Lenovo Flex 3i Chromebook Review: Surprisingly Good 2-in-1

[@kenrickhadley4499]

I must say, I do most of my daily home management in Chrome. Although many people love to put down Chrome as an operating system, I find it so easy and inviting when doing basic things on the internet. I love your coverage of devices for people who have real lives that they need to take of. THANKS.

[@AndroidDigest]

Thank you for this comment, and for being a sub for at least a year, it means a lot. And I agree, people put it down, but the os is more secure, quicker overall, and great for people who use the web.

[@kenweber2162]

Enjoyed your coverage of the 3i! I am a long-time user and supporter of Chromebooks and ChromeOS. They have become so much more powerful in just the last few years with some of the new processors. Wishing you many views of this video!

[@AndroidDigest]

Thanks so much! I will be covering the 5i soon too! Great Chromebooks. I love Chrome os and hope they continue to improve!

[@mdubb4855]

Regarding multiple tabs open at the same time: ChromeOS will now put inactive tabs to sleep to maximize performance. This is really helpful for me, since I am not usually running work in background tabs; I’m basically just opening links for sequential reading later when I start moving off the main page. For example, if I read a Wikipedia article I can open multiple reference links for later reading, and at the same time have Docs open for notes and even Microsoft Word open in its web version (imagine my surprise that the latest version even supports redline!). One caution: some financial and government websites only really support Windows well, I’ve run into glitches on such sites in both ChromeOS and on my iPad.

[@AndroidDigest]

Thanks for sharing all this!

[@sabrinamerrick1271]

10 years of updates? That’s amazing.

[@AndroidDigest]

Yes, all new Chromebooks get that, some older ones were updated too. Nice to know there's a bunch of support

[@sabrinamerrick1271]

Thanks!

[@AndroidDigest]

Thank you!

[@Me-eb3wv]

IMO chrome books are good if 90% of your computing needs are web/cloud based. They’re cheap, the battery lasts forever, easy to use, they lasts longer now (google promises to update their devices for 7-10 years so the days of buying a chrome book and having it bricked within 3 years are gone) and in terms of safety they’re 10/10. The chances of you being hacked while being on a chromebook is fairly non existent since google has a tight grip over their OS and they send weekly security updates. If choosing between a tablet (iPad) cheap windows, used MacBook or a new chromebook I’d choose a (duet) chromebook, because not only can you use it in tablet mode but chrome books allow you something iPads generally can’t, and that’s connecting to a monitor, and it’s going to be faster and safer than a used MacBook and cheap windows

[@AndroidDigest]

Exactly. Great for most people especially if they want to use the web

[@NoshikiYT]

it can play 2gb and 4gb games just like other 4gb laptops mainly older games but unfortunately not many newer games like infinite wealth

[@curbsidetech]

My Lenovo Duet 5 is very capable Chromebook tablet

[@AndroidDigest]

It's pretty great! Hope you enjoy it!

[@lour9348]

I just bougt this CB - man o man I love it! I love the typing, the display is super great, and its so responsive. I got this for $260 and consider it a steal of a deal. Get this if you're in the market for a CB!

[@AndroidDigest]

Thanks for sharing your experience!

[@raljix1566]

Just bought my first Chromebook - Always had windows laptops and Ipads but gotta say, i'm impressed with it so far - Small, compact and pretty potent.

[@AndroidDigest]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts! I think it's pretty decent for the money

[@lafamillecarrington]

I have the Flex 5i, and I tend to agree with you about the size being a bit of a problem when using it as a tablet. However, as a general-purpose laptop, it is excellent. Both 3i and 5i are great value.

[@AndroidDigest]

Yeah. It's great overall. Obviously it's a better laptop, the 5i. Much better for laptop work. Pros and cons. Both are great

[@HandelBarf]

When was this version released? I cannot justify upgrading my MacBook, iPad, iphone, and Mac considering I'm not a power user. I bought a Xiaomi mid ranger and a Nuc Box. I think this might solve my laptop and tablet combo dilemma. The old Apple great easily covered the cost with money left over. Very economical!

[@AndroidDigest]

I'm not sure what you mean. As far as version. If you mean software. They updated almost monthly. If you're talking about when this device released. In the US, it either released late last year or early this year. But it hasn't been too long

[@alluringming]

I go chromebook, i surf web, watch videos, and chat with friend. Kind like i do wiht my tablet but it has a keyboard which i prefer over touchscreen for typing when in bed. I do have laptop but i dont use it much and use it only for certain things. I only wish had more memory and some messenger apps wouldnt lag sometimes but other than that i love it

[@AndroidDigest]

For sure! I'm with you (Thanks for the sub by the way, over 2 years, very appreciated)

[@JnyRedeye-y5j]

Thanks for the review. Got this CB recently as open box and you're pretty spot on. Notice track pad feels a bit loose n hollow when tapping. Normal or potential defect? Appreciate any insights on this from the chat.

[@AndroidDigest]

In a weird way, it's probably a little bit of both. It shouldn't be as loose as it is, but it can be pretty normal around this price point. One riskier thing you can try, which you would have to try at your own risk obviously, is picking up the Chromebook by the sides and applying pressure to the bottom of the body of the Chromebook UP to the trackpad. So underneath it and pressing up. It might be hard to get a grip, but gripping the Chromebook by each side putting your thumbs in the middle and pressing up. Yes it involves putting pressure and almost trying to push the trackpad up and almost bend it. But somehow that has worked when I've tried that on a couple of previous Chromebooks. If anything snaps or something it would probably be on the inside, and if something isn't working you could always return it. Since you didn't open it they wouldn't realize it anyway. But it may be a way to try to fix it, at your own risk 😂😂. Like I said, it worked for me a couple of times. But don't feel bad if you keep it. If it bothers you, you can go to best buy and try out their model on the floor and compare it. And return it if you feel or necessary. Even if it's a small thing it's better to make sure you're happy. But regardless of all of that, I will tell you it's pretty typical and I wouldn't expect your touchpad to break or something just because it feels a little loose

[@JnyRedeye-y5j]

@@AndroidDigest Super-cool, thanks for the insights, my g and for the advice. Mind you, I'm coming from Macbook trackpads so I figured there would some compromises lol. But I just wanted to check if this was more common or not with this level of CB's. Otherwise, very happy with this model -- great screen and portability. Cheers and thanks again.

[@mdubb4855]

12.2” in an 11.6” envelope is a nice upgrade; so is IPS. How is the sRGB coverage?

[@AndroidDigest]

To be honest, I'm not sure, it's sort of hard to find out on a Chromebook like this.

[@mdubb4855]

@@AndroidDigest I tracked down 72% on the Flex 3i 12.2" yoga style but 100% on the 14" Kompanio powered laptop so I got that one and saved $80 in the process. Note, though, that it's glossy on the 12.2" but matte on the 14", and matte softens the image ever so slightly. One HUGE advantage of both is getting rid of those big margins of dead space around the actually viewable screen, which allows the whole body to drop one magnitude of size. The 12.2" comes in an old 11.6" body size, the 14" in an old school 13" body. The Kompanio chipset is zippy but theoretically the N100 is much faster.

[@pokapresidente4712]

How does it performance if using PowerPoint, excel and other office stuff?

[@AndroidDigest]

If you have the Microsoft office 365 subscription, you can download the Android apps and they do have a few limitations, but not too many. They are on great on here no issue

[@ccroy2001]

I like Lenovo, I have 3 Lenovo Chromebooks! LOL. For low price devices they are well made and sturdy, which is good because even my oldest one will get updates until 2027.

[@AndroidDigest]

For sure! They are great devices

[@adnanshotech1487]

This has performance like my iPad

[@AndroidDigest]

Yeah it does pretty well

[@sybilpan]

Excellent!

[@AndroidDigest]

For sure