Here comes the 12th gen Intel Chromebook price war! Down from its standard $1,019 price tag, the Lenovo ThinkPad C14 Chromebook can be had for $866.15. That’s a 15 percent discount or a savings of $152.85. This high-end Chromebook ships as early as Monday, if ordered today.
I’m happy to see this happen because I’ve been concerned about pricing for the newest 2022 Chromebooks with 12th gen Intel chips. Back in January, I voiced this concern with the HP Elite Dragonfly Chromebook, for example. And after the initial sky-high prices for enterprises, the consumer edition landed at $1,149. Yes, there has been a sale on that device to reduce the cost to a more palpable $979. However, that model is currently out of stock.
So now Lenovo is running a discount on its competing product. And at just over $866, the Lenovo ThinkPad C14 Chromebook compares a little more favorably against the lower-priced $649 Asus Chromebook Flip CX5 and $729 Acer Chromebook Spin 714. If you really want the famous Lenovo ThinkPad keyboard and pointer nub on your Chromebook, you can get it for a premium over those two devices.
Simply put: For Google’s hardware partners to move large quantities of these 12th gen Intel Chromebooks to consumers, they have to aggressively discount them.
What $866.15 gets you with the Lenovo ThinkPad C14 Chromebook
I already mentioned the excellent Lenovo input options, which are a plus. So too is the use of the Intel Core i5-1245U processor. The more expensive HP Elite Dragonfly Chromebook uses the Intel Core i3-1215U, for example.
On the downside, at 250 nits of brightness, this Chromebook has the dimmest display out of all 12th gen Intel Chromebooks. And it’s fairly heavy for having a 14-inch display, weighing in at 3.44 pounds.
Here’s a full specification rundown to see everything else this Chromebook offers.
| CPU | 12th-gen Intel Core i5-1245U Processor with vPro, up to 4.4 GHz, 10 cores / 12 threads |
| GPU | Intel Iris Xe |
| Display | 14-inch IPS 1920 x 1080 display, anti-glare finish, 16:9 aspect ratio, 250 nits of brightness, external monitor support at 4k at 60Hz over HDMI / 5K at 60Hz over USB Type-C |
| Memory | 8 GB DDR4x-4266 MHz memory |
| Storage | 256 GB NVMe M.2 storage, microSD card reader |
| Connectivity | 802.11ax (2×2) WiFi 6E, Bluetooth 5.2 |
| Input | Backlit keyboard, multitouch trackpad, ThinkPad pointing nub, 1080p FHD RGB webcam, with privacy shutter, Dual-array microphones |
| Ports | 2 USB Type-C 3.2 / Thunderbolt 4 ports, 2 USB Type-A, HDMI output, headphone/microphone jack |
| Battery | 57 WHr battery with Rapid Charge, expected run-time up to 11 hours |
| Weight | 3.44 pounds |
| Software | Chrome OS automatic updates through June 2030 |
Memory and storage capacities are at or above what the other Chromebook options offer. It’s nice to have a 256 GB SSD, although even 128 GB likely suffices for more people in this price range.
All in all, the value proposition for the Lenovo ThinkPad C14 Chromebook is quite good at this price.
Can you get similar performance for less? With the Acer or Asus, yes. And you might gain some other features that are important to you. But if that ThinkPad typing experience is what you’re after, you can now get it without spending $1,000 or more. Just click here for the deal.
