Acer Touchscreen Chromebook Review

The Acer Chromebook Spin 713, which we reviewed and awarded our Editor’s Choice for consumer Chromebooks nine months ago, stands out for its 13.5-inch touch screen with a 3:2 aspect ratio and a fast solid-state drive in place of eMMC flash storage. Despite the closeness in MSRP between these two Acer Chromebooks (our review unit, the 514, cost $599.99, while our review unit, the 713, cost $629), we choose the Spin 713. Many Chromebook buyers and those who want a bigger display will be pleased by the Spin 514, as it is a speedy and stylish 2-in-1.

Acer Touchscreen Chromebook Specs

PROS

1. Vivacious, quad-core Results from a Ryzen
2. HDMI input
3. Ample space for storing data
4. Inviting screen and input device

CONS

1. Intense when using a tablet
2. Wi-Fi 5 instead of 6 Solid-State Drive (SSD) Memory

Price

The $330 (£280; approximately AU$ 495) price of the Acer Chromebook Spin 311 is a bit surprising compared to the Chromebook 314 released around the same time. A smaller model with less power life doesn’t work as well, but does it cost more? At first, it doesn’t make sense. But the differences in how it’s made, how it’s used, and what it gives probably make up for it.

And for a flexible 2-in-1 Chromebook in the lower-middle price range — this is not a high-end Google Pixelbook at all — this is a fair price range. With a sale, buying on the spot is almost good enough. It will be easy to find at the usual stores, but the price to the customer in Australia is much higher than the converted price in the US or UK. For example, one Amazon AU price will be over $700. We hope the number of places selling it in Australia will grow and the prices will decrease over time.

Audio

The Chromebook’s built-in speakers on the keyboard’s sides aren’t anything special. I could pick out the vocals clearly in Jimmy Eat World’s “The Middle,” the guitars were adequate, but the drums and bass were buried in the background and difficult to distinguish. The Chromebook 15’s speakers were loud enough to fill a small conference room. However, the sound was muddy if I wasn’t sitting near the laptop.

Performance

The Acer Chromebook 15 has a 32GB SSD, 4GB of RAM, and a quad-core Intel Pentium N4200 processor. It is adequate for non-intensive activities like word processing, web browsing, and video streaming. I had 12 tabs open in Chrome and was experiencing lag while switching between them; one was playing a 1080p clip from The Daily Show with Trevor Noah. Compared to other Chromebooks, the Chromebook Pro (126.6) and Chromebook Flip C302CA (127.3), regarding web app performance measured by JetStream, Chromebook 15 performed poorly, earning a 66.6.

Powered-Up Time

The Chromebook from Acer should be sufficient for daily use. The Laptop Mag Battery Test 2.0, which loops HD video playback, graphics benchmarks, and web browsing at 250 nits, lasted 9 hours and 7 minutes. It is shorter than the typical Chromebook’s runtime (9:29), but it’s longer than the Chromebook Flip’s (8:52) and Chromebook Pro’s (8:05) runs on our more basic, older test.

Webcam

The 720p webcam on the Chromebook is serviceable, although more light would make it better. Even though our office is brightly lighted, the camera had trouble focusing on my blue checkered shirt in the photo I shot. It looked like there were no white squares on the shirt at all in the photo.

Heat

Relaxing on the couch with a Chromebook and a Netflix binge? Sure, no sweat. The Acer laptop never overheated during our tests. The touchpad registered 79 degrees Fahrenheit, the keyboard reached 86 degrees, and the bottom reached 95 degrees after streaming 15 minutes of high-definition video from YouTube. That final figure is within, but not quite within, our ease zone.

Design

The Acer Chromebook Spin 311’s small form factor perfectly complements its high-quality construction and stylish appearance. The first thing you’ll notice is the harmony of blacks: the back, the keyboard, and the bezel around the screen. The exterior is quite strong and should satisfy people who need a long-lasting Chromebook.

The one exception is that the keyboard panel has a small amount of give, especially if you type quickly and forcefully. It is in sharp contrast to the sturdy and substantial nature of the shell. While the keyboard is the same size as the bigger Acer Chromebook 314, the smaller frame makes the entire device feel more confined, making it less comfortable to use than the larger model.