Lenovo 500e Yoga 12.2" Gen 4 2024, Intel N100, 4GB, 32GB eMMC, graphite gray

The Lenovo 500e Yoga Gen 4 is a rugged 12.2-inch 2-in-1 Chromebook built for students. It's compact, has a nice touchscreen, and handles basic schoolwork fine. But 4GB of RAM and 32GB of storage make it a tough sell unless you find it at the low end of its $270 to $389 price range.

The Intel N100 is a four-core chip with a base clock of just 0.7GHz, and it shows. In our database, this CPU lands in the 15th percentile for Chromebooks, which means it's slower than the vast majority of machines we've tested. For a single browser tab with Google Docs open, it's fine. Open ten tabs, a YouTube video, and a Zoom call, and you'll feel the lag. The 4GB of RAM doesn't help. That's 4th percentile territory, and ChromeOS is more memory-hungry than Google likes to admit.

The integrated Intel UHD Graphics are what you'd expect from a budget chip. Gaming performance is essentially nonexistent, with a 2 out of 100 score in our testing. This is not a machine for Minecraft, let alone anything more demanding. The 32GB eMMC storage is also a weak spot, sitting in the 3rd percentile. ChromeOS is lightweight, but after the OS and a few Android apps, you're looking at maybe 15-20GB of usable space. Cloud storage is basically mandatory.

Compared to the Apple MacBook Pro M1 Pro, this Lenovo is in a completely different universe. The MacBook costs several times more and delivers performance that makes the N100 look like a calculator. But that's not a fair fight. The real question is how the 500e Yoga stacks up against other budget 2-in-1s. The HP OmniBook X Flip 14 and ASUS Vivobook TP3407SA both offer larger displays and more RAM for not much more money, though they're heavier and less rugged. The Samsung Galaxy Book4 Edge is a premium Windows machine with a much better screen and processor, but it's also significantly more expensive.

For pure classroom durability, the Lenovo holds its own. The MSI Summit A1MTG is a business-focused 2-in-1 with better specs, but it's not built for the abuse a middle schooler dishes out. If you need a Chromebook specifically, the 500e Yoga Gen 4 is one of the more compact and affordable options we've seen. But if you're open to Windows, the ASUS Vivobook gives you more performance per dollar.

Pricing on the Lenovo 500e Yoga Gen 4 is all over the place. US listings range from $270 to $389, which is a $119 spread depending on the vendor. At $270, this is a reasonable deal for a rugged student Chromebook. At $389, you're getting into territory where better options exist. The CAD listing at $533 is harder to judge without knowing the exact configuration, but it feels steep for these specs. If you can find it at the low end of that US range, it's a solid budget pick. If you're looking at the high end, consider spending a bit more on something with 8GB of RAM and actual SSD storage.

The Lenovo 500e Yoga Gen 4 is a 12.2-inch 2-in-1 Chromebook aimed squarely at students and anyone who needs a rugged, compact machine for web browsing, docs, and streaming. It runs ChromeOS on an Intel N100 quad-core processor with 4GB of LPDDR5 RAM and 32GB of eMMC storage. The 360-degree hinge means you can flip it into tablet mode, and the touchscreen makes that mode actually useful. At 1.32kg, it's light enough to toss in a backpack without thinking twice.

Is the Lenovo 500e Yoga Gen 4 good for students? For note-taking, Google Classroom, and light research, yes. The 1920x1200 IPS display is sharper than you'd expect at this price, and the rugged build should survive a few drops off a desk. But the 4GB of RAM and 32GB of storage are tight, even for ChromeOS. You'll be living in the cloud, which is fine if your school has solid Wi-Fi, but offline work gets cramped fast.

People searching for a cheap Chromebook with a touchscreen will find this one checks a lot of boxes. It's not a performance machine, and it's not trying to be. It's a durable little workhorse for basic tasks, and our database shows it's one of the most compact options in its class. Just don't expect it to replace a Windows laptop or MacBook for anything demanding.

Skip the Lenovo 500e Yoga Gen 4 if you need to run more than a handful of browser tabs, edit photos or video, or do any kind of gaming. The 4GB of RAM and 32GB of storage will frustrate you within a week. If you're a college student who needs a primary laptop for research papers, presentations, and streaming, look at something with 8GB of RAM and at least 128GB of storage. The ASUS Vivobook TP3407SA or HP OmniBook X Flip 14 are better fits for that use case, even if they cost a bit more. This Lenovo is best as a secondary device or a first laptop for a younger kid who mostly needs it for school assignments and YouTube.

Should you buy the Lenovo 500e Yoga Gen 4? If you're a student or parent looking for a cheap, durable Chromebook for schoolwork, and you can find it at the $270 end of the price range, it's a reasonable choice. The build quality is genuinely good, the screen is better than most budget Chromebooks, and the 360-degree hinge adds real versatility for reading and note-taking.

But the 4GB of RAM and 32GB of storage are hard to overlook. This machine will frustrate anyone who multitasks even moderately. If your budget stretches to $350 or $400, look for a Chromebook with 8GB of RAM and 64GB or 128GB of storage. The 500e Yoga Gen 4 is a fine second machine or a first laptop for a younger kid, but it's not a primary computer for anyone with real work to do.