.
Specifications
- Processor: Intel® Celeron® N4020 Processor (1.10 GHz, up to 2.80 GHz with Turbo Boost, 2 Cores, 2 Threads, 4 MB Cache)
- Operating System: Chrome OS
- Display Type: 11.6” HD (1366 x 768) IPS, glossy, touchscreen, 250 nits
- Memory: 4GB LPDDR4 2400MHz (Soldered)
- Hard Drive: 64 GB eMMC
- Warranty: 1-year
- Graphics: Integrated Intel® UHD Graphics 600
- Bluetooth: Bluetooth® 4.2
- Camera: 720p HD
- Keyboard: US English
- Wireless: 802.11AC (2 x 2)
Performance
For most users, and likely almost all looking to buy the Flex 3i, I can use a single word to summarize the Lenovo Chromebook Flex 3i’s performance: adequate. The Chromebook Flex 3i’s day by day performance is not exceptional but it doesn’t need to be.
I am a typical Chromebook user – most of the time, I use the Chromebook for the sort of lightweight use that Google probably had in mind back in 2011. The majority of my use revolves around using the Chrome browser, YouTube, Gmail, Google Drive, and Google Docs, a few Android apps, and GIMP, which installs as a Linux app. I also remote into a virtual Windows desktop using an HTML5 client, as well as the Chrome Remote Desktop service, for managing remote computers.
For the most part the Chromebook remains fluid during use. I can have many tabs open and flicking between them is seamless. I occasionally experience some audio or video stuttering when streaming in one tab and working in another, but the Flex 3i performs broadly in line with every other 4GB Chromebook I've ever used in this respect. Some activities appear to be especially taxing on the laptop, such as downloading and installing Android applications from the Google Play Store.
If you have never used a Chromebook before but are looking for an inexpensive machine for social media, email, online shopping, and word processing, this specification should probably be just fine. But if you’re looking for something more powerful, or you have an eye on running Windows on your Chromebook using the Parallels emulator, you should look at a more powerful model. More on different Chromebooks later.
Battery
Many Chromebooks offer decent battery life thanks to their lower-end specification, and Lenovo’s claim of ten hours battery life is broadly what I’ve seen. The biggest power users on the machine will be the display panel, CPU, modem, and speakers, so running a CPU-intensive application with the screen brightness turned up drains the battery harder. Linux applications, such as GIMP, can be processor and memory intensive, whereas streaming Netflix videos with a dim display is much kinder.
Chrome OS
We’ve covered Chrome OS on the site before and I don’t want to reiterate all of our earlier words, so in short, Chromebooks are tightly integrated with the Google ecosystem. Most of what you do on a Chromebook is accessed via the Chrome browser, but Google has opened up the Google Play Store where you can download compatible Android apps. Chromebooks can work offline: some Google services, such as Google Drive, cache your data so it’s available when offline, and Android apps can also cache or download for offline use.
Chrome OS’ strengths are in the simplicity and security of this approach. It’s a lighter platform compared with competitors from Apple and Microsoft and runs better on lower end hardware, but conversely cannot take full advantage of more powerful hardware. Google patches the platform against vulnerabilities and Chromebooks are kept updated for up to eight years, depending on the chipset. The Chromebook downloads and installs software updates in the background and from a user perspective, only requires a reboot – which takes seconds – to perform a software update.
You can use the Chromebook Flex 3i like an Intel-powered, large, and bulky Android device, or you can use it as a laptop with integrated Android app support. As Jared has written before, if you aren’t heavily invested in the Google ecosystem, you’re likely to struggle with Chromebooks.
Worth it?
Laptop sales have skyrocketed in 2020 thanks to the global pandemic, and models such as the Lenovo Chromebook Flex 3i are in high demand for work- and school-from-home duties.
In isolation, there’s a lot to like about the Lenovo Chromebook Flex 3i for the more basic, utilitarian computer usage – it has a comfortable keyboard, good battery life, and when you’re done working, you can flip the screen around and use it to stream videos. I’ve preferred using the Chromebook Flex 3i to a significantly more expensive Samsung Chromebook because it’s much more comfortable to use and for getting stuff done.
However, the Flex 3i doesn’t exist in a vacuum. Lenovo has other Chromebooks in the family and the Flex 3i sits in a difficult place. It's more expensive than the similar form-factor Chromebook Flex 3 models and is almost as expensive as the larger, more powerful Chromebook Flex 5. If you are looking to use the tablet mode more often, Lenovo offers the Chromebook Duet (currently at a discount), a 10-inch device with a detachable keyboard, MediaTek CPU, USI Pen support, and a sub-$300 price tag. There are also many other manufacturers offering broadly Chromebooks for less than the Chromebook Flex 3i.
The Chromebook Flex 3i is a likeable device. At $379 it's a tough sell but if you can find it on a seasonal deal it's well worth taking a look at.
[Lenovo]
