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5 Best Chromebook For Photo Editing

By Matthew Rivera
  • Last Updated: Apr 29, 2023
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Chromebooks may not be comparable to your typical high-end gaming laptop, but that is exactly where its strength lies. You don’t always have to opt for the most expensive, high-performance laptop, especially if you’re typically not going to maximize its capabilities.

Compared to Windows laptops, Chromebooks are designed for efficiency, both in terms of computing power and cost. This is especially ideal for traveling photo editors who need a laptop where pricing is relative to its capability as a workstation.

In this guide, we’ll go through the best Chromebooks that are ideal to edit photos with.

Top Chromebooks For 2022

Google Pixelbook Go
Google Pixelbook Go
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HP Chromebook 14
HP Chromebook 14
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Acer Chromebook Spin 713
Acer Chromebook Spin 713
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Dell Inspiron Chromebook 14
Dell Inspiron Chromebook 14
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Asus Chromebook Flip C436
Asus Chromebook Flip C436
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Google Pixelbook Go

1. Google Pixelbook Go

The highest-rated and most versatile Chromebook for serious photo editing

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The Google Pixelbook Go is arguably among the most popular Chromebook choices. It’s a premium Chromebook with capabilities that go far beyond just photo editing and video editing. This comes as no surprise considering it’s manufactured by Google, the developer of the Chrome operating system.

As a photo editor, you wouldn’t want to work on a screen that’s too small. But if you’re going to travel a lot, you also don’t want to be carrying a laptop that’s too big. Thankfully, the Pixelbook Go features a 13.3-inch display – the screen is a solid balance between portability and size.

The Pixelbook Go is available in Full HD 1920×1080 which is the minimum resolution you would want in a laptop if you’re a photo editor. However, if you don’t mind paying a bit extra, you also have the option to get the 4K UHD version of this Chromebook which bumps up the resolution to 3840×2160.

The beauty of this Chromebook is in the number of options Google gives you. Aside from being able to opt for 4K UHD resolution, you can also choose between 8th gen CPU core options as well as different RAM and HDD storage.

Specifications

  • CPU: 8th Gen Intel Core m3, i5, or i7
  • GPU: Intel HD Graphics 615
  • RAM: 8GB or 16GB
  • Storage: 64GB, 128GB, or 256GB Solid State Drive
  • Display: 13.3in LCD touchscreen display, Full HD 1920×1080 or 4K UHD 3840×2160
  • Battery Life: Up to 12 hours
  • Dimensions: 12.2 x 8.1 x 0.5 in
  • Weight: 2.33lbs

 

Pros

  • Excellent build quality
  • Long battery life
  • Varied screen resolution, CPU, RAM, and hard drive storage sizes to choose from
  • Incredibly lightweight considering the specs

Cons

  • Quite expensive

Google Pixelbook Go

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Google Pixelbook Go
HP Chromebook 14

2. HP Chromebook 14

The best bargain Chromebook for students or casual photo editors

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If you prefer a more lightweight photo editing experience, the HP Chromebook has a very reasonable price considering its specs. If you compiled a list of all the cheap Chromebooks on the market, this one definitely would rank among the best.

It features an Intel Celeron processor with a base clock of 1.1GHz, but it can burst up to 2.4Ghz. To put this into perspective, photo editing apps that are on the higher end of hardware requirements (e.g. Adobe Photoshop Express, Adobe Lightroom CC, etc.) typically need at least 2.0GHz. So, this may not be the best Chromebook for photo editing on the market, but it’s pretty decent and can certainly do the job for more casual work.

One of the main drawbacks of this Chromebook is its small storage space which is only 16GB. This is especially disadvantageous if you’re also into video editing, as videos generally have larger file sizes. Of course, you could always look into a monthly subscription to cloud storage services to supplement your storage needs.

Specifications

  • CPU: Intel Celeron N3350
  • GPU: Intel HD Graphics 500
  • RAM: 4GB
  • Storage: 16GB
  • Display: 14in display, 1920 x 1080 resolution, touchscreen
  • Battery Life: Up to 12 hours
  • Dimensions: 13.54 x 9.45 x 0.7 in
  • Weight: 3.74lbs

 

Pros

  • Extremely affordable
  • Good specs considering value for money
  • Long-lasting battery life

Cons

  • Limited RAM and CPU speed
  • Small storage space

HP Chromebook 14

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HP Chromebook 14
HP Chromebook 14
Acer Chromebook Spin 713

3. Acer Chromebook Spin 713

The best Chromebook for screen quality

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The Acer Chromebook Spin 713 is a competitive Chromebook for photo editing purely because of its screen quality. It sports a 13.5-inch display at 2256 x 1504 resolution. This is much higher than the standard Full HD 1920 x 1080 that most Chromebooks have.

Additionally, instead of an aspect ratio of 16:9 which is quite standard for most modern laptops, the Acer Spin has an aspect ratio of 3:2 — that’s 18% more screen surface area than usual.

The Acer Chromebook Spin 713 specs are quite above-average. It has a 5th gen Intel Core processor that clocks in at a maximum of 4.20GHz, which is well beyond what you would need for the best photo editing apps. 

Since this laptop runs on Chrome OS, you can use more lightweight photo and video editing software from Google Play. There are tons of Android apps out there that are more than capable for basic photo editing.

Specifications

  • CPU: Intel Core i5
  • GPU: Intel UHD
  • RAM: 8GB
  • Storage: 128GB SSD
  • Display: 13.5in display, 2256 x 1504
  • Battery Life: Up to 10 hours and 35 minutes
  • Dimensions: 11 x 9 x 0.7 in
  • Weight: 4lbs

Pros

  • Very high-resolution screen
  • Reasonably high performance

Cons

  • Bulkier, and a bit on the heavier side

Acer Chromebook Spin 713

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Acer Chromebook Spin 713
Acer Chromebook Spin 713
Dell Inspiron Chromebook 14

4. Dell Inspiron Chromebook 14

The best Chromebook for using a stylus on a touchscreen
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This Dell Chromebook has many of the same features as most other Chromebooks on the market. It sports a backlit keyboard, dual stereo speakers, and a 2-in-1 build, meaning you can spin it around into tablet mode. Its hardware specs are also generally what you would expect from a budget Chromebook.

Where this laptop truly shines, however, is in the responsiveness of its touchscreen. Its built-in pen experience is exceptional, especially considering the price point. This functionality is ideal if you prefer using a stylus over a mouse and keyboard for editing photos.

Beyond the touchscreen functionality, however, this Chromebook may not be ideal if you need raw performance power. It only comes with an i3 processor, which is not the most powerful Intel Core CPU out there.

Specifications

  • CPU: Intel Core i3
  • GPU: Intel UHD 620
  • RAM: 4GB
  • Storage: 128GB SSD
  • Display: 14in display, 1920 x 1080
  • Battery Life: Up to 10 hours
  • Dimensions: 12.9 x 12.5 x 0.6 in
  • Weight: 3.9lbs

Pros

  • Highly responsive touchscreen
  • 2-in-1 build for tablet mode

Cons

  • Low processing power

Dell Inspiron Chromebook 14