HP Chromebook HP Chromebook 15 Laptop ( 15.6" Anti-Glare, Intel Review

So, the HP Chromebook 15. It's a big-screen Chromebook for a very small price. At $219, it's one of the cheapest ways to get a 15.6-inch laptop. That's the main story here. It's not trying to be a powerhouse. It's trying to be a simple, affordable portal to the web.

This thing is for a very specific person. Think about someone who needs a second screen for the couch, a student on an extreme budget who only needs Google Docs and YouTube, or maybe a grandparent who just wants to check email and see family photos. If your entire computing life happens inside a Chrome browser, this could work. If you need to install software, edit videos, or even have more than 10 tabs open comfortably, you'll hit a wall fast.

What makes it interesting is just how basic it is. The Intel N200 processor is in the 6th percentile for CPUs. The 1366x768 screen is in the 3rd percentile. Those numbers aren't typos. It's a reminder of what you're getting for $219. This isn't a laptop that hides its compromises. It wears them right on the sleeve, or rather, on the spec sheet.

Let's talk about that Intel N200 CPU. Being in the 6th percentile means it's slower than 94% of other laptop CPUs. In real life, that translates to a very specific experience. Basic web browsing is fine. Opening a single Google Doc is fine. But start layering tasks—like having a Zoom call while trying to research in another tab—and you'll feel it start to chug. The system will feel sluggish, not broken, but definitely slow. It's the kind of performance that teaches patience.

The 8GB of RAM helps a bit, but that 192GB eMMC storage is a major bottleneck. eMMC storage is much slower than a proper SSD, and with only 192GB total, you have almost no room for files offline. Everything lives in the cloud, which is the Chromebook way, but it also means if your internet is slow, everything is slow. The integrated Intel UHD Graphics are what you'd expect: fine for video playback, useless for anything resembling a game. Its 42nd percentile ranking for GPU is honestly better than I expected, but that's a very low bar.

The value proposition here is razor-sharp and single-minded: maximum screen inches per dollar. At $219, nothing else in its size class comes close on price. You are trading every other metric—speed, screen quality, storage, build quality—for that big screen and that low number.

When you look at it purely as a web terminal, the value is there. If you need a dedicated machine for a single, simple web-based task (like a kiosk or a digital recipe book), it's priced right. But as a primary computer for any kind of multitasking or productivity, the value evaporates quickly because the performance isn't really sufficient.

The competitors the system lists—like the MacBook Pro M4 or high-end gaming laptops—are laughably out of this league. A real comparison is with other budget Chromebooks or used laptops. Compared to a used business laptop from a few years ago, say a refurbished ThinkPad for $250, you'd likely get a much faster processor, a better 1080p screen, and a proper SSD with more storage running Windows. The trade-off is slightly more bulk, no new-in-box warranty, and the complexity of Windows.

Against something like the Lenovo Chromebook Duet or other small, cheap Chromebooks, the HP's advantage is screen size. If you absolutely need a 15-inch display on a shoestring budget, this is your play. If you can live with an 11-inch screen, you might find options with similar performance that are more portable and sometimes even cheaper.

Here's the straight talk. Buy this HP Chromebook 15 if your needs are incredibly basic and your budget is absolutely rigid at around $200. It's for web-only use on a big, low-quality screen. Think: streaming video, reading news sites, and light document editing. It's a specialist tool for a very specific, low-demand job.

For almost everyone else, I'd recommend saving up a little more. Pushing your budget to $300-$400 opens up a world of used business laptops or newer entry-level Chromebooks with 1080p screens and faster processors. The jump in daily usability is massive. This HP is the absolute floor, and while it works, life at the floor isn't very comfortable.