Lenovo Chromebook 3: At First Glance
Recently, Lenovo updated its Chromebook lineup with the Lenovo Chromebook 3. This Chromebook comes fully packed with a good number of specifications that deliver all-day-long performance for students and business owners.
What is more interesting about this laptop is that it does not cost much. Precisely, as of June 2022, when this review was published, the Lenovo Chromebook 3 had a starting price of $198.
However, like most Chromebooks, this Chromebook comes with some disappointing features. To find out these disappointing features and more about the Lenovo Chromebook 3, keep reading this review till the end.
Lenovo Chromebook 3: Design, Display, Ports, and Connectivity
Design-wise, the Lenovo Chromebook 3 does not appear cheap or fragile despite its decent price. Rather, the laptop looks sleek and premium.
Besides, the body of the laptop is made of fine polycarbonate and ABS plastics. As a result, the laptop feels solid and durable enough to withstand slight bumps and shortfalls.
For color aesthetics, the Lenovo Chromebook 3 is available in dark blue and platinum grey. Impressively, with either of these color options, the laptop should look appealing and pleasing to the eyes.
Moreover, to beautify the laptop further, Lenovo included its logo at the lower-left corner of the laptop’s lid. That’s not all; the laptop’s lid also has a colorful Chrome logo at its lower right corner alongside a “Chrome” inscription.
Notably, these logos make the laptop’s lid look distinctive. Also, the Chrome OS logo gives firsthand information on the kind of operating system that the Lenovo Chromebook 3 use.
That said, the lid and base of the laptop are connected by a plastic hinge. This hinge is not so rigid, meaning you should be able to easily open the lid with just one hand.
However, due to the not-so-rigid hinge, the laptop’s lid flexes a bit and wobbles when pushed. Regardless, the hinge holds the lid firmly in place when it is opened.
Speaking of which, opening the Lenovo Chromebook 3 lid reveals a gorgeous 14-inch display. This 14-inch display is available with two resolution options to choose from.
Specifically, the Lenovo Chromebook 3’s 14-inch display comes with HD (1366 x 786) or FHD (1920 x 1080) resolution. The HD display is a non-touchscreen display.
Meanwhile, for the FHD display, you get the Lenovo Chromebook 3 with or without a touchscreen feature. Asides from the disparity in touchscreen features, both resolution options also come with their unique features.
To be more specific, the HD and FHD non-touch displays are made with a TN panel that allows them to deliver good and bright color contrast. Also, they both offer an anti-glare coating that regulates and prevents reflections from direct sunlight.
However, in terms of brightness, both displays have a poor maximum brightness of 220 nits. Although this maximum brightness is enough for indoor usage, you might struggle to see the content on the display outdoors.
Nevertheless, as hinted earlier, the Lenovo Chromebook 3 also features an FHD touchscreen display. This FHD touchscreen display is made with an IPS panel that allows for wide viewing angles and good color contrast.
Therefore, with the FHD touchscreen display, you can watch the Lenovo Chromebook 3 from extreme angles without noticing any color distortion. Additionally, like the HD and non-touchscreen FHD display, this FHD touchscreen display also offers an anti-glare coating that prevents reflection.
However, it offers a better maximum brightness – the FHD touchscreen display features a maximum brightness of 250 nits. Although this maximum brightness is not the best, it still offers a decent performance when the laptop is used outdoors.
Therefore, if you want a better viewing experience, I suggest you buy the Lenovo Chromebook 3 with the FHD touchscreen display. Besides, the touchscreen is very sensitive and responds to inputs swiftly.
That said, the Lenovo Chromebook 3’s display is surrounded by slim side bezels and slightly thick top and bottom bezels. Considering the thickness of the top bezel, Lenovo included an HD webcam in the middle.
In terms of performance, this HD camera is not impressive for selfies, as images come out grainy and blurry. However, the camera can pass for regular video conference calls.
Coming down to the deck/base of the laptop, the Lenovo Chromebook 3 offers a standard desktop keyboard. The keys of this keyboard are well-spaced, with the right size to support all finger types.
Furthermore, the keys are quite responsive and deliver good feedback. As a result, the laptop’s keyboard should offer a comfortable typing experience.
However, the keyboard is not backlit, which may be a deal-breaker for some people who love to type in low-light conditions. Nevertheless, that is not really a feature to ask from this laptop, considering its price tag.
Moving on, below the Lenovo Chromebook 3’s keyboard, there is a touchpad. This touchpad is spacious, smooth, and responsive, allowing for seamless navigation and finger-gliding.
In terms of ports, the Lenovo Chromebook 3 lacks some essential ports like HDMI port, Ethernet port, and Thunderbolt. However, the laptop still manages to deliver some basic ports on both sides.
To specify, on the right side, the laptop offers a USB Type-A port and a USB Type-C port. Meanwhile, on the left side of the Chromebook, there is a microSD card reader, a USB Type-C port, a USB Type-A port, and a headphone/microphone jack.
As a final point of emphasis in this design section of the Lenovo Chromebook 3 review, let us discuss the laptop’s size and weight. To begin with, in terms of size, the laptop measures 328.9 x 234.35 x 18.8 mm (W x D x H).
Meanwhile, when it comes to weight, the laptop weighs just 1400 g. Compared to most of its closest rivals, the Lenovo Chromebook 3 is slimmer and lighter.
For instance, the HP Stream 13-c024TU measures 333.2 x 229 x 19.5 mm (W x D x H) and weighs around 1550 g.
In conclusion, the Lenovo Chromebook 3 offers a sleek design with multiple color options despite its affordable price. Also, the laptop features an impressive display and an optional touchscreen feature.
To top it all up, this Lenovo laptop is portable and easy to carry around, thanks to its lightweight. For these reasons, the Lenovo Chromebook 3 deserves a rating of nine in this design review section.
Lenovo Chromebook 3: Processor (CPU) Performance
For processing tasks, the Lenovo Chromebook 3 features an Intel Celeron N4020 CPU. This CPU offers a base frequency of 1.10 GHz, and a maximum frequency is 2.80 GHz.
Furthermore, the processor is a dual-core CPU, meaning it has two cores. As a result, this CPU has the ability to double the performance of a single-core processor.
In addition to its dual core, this processor features 4 MB of cache memory. However, the Intel Celeron N4020 is an entry-level processor that does not have enough power to handle heavy tasks or complex multitasking.
Therefore, with this CPU, the Lenovo Chromebook 3 will only be able to handle basic computing operations such as word processing and web browsing. Also, the laptop should be able to handle light multitasking.
To verify the processor performance of this laptop, let us proceed to discuss its Geekbench 5.3 test results. In brief, Geekbench 5.3 is a cross-platform benchmark test that gauges the CPU performance of a computer.
Basically, it does this by putting the computer’s processor’s cores through a series of intensive workloads. Thus, Geekbench 5.3 consists of two tests – the single-core performance test and the multi-core performance test.
For better understanding, the single-core test evaluates the performance of the computer when one of its processor’s cores is put to work. Meanwhile, the multi-core test assesses the computer’s performance when all its CPU cores are put to work.
Besides, a high score on this test signifies good processor performance. So, based on the Geekbench 5.3 test results, the Lenovo Chromebook 3 scored 475 points in the single-core test and 858 points in the multi-core test.
In comparison, this Lenovo laptop outshined some of its major competitors. For example, the HP Chromebook 11 G7 EE, which uses an Intel Celeron N4000 processor, scored 431 points in the single-core test.
Additionally, this HP laptop scored 802 points in the Geekbench 5.3 multi-core test.
All things considered, the Lenovo Chromebook 3 deserves a rating of eight out of ten in this processor review section. This rating is based on the fact that the laptop outperformed most of its competitors on a processor benchmark test.
Lenovo Chromebook 3: Memory (RAM) Performance
For memory, the Lenovo Chromebook 3 comes with an LPDDR4 2400 MHz memory type. Furthermore, this laptop features an onboard memory of 4 GB.
Being an “onboard” memory means that it is soldered onto the laptop’s motherboard. Thus, upgrading or removing the laptop’s memory is impossible.
Nonetheless, there is another model of the Lenovo Chromebook 3 that offers an onboard memory of 8 GB. Hence, if you feel 4 GB RAM isn’t enough for the tasks you plan to perform on the laptop, it is best you opt for the 8 GB RAM model.
However, you need to be aware that that particular model will cost a bit more than the standard 4 GB RAM model. Besides, with the standard onboard 4 GB RAM, the Lenovo Chromebook 3 should be able to smoothly handle basic productivity tasks.
Not only that, but the laptop should also be able to handle light multitasking. Speaking of multitasking, the Chromebook should open 10 Chrome tabs and two streaming YouTube videos simultaneously without lagging.
However, you may notice a bit of slowdown when moving from one tab to the other.
That said, for more insights into the laptop’s performance with 4 GB RAM, I will now share its WebXPRT test results. WebXPRT is a web-based benchmark test that simulates everyday productivity tasks so as to determine the memory performance of your Chromebook.
Moreover, in this test, a high score is better. With that in mind, at the end of the test, the Lenovo Chromebook 3 scored 94 points.
In comparison, the Acer Chromebook 315 performed below this Lenovo Chromebook. To be more precise, the Acer Chromebook 315 was only able to score 77 points on the WebXPRT test.
All in all, I will rate the Lenovo Chromebook 3 an eight out of ten in this memory review section.
Lenovo Chromebook 3: Storage Options and Performance
When it comes to storage, the Lenovo Chromebook 3 features an eMMC storage drive. eMMC storage drives are very affordable; hence they are mostly found on budget laptops and Chromebooks.
However, they usually offer limited storage space. For example, the Lenovo Chromebook 3 comes with just 128 GB of eMMC storage drive.
Clearly, this storage space is quite limited and won’t be enough for most users to save their respective files. As a matter of fact, there are numerous phones in the market that offer larger storage space.
Fortunately, the Lenovo Chromebook 3 features a microSD card reader for storage expansion. Besides, Chromebooks are not designed to store most of their files on the local eMMC storage drive.
Instead, they are meant to save most of their files on Google Drive cloud storage. Thus, Chromebooks usually come with a default 15 GB of Google Drive storage, and the Lenovo Chromebook 3 is no exception.
Also, they offer an optional 100 GB of Google Drive storage. To know how to activate this free 100 GB storage on your Chromebook, kindly read this guide – How To Activate 100 GB Free Google One Storage.
Having said all that, I would have provided benchmark test results to verify the laptop’s storage performance. However, because eMMC storage drives aren’t supported by most benchmark test tools, I won’t be doing that.
Nevertheless, based on the storage options that the Lenovo Chromebook 3 offers, I will rate it an eight out of ten in this storage review section.
Lenovo Chromebook 3: Graphics Card Performance
For the graphics card, the Lenovo Chromebook 3 employs an Intel UHD Graphics 600 GPU. This graphics card has a base frequency of 200 MHz and a maximum frequency of 650 MHz.
Furthermore, the GPU is an integrated graphics card, meaning it is embedded into the laptop’s processor. Due to this, it shares the system memory with the CPU in order to carry out graphics-related operations.
For this reason, the Lenovo Chromebook 3 might not be able to handle intensive graphics tasks like video editing. Also, the laptop won’t be able to play title AAA games.
Nevertheless, the laptop should be able to handle simple photo editing and play a few outdated games. Talking about games, the Lenovo Chromebook 3 should deliver a manageable frame rate of 43.3 fps while playing Dirt Rally.
For more GPU performance details of the Lenovo Chromebook 3, I will now highlight the 3DMark 11 test result of the laptop. To briefly explain, 3DMark 11 is a benchmark test that checks the graphics rendering abilities of a computer’s GPU.
Thus, a high score on the 3DMark 11 test equates to good graphics performance. So, at the end of the test, the Lenovo Chromebook 3 delivered a score of 613 points.
In comparison, the Chuwi LapBook SE, which employs the same GPU, offered a lesser score. To be more specific, the Chuwi LapBook SE scored 541 points on the 3DMark 11 test.
Thus, I will rate the Lenovo Chromebook 3 an eight out of ten in this GPU review section.
Lenovo Chromebook 3: Battery Life and Performance
The Lenovo Chromebook 3 comes with a 3-cell 42 WHr Li-ion battery. According to Lenovo, this laptop should have a battery life of up to 10 hours
To verify this claim, I will now share the video playback test result of the laptop. In case you are wondering, this video playback test involves playing a series of videos repeatedly until the laptop’s battery dies.
Having said that, at the end of the test, the Lenovo Chromebook 3 delivered a battery life of exactly 10 hours, just as Lenovo promised. Furthermore, the laptop surpassed most of its competitors.
For example, the HP Stream 11-ah055sa lasted for 8 hours and 45 minutes on the video playback test.
Therefore, the Lenovo Chromebook 3 deserves a rating of nine out of ten in this battery review section.
Frequently Asked Questions
No, the Lenovo Chromebook 3 does not feature an HDMI port.
Yes. However, you have to purchase the FHD resolution model of the laptop so as to get the touchscreen feature.
The Lenovo Chromebook 3 is a budget laptop, so it is not expensive. Precisely, as of June 2022, when I published this review article, the laptop had a starting price of $198.
Yes, it does. The Lenovo Chromebook 3 offers an HD webcam at the top of its display bezel.
The Lenovo Chromebook 3 weighs 1400 g.
Conclusion
The Lenovo Chromebook 3 is one of the sleekest and most adequate budget Chromebooks I have seen so far. With its impressive display, decent processor, and adequate GPU, this Chromebook delivers a good performance.
Besides, the longevity of the laptop’s battery life makes it stand out amongst competing Chromebooks. However, the ports that the laptop offers are not sufficient.
Nevertheless, for a price less than $200, this laptop delivers a worthy performance. Thus, if you need a budget Chromebook with long battery life for everyday productivity tasks, the Lenovo Chromebook 3 is the one.
I hope you found this Lenovo Chromebook 3 review helpful. If you found the review helpful, click on “Yes” beside the “Was this page helpful” question below.
You may also express your thoughts and opinions by using the “Leave a Comment” form at the bottom of this page.
Finally, for more Chromebook reviews, visit our Chromebook Reviews page. You may also find our Laptop Specs page very helpful.
