If you’ve been holding out for the Asus Chromebook Flip C433 that I found parading around the FCC cameras last month, your wait is over. As noted by Chrome Unboxed, Best Buy has inventory of this 2-in-1 Chromebook that competes squarely against the new Google Pixelbook Go at a much lower price. Even better, Best Buy is already discounting the Asus Chromebook Flip C433 from its $499 MSRP down to $419.
Chromebook competition in the $400 to $500 price range has really heated up lately, with the Asus Chromebook Flip C433 being just the most recent product in this space.
Asus also also makes the similar Chromebook Flip C425, although it’s not a 2-in-1 device, which can be had for $399.99 at Walmart. And Amazon currently has the Dell Inspiron Chromebook 14 with higher-performing Intel Core i3 U-Series processor priced at $428. So you have several good choices in this price range.
Keep in mind that although the new Asus Chromebook Flip C433 is brand new and uses an 8-th generation Intel m3 processor like so many others in this segment, it is limited to 4 GB of memory. That’s typically enough for basic or average use but power users who want to run Linux, Android apps and dozens of tabs simultenously will want to look elsewhere.
Here’s a rundown of the Asus Chromebook Flip C433 specs, which offer a solid package at this price:
| CPU | Intel Core m3-8100Y with 1.1 GHz clock speed |
| GPU | Intel UHD Graphics 615 |
| Memory | 4 GB of LPDDR3 memory at 1886 MHz |
| Storage | 64 GB with memory card expansion |
| Display | 14-inch 16:9 1920 x 1080 60Hz panel with 45% NTSC and touch |
| Ports | 2 USB Type-C, 1 USB Type-A, 3.5mm audio |
| Dimensions | 12.7 in x 8.1 in x 0.6 in |
| Weight | 3.31 pounds |
| Battery | 48 WHr with expected 10 hours of run-time |
| Other | Backlit keyboard, webcam, 2-in-1 form factor |
Keep in mind that the Asus Chromebook Flip C433 product page says that this Chromebook can be had with a Core i5 processor, up to 8 GB of memory and 128 GB of storage. However, Asus said that same earlier this year, along with a Core i7 option, for Chromebook Flip C434 but that never happened.
It’s worth noting that aside from the slightly smaller 13.3-inch display of the Pixelbook Go, which also has double the memory, these two Chromebooks are exteremely similar in terms of hardware. The Pixelbook Go, however, starts at $649, comparably equipped.
Based on my recent chat with a Google product manager, the company is betting on buyers who want a lighter (2.3 pounds) clamshell-only Chromebook with premium build quality and materials, 12 hours of battery life with support for quick charging and Google’s own Pixelbook-only features such as a dedicated Google Assistant key and other goodies.
