Acer Chromebook Spin 311 Review: If only it was cheaper

Chromebooks are perfect for a lot of people, but since they tin can't do equally much as a Mac or Windows PC, they should virtually always cost considerably less.

The Chromebook Spin xi from Acer costs less than a PC at $400 CAD, just that'due south nonetheless a little much for what this machine is capable of.

That's not to say I wasn't happy with the device's functioning or hardware. I have no real qualms, simply it just feels more like a $250-300 product rather than ane that costs around $400.

The piddling Chromebook that could

The Spin 11 features an 11-inch screen, which would exist ok if it didn't accept massive bezels around it. Since the screen is so modest, information technology also forces you to move your dock to ane of the sides to maximize vertical space.

That said, you do get used to the chunky bezels later on a while. The screen also folds all the way around and then information technology can be used more like a bear on screen tablet.

The screen features a 1366 x 768 pixel display resolution. Information technology doesn't look super crisp, but it's perfectly passable.

Inside it's packing 4GB of RAM and a 2.6GHz Intel Celeron processor. While this doesn't seem like a lot, I was able to accept ii windows open with a few tabs each and it connected to run smoothly.

The part of the Chromebook that surprised me the most was the keyboard and trackpad. For such a tiny machine, I expected the trackpad to be terrible, but it was actually super responsive and it was large plenty that I never got frustrated with information technology. Dissimilar the Asus Chromebook Flip, I felt like I could switch betwixt the Spin's trackpad and my Macbook's without issue.

The keyboard feels really nice. Some people might observe it mushy, just I similar the fundamental travel and its overall size. Honestly, I'd rather write long-form features on this keyboard than my Mac.

Other positives include dual USB-C ports, a MicroSD carte du jour slot and ii USB-A ports. In that location'southward also a physical volume rocker and a headphone jack.

Another affair worth mentioning is that the bombardment life when you go on the Chromebook's screen brightness effectually 75 per centum or less is quite superb.

Specs

Display: eleven.half dozen-inch 1366 x 768 pixel resolution IPS touchscreen
Processor: Intel Celeron N4100 (iv cores, 1.10 GHz)
Memory: 4GB RAM (Dual-channel LPDDR4 SDRAM)
Storage: 32GB
Dimensions: 29.6 (Wide) x 1.96 (Hight) x 20.vi (Deep) cm (when closed)
Weight: 2.62 lb (1.19 kg)
Operating System: Chrome Bone
Bombardment: Up to ten hours (38Wh battery)

Why isn't information technology worth $400?

For starters, the overall build quality feels very cheap. It's all argent plastic with black plastic accents. When in use it feels nice, but there is some flex in the plastic and the keys aren't in a perfect line.

Not to mention the tiny screen and huge bezels are an annoying eyesore. Acer could have easily stuck a 12-inch or larger screen in this machine and it would have made a huge difference.

To be clear, these imperfections are not make-or-break, but they brand the Spin 311 look and feel cheaper than information technology is. For example, typing feels good, and using the hinge feels solid, but the hardware design screams, "I'm a low-cost automobile."

There's even a weird indent to a higher place the keyboard that serves no purpose, merely for some reason is covered with a sheet of clear plastic.

Information technology'due south also running Chrome OS, so be wary about what y'all want it to do. Think of it more similar a peachy typing machine for discussion processing and browsing the web and not every bit a full calculator for intensive creative work.

While I like Chrome Bone, I wish it was better. The limited Chrome OS-specific app ecosystem makes information technology a no get for a lot of people. Sure, you can run Linux and Android apps, simply overall you need to be certain that what you want this machine to accomplish can all exist done on the web.

Two examples of this are Slack and Spotify. They both take apps on Chrome Os, but they're Android apps and aren't great compared to the versions of those apps on Mac and Windows. You tin supersede these with websites, but that just means opening more tabs.