Chrome laptops are very popular, not least because of their attractive price. Most of them also work very well with streaming movies from platforms such as Netflix, Huly or Amazon Prime. So if that’s what you need it for… Why pay more when Chromebook has everything you want to offer?
If you’re like us and see no reason to be, I’d like to share some great news with you: We’ve selected the best Chromebooks to watch Netflix, Hulu or Amazon Prime Video and share our discoveries with you in today’s article.
Not only are these chrome books perfect for streaming your favorite TV shows and Netflix or Hulu movies, but they are also very affordable compared to most laptops in the area. You can do more than just watch videos: they’re also great for surfing the web, chatting with friends, watching videos on YouTube and editing documents, and these are just some of the basic things you can do something with. In other words: the perfect choice!
We’ve already provided you with a list of valuable Chromebooks for $200, but now it’s time to focus exclusively on live video (which may need a little more power). So below we show you the best Chromebooks for viewing Netflix, Prime Video, Hulu and other services in 2020.
And yes, all these Chromebooks can be connected to a TV via an HDMI cable and, if desired, transfer all broadcasts to the big screen. Most models do not have a built-in HDMI port, but you can easily fix this with a USB-C-HDMI cable (like this one), which usually costs less than $10.
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Below you will find all the details and specifications of our recommendations. However, if you are in a hurry, you can simply use our overview map to make your choice.
Best Chrome Books for Film/TV Streaming
(Note that we display laptops in screen size, from the small Samsung 11.1″ to the large Acer 15.6″).
Samsung Chrome 4lb (budget price)
Samsung’s chrome books have always been one of the most popular on the market, and not for nothing: They offer great performance at an affordable price, and that’s exactly what we sometimes need in life!
The Chromebook 4 is small – with an 11.6-inch screen – so if you really need something small and portable (and very important), you can choose the larger models … Until then, the Samsung Chromebook 4 will accept our price for the best budget item on the list.
If the size of the big screen isn’t that important to you, this Chromebook is perfect for broadcasting your favorite TV shows and movies. You can also connect it to a large TV via HDMI (if you buy the above dongle) to increase the screen size.
This is actually a good thing, because many programs and movies are not available on Smart TV, but online (and you can somehow correct the small screen size, which is really good!).
If you don’t need any special features, know that the Samsung Chromebook 4 can process video continuously without any problems and can take a long time without charging (up to 12.5 hours of regular use).
If you want to know the details, note that it runs on an Intel Celeron N4000 processor with a maximum speed of 2.60 GHz and 4 GB RAM. It has a maximum resolution of 1366×768 pixels – so that’s more HD than Full HD, but the truth is that when you stream movies and TV online, especially on the small screen, you won’t really notice the difference!
The performance isn’t very high, but you won’t stutter or slow down streaming from your favorite platform, as long as you have a good internet connection.
As a bonus, Chromebook 4 is slim and weighs less than 3 pounds, which means it is very easy to carry. However, for other people who would probably appreciate a large canvas, it could turn into a raccoon – but that’s up to you.
It is also worth mentioning that, as with most Chrome books, you have very limited storage space: The Samsung Chromebook 4 comes with a 64GB eMMC drive (which is even better than most chrome computers offer).
eMMC drives are also very fast compared to conventional hard drives. And since you don’t have to back up streaming movies and TV shows, it shouldn’t be a big problem.
The chrome speakers are decent, but that’s all. The sound quality you get is acceptable and good enough to watch movies, but without the cinematic quality and clarity. However, we recommend the use of headphones or a loudspeaker for better sound.
Click here to see the price and find out more.
Agricultural machinery R13
Now we come to what I would call a reasonable size to watch movies and shows directly on your laptop screen. In this case, the size is still relatively small, so we’ve increased portability, but at 13.3 you get a bigger and better screen, which makes watching movies or TV series on Netflix, Hulu or Amazon Prime much more fun.
11.6″ is too little in my books, if you don’t connect it to the big screen or if you really need something very portable. If you watch movies, more is better.
And the Acer R13 has a few tricks up its sleeve! One is the fact that it is sold as a 2-in-1 device, which means that you can rotate the screen and turn it into a tablet (which is however large and bulky).
It also means that it has a touch screen, which is a good feature for modern users. But it’s more about extra gadgets that are fun to have, but shouldn’t force us to watch movies and shows online.
It also has excellent specifications: Although it works with the MediaTek Quad-Core M8173C processor (usually found on tablets instead of large laptops), it still works well, and our tests have shown that it can handle multiple applications and tabs simultaneously – and it works well with video streams.
It has 4GB RAM for better performance and 32GB SSD, which is better than eMMC because it is faster. But in this case, I’d say it’s a little lower and needs to be filled in quickly. It has at least one slot for microSD cards, so you can increase the amount of memory if necessary.
The image quality is really good because it is in Full HD (1920 x 1080 pixels), and this laptop remains very portable because it is very thin and very light (about 1.5 kg), with a reliable battery that lasts up to 12 hours on a single charge.
When it comes to sound quality, you will have no reason to complain, but to write at home. The sound is as clean and pleasant as you would expect from a cheap laptop, which is not very impressive. But we couldn’t have had a better experience with other laptops in the same price range.
Click here to see the price and find out more.
Asus Chromebook C425
Asus is a high quality brand when it comes to conventional laptops, and fortunately this also applies to Chromebooks.
Ideal for Netflix and Hulu video streaming, this model has an excellent price/performance ratio and an even bigger screen (14) that offers the perfect combination of portability and true image size for a better viewing experience.
Thanks to the Intel Core M3-8100Y processor, which runs up to 3.4 GHz, it is quite powerful. Here you also have 8 GB of RAM, which is sufficient for trouble-free operation without delays or hiccups – provided you have a good Internet connection.
The Chromebook C425 also supports Full HD resolution (1920×1080 pixels), which is always an advantage, especially if you plan to connect the device to your TV via an HDMI cable.
But even when you look at your laptop screen, you’ll enjoy crisp, continuous images – better than on a standard HD laptop when Full HD streaming is available.
An interesting trick Asus has managed to do is keeping the size: You actually get a 13-inch notebook case, but thanks to the enormous ratio between screen and case (which is 85%), you actually get a 14-inch chrome notebook. This means it is light, weighs only 2.87 pounds and is therefore portable.
This model also offers considerable storage capacity: 64 GB on eMMC, and I think it is a very good Chromebook with a long battery life and an excellent CPU/Rama combination. In other words, it works perfectly for online broadcasts and other regular activities on the internet.
It has a sturdy aluminum casing and it is this model that includes an illuminated keyboard and two USB C ports, making it a truly modern device.
We were pleasantly surprised by the sound quality of this Chromebook. Although it’s not cinema quality at all (you rarely get it with a laptop), the sound is clear and crisp, even though the bass levels are challenging. It’s a good thing you don’t need this to watch movies and TV shows.
Click here to see the price and find out more.
HP Chrome Book x360 – Editor selection
We stick to the large 14-inch screen with the elegant HP model. Isn’t it smooth and absolutely amazing? Of course it is, and fortunately it is not only beautiful, but it also has excellent technical properties that will make it possible to work really well in 2020.
This means we have a more powerful processor (Intel Core i3-8130U 8th generation with speeds up to 3.4 GHz) and 8 GB of RAM. This is definitely one of the best combinations on our list, for maximum performance!
It also offers a good amount of memory – 64GB on eMMC, which provides ultra fast read and write speeds and more memory than your regular Chromebook. We would have liked more storage space, but we can live with it.
The large Full HD screen offers really clear and pleasant picture quality, while the screen itself has touch functions. It has good battery life and USB C connectors (with normal USB connection) and a microSD card slot.
If you are looking for a bigger screen, but also as portable as possible (this model is not only beautiful, but also very thin and quite light, weighing 3.7 pounds), it offers optimal performance for a reasonable price and is our best recommendation (if you really need a bigger screen).
Another impulse goes to a surprisingly good sound quality.
Click here to see the price and find out more.
Acer Chromebook 15,6″
Acer Chromebook 15.6 offers a screen size that I consider standard for regular laptops and is perfect for video playback.
Thanks to these – and the other features – this Chromebook is ideal for streaming video content from Hulu, Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and so on. – Especially if you like large screens and don’t necessarily want to connect them to a TV.
I wish it had a better processor for its size, but the included Intel Celeron N3350 can run up to 2.4 GHz, so it’s decent. It also has 4GB of RAM – this too can be better for faster operation – but the main advantage is clearly the size of the screen.
Finally, the 32-gigabit eMMC player complements its rather insignificant specifications. The only consolation (apart from the size) is that it has a touch screen that supports FHD resolution up to 1920 x 1080 pixels.
All in all, it’s a good chromed book for streaming movies and TV series on the internet. Personally, I always prefer a larger screen, and it offers something that can be worn without becoming too uncomfortable: almost 4 pounds, it’s not very heavy and only 0.7 inches thick!
You certainly get less than with small laptops – but you trade in a bit of memory and speed for a big screen with decent image quality. Like I said, the more the better it is to watch movies, so maybe it’s worth it.
This model also offers very good sound thanks to the front speakers. This way the sound is not muted and you get a complete experience, and the sound itself has a great depth. The larger Chromebook format also makes shooting in a room easier and more fun.
Click here to see the price and find out more.
Lenovskaya Yoga 2 in 1 – best performance
If you really need something very powerful, then this recording is just what you’re looking for. It might be a little exaggerated if you only get it for public use, such as streaming videos, surfing the web, etc., but its tremendous power and amazing features make it too good a tool to be ignored.
In fact, you get Chromebook with the usual functions of a laptop: It has a nice 15.6-inch screen, but the biggest surprise is that it’s built on a great 8th generation Intel Core i5-8250U processor. Generation runs (the best on this list and rarely seen on Chromebook).
In combination with 8 GB RAM, it also offers a ton of memory: 128 GB on a fast electromagnetic drive. You will also receive a free 64GB SD card as a bonus to expand this memory.
In other words, these days it’s as beastly as Chromebooks can be, and you won’t have any problems with multitasking.
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The Full HD resolution (1920 x 1080 pixels) and touch screen are complemented by an amazing product that has great processing power and can easily be used for multi-tasking and more complex operations, such as photo editing and other more complex tasks, as well as for working easily with streaming video.
The sound quality is also very good here. Windows Yoga has JBL speakers for sound processing, and we believe that the same brand is used in this model. Anyway, the stereo sound quality is really good here!
The price is really as high as the most expensive on our list, and as I said before, you don’t need all these advanced features if you’re just looking for a laptop to stream movies and nothing else.
But if you want a product that moves very fast and is likely to perform reliably for at least a few years, then Lenovo Yoga is a good choice!
Click here to see the price and find out more.
These would be the best Chromebooks for streaming video from Netflix, Hulu and Amazon Prime Video. We have listed different sizes above, so you can choose a smaller or larger screen depending on your needs. You have all the information you need to make informed decisions and adapt Chromebook to your needs.
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But no matter which model you buy, I am sure you will be very satisfied with the streaming and overall quality of these Chromebooks. Don’t forget that a reliable internet connection is very important, otherwise you won’t get the most out of streaming your favorite programs, even if you buy a more powerful product.
And if you want even more features and greater portability, read our article on the best and cheapest tablets for Netflix and Hulu.