Technologies

Best Black Friday Chromebook Deals Right Now From Acer, Asus, HP, Lenovo and Samsung

These Chromebooks already cost less than many Windows laptops or any MacBook. Black Friday deals make them an even better bargain.

Chromebooks are laptops running Google’s ChromeOS and are designed to be user-friendly for everyone. Even better, the best Chromebooks tend to be more affordable than competing Windows laptops or Apple MacBooks. And the prices only get better this time of year with Black Friday sales. Plus, since they’re safe and less complicated to use, a Chromebook can make an excellent gift for kids (they might already be using one for school) and less tech-savvy adults in need of just a simple computer, or anyone who wants an inexpensive laptop for a home office and entertainment.

Read more: Best Chromebook for 2022

To help you find the best Black Friday Chromebook deal for you, CNET’s editors have selected all the top discounted Chromebooks available right now as Black Friday nears. That includes pricier models that you can pick up on sale, as well as more affordable models that are a great value thanks to their low list price. One word of shopping advice: Although Chromebooks can run well on modest components, Black Friday doorbuster models might still be too underpowered. A big discount might not be worth the frustration. Also, if the Chromebook is really cheap, be sure to check the auto-update expiration date for the model. The AUE is when ChromeOS stops receiving system updates and is typically eight years, but the date is not the same for every model.

We’ll continue to monitor Chromebook deals and regularly update this list with the best Black Friday has to offer.

Best Black Friday Chromebooks

What should you look for in a Chromebook deal?

One of the biggest things to consider is which configuration is on sale. Often, with the best Chromebook deals, only a specific version of the Chromebook is on sale and making any changes to it could affect the price. This means that sometimes you find the 256GB model is actually cheaper than the 128GB option, or a similar situation.

When are the best Chromebook deals available?

Generally, you’ll find the best Chromebook deals during back-to-school shopping time in late summer or early fall, and a bit later in the year during annual Black Friday sales events. There are Chromebook deals available throughout the year, but if you’re looking for the best deal and can afford to wait a little, these are the best times of the year to buy one.

Which retailers usually offer the best Chromebook deals?

You can usually find deals across a variety of retailers when it comes to Chromebook sales. Amazon and Best Buy are constantly running discounts, and deals can also be found at Newegg and Walmart. Amazon’s prices fluctuate and Best Buy’s sales come and go, so it’s worth checking back weekly to see if a discounted price returns.

Technologies

Meta and AMD’s Multibillion-Dollar Deal Is All About the AI Chips

Meta will take a stake in the chipmaker in exchange for a commitment to buy billions of dollars’ worth of AI chips.

Meta is joining OpenAI as one of the major tech companies to take a stake in chipmaker AMD, as part of an AI hardware buying frenzy. Meta and AMD on Tuesday announced a partnership that will involve CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s tech giant buying billions of dollars’ worth of AMD Instinct GPUs in order to fuel its ambitions to build out AI offerings across Meta platforms, including Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp.

In a release, Meta described the deal as «multi-year,» and said the AI purchase will provide Meta with up to 6 gigawatts of AMD GPUs, «the silicon computing technology used to support modern AI models.»

According to the US Department of Energy, a single gigawatt (1 billion watts) is equivalent to nearly 2,000 large solar panels or 100 million LED bulbs.

In AMD’s version of the announcement, CEO Lisa Su said, «We are proud to expand our strategic partnership with Meta as they push the boundaries of AI at unprecedented scale.» As part of the deal, Meta will take a 10% stake in AMD.

AMD, based in Santa Clara, California, previously signed a deal with ChatGPT-maker OpenAI that it announced last October, which is similar to the Meta deal and also gives its AI rival 10% ownership of AMD.

(Disclosure: Ziff Davis, CNET’s parent company, in 2025 filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging it infringed Ziff Davis copyrights in training and operating its AI systems.)

What does this mean for the rest of us?

AMD’s two megadeals may not have an immediate impact on people who use Meta’s social networking and communications apps, or even on those who buy AMD’s products, including desktop processors and graphics cards.

But it signals that large companies making huge bets on the future of AI are doing what they can to secure the hardware they need as supplies tighten and prices rise for components such as RAM. Some of those constraints aren’t expected to end anytime soon, and shoppers could begin to see prices rise even more than they already have for computers, smartphones, vehicles and other products that heavily rely on computing components like these.

It is also a sign that Meta’s ambitions for AI are not slowing down as it continues to compete with companies including OpenAI, Microsoft and Google to develop AI products and tools.

Also a factor: Meta’s push into wearables

Another reason AMD may want access to AI chips goes beyond its own data centers and online platforms: Meta has increasingly been focused on wearables such as its Oakley Meta AI Glasses and other potential new portable products.

In addition to what AMD’s GPUs can offer Meta for AI infrastructure power, AMD may also be part of its wearable future.

«With AI models requiring unprecedented processing power to process real-time data and information, Meta is focused on securing the supply chain necessary for its wearable devices,» said Michael J. Wolf, founder and CEO of the consulting firm Activate.

Wolf believes that the deals Meta and OpenAI have signed won’t be the last time a major AI-focused company locks down a supply of semiconductors.

«As consumer hardware transitions from smartphones to smart glasses, we will absolutely see more of these mega-deals,» Wolf said.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections: Sports Edition Hints and Answers for Feb. 25, #520

Here are hints and the answers for the NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle for Feb. 25, No. 520.

Looking for the most recent regular Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle and Strands puzzles.

Today’s Connections: Sports Edition features a mix of difficulties. The green one is kind of fun today. If you’re struggling with today’s puzzle but still want to solve it, read on for hints and the answers.

Connections: Sports Edition is published by The Athletic, the subscription-based sports journalism site owned by The Times. It doesn’t appear in the NYT Games app, but it does in The Athletic’s own app. Or you can play it for free online.

Read more: NYT Connections: Sports Edition Puzzle Comes Out of Beta

Hints for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: Whack it!

Green group hint: Halloween colors.

Blue group hint: The airport is YUL.

Purple group hint: It’s also a hat.

Answers for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Yellow group: To hit a baseball hard.

Green group: Orange and black teams.

Blue group: Associated with Montreal.

Purple group: ____ derby.

Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words

What are today’s Connections: Sports Edition answers?

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is to hit a baseball hard. The four answers are belt, blister, hammer and tattoo.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is orange and black teams. The four answers are Bengals, Flyers, Giants and Oklahoma State.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is associated with Montreal. The four answers are 1976 Olympics, Canadiens, Expos and Youppi!

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is ____ derby. The four answers are home run, Kentucky, Merseyside and roller.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Wednesday, Feb. 25

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for Feb. 25.

Looking for the most recent Mini Crossword answer? Click here for today’s Mini Crossword hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Wordle, Strands, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

I thought today’s Mini Crossword was a tough one! Read on for all the answers. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword

Let’s get to those Mini Crossword clues and answers.