Acer Chromebook Plus Spin 514 Review: New 2-in-1 Chromebook

I’m cautiously optimistic about Acer’s Chromebook Plus Spin 514 I tested a preproduction model Last month, the last unit was here now and it will attract landings. OK, mainly.

Acer’s latest convertible Chromebook has Zippy’s performance and battery life, as well as a good touch screen with a stylus. But the speakers on the crp’s feet and no fingerprint sensor make it harder to swallow at a price of $700 and prevents it from being abolished Lenovo Chromebook Plus 14ours Favorite Chromebooks.

Our review unit is Acer Chromebook Plus Spin 514 Basic $699 configuration. It has Mediatek’s Kompanio Ultra 910 processor (same as recent Lenovo), 12GB of RAM and 256GB of UFS storage. Its 14-inch 1920 x 1200 IPS touch screen has a refresh rate of 120Hz, reaching 300 columns of brightness. It supports USI 2.0 stylus, although they are sold separately and there is no place on the laptop to store them. Aluminum Sell $799.99 Specifications With 16GB of RAM and 2880 x 1800 resolution display Slightly The brightness of 340 nits is brighter, but this high definition does not really solve the biggest disadvantage of rotation.

I want the screen to be brighter (ideally 400 columns or higher), and I always prefer OLED and 2.5k resolution, but this is a nice-looking IPS panel. I insist that the 1920 x 1200 resolution is good (not Idealbut for the minimum tolerability specs for the 14-inch screen, if everything looks good. That’s it here. It doesn’t look nearly as vivid, bright and contrasting as the OLED on Lenovo, but the faster 120Hz refresh is a nice comfort. The sensitivity of notes that rotate 514 in tablet mode is good, although palm rejection may be a little better. I have some rare situations where my little fingers suck a small line in the knuckles. But it’s a solid screen with good, fast refresh speeds and is attached to a solid 360-degree hinge.

The Star feature of the Spin 514 is its Kompanio Ultra 910 processor. ARM-based chips are fast enough for everyday productivity tasks and typical Chromeos web applications and can be easily sustained throughout the battery level. Unlike Lenovo’s Chromebook Plus, the same chip has a cooling fan. It seems to result in a slightly better benchmark score than Lenovo’s Chromebook Plus 14, but I rarely hear fans spins in regular use. I can work eight to nine hours, including leisure, Google Docs, playing music on Spotify, a lot of messaging, a lot of open chrome tags on virtual desktops, and more Next Must charge in one day. I like this freedom.

As for essential components such as keyboards, trackpads, and ports, rotating 514 can be fixed. The keyboard is not as tactile and good as the Lenovo counterpart, but it feels good to type and the key travel is enough. The mechanical trackpad is as good as the one on the Lenovo Chromebook Plus 14, but it sounds better and is more depressing. Its two USB-C ports are twice as fast as Lenovo.

The webcam on Spin 514 is from The last acer laptop I tested. The 5 megapixel camera here is not an over-processed, crunchy image, but a sharp and appropriate contrast. It handles mixing and low light well, although sometimes it sometimes struggles in scenes near the window and takes a little time to make sure my face is blown out and needs to get my face dirty. But on average, it’s a very good webcam.

The speakers with long poles lack biometric login. If you use an Android phone, you can save on your lock screen pins by connecting your phone and connecting it nearby. But this is not a substitute for quickly unlocking a laptop with fingerprints. The speakers are equally annoying and the side of the keyboard that fires from you in tablet/tent mode. But, even towards you, they sound muddy and sultry. You can always get around the poor speakers with headphones or external speakers, but this is the pandemic for this great laptop.

The Acer Chromebook Plus Spin 514 is not the new king or queen of Chromebooks, but it is a respected duke or duchess. These new ARM-based Chromebooks touch on just the right performance and long battery life, and unless you’re really sensitive, I don’t have much reason to sacrifice one or both with an Intel-based model.

If I were to buy a high-end Chromebook now myself, I would have chosen the Lenovo Chromebook Plus 14 for $50. I like 2-in-1 convertibles like Acer because they let me occasionally get the keyboard to look at what I watch, but I don’t mind sticking with the Clamshell folderex in exchange for an OLED display, good speakers and fingerprint sensor. If the price is greater, I might rethink things. It may only be a matter of time. ACER laptops are on sale often, and Acer’s media relations Kelly Odle told me that the $699 laptop might enjoy a regular $599.99 discount at Best Buy. I can still recommend the spin 514 to those at full price real Want a convertible Chromebook. It’s a very good 2-in-1 and it’ll be even more eye-catching if and when it starts to be sold.

Photography by Antonio G. Di Benedetto / The Verge