With all the talk of new chipsets from Apple , Qualcomm , Intel , and AMD , and their wallop on the current state of laptop technology , it might be leisurely to blank out that Windows and macOS are n’t the only games in township . Thebest Chromebooksrunning Google ’s Chrome OS remain quite viable , and that political platform has find out its own modulation to AI feature of speech withChromebook Plus .
Acer ’s Chromebook Plus Spin 714 is the late iteration of a lineup that specifically add “ Plus ” to the name to identify it as capable of running Chromebook Plus . If you like Chrome OS for its simplicity , security , and performance on low - end hardware , then you ’ll like the Chromebook Plus Spin 714 .
Specs and configurations
While Acer might free other configurations of the Chromebook Plus Spin 714 , there ’s only one available flop now . It has an Intel Core 5 Ultra 115U , 8 GB of RAM , a 256 GB SSD , and a 14 - column inch FHD+ IPS display for $ 699 .
That ’s an attractive price for a laptop computer that will provide very good operation given the lightweight nature of Chrome OS . It is not , though , a purely budget laptop . For that money , you ’ll need to be ok with any limit of the chopine and be unforced to look past some other , every bit affordable Windows laptops like theAsus Zenbook 14that ’s around the same damage and sports a fantastic OLED video display .
Design
The Chromebook Plus Spin 714 search a destiny like a lot of 14 - inch convertible 2 - in-1s today . That is , it has a gray chassis with minimalist lines and some chrome edging that calculate good and does n’t come across as ostentations , making it a rather bourgeois but still attractive aim . You ’ll know it ’s a Chromebook Plus thanks to the subdued logo on the lid , but otherwise , this could be a Windows auto as far as coming into court go .
It ’s also reasonably well - ramp up , with an all - atomic number 13 chassis that ’s just the bantam bite flexible in the keyboard deck and lid . Regarding the latter , it ’s no worse than theApple MacBook Airwhich also had a hat that will bend a slight under pressure . The flexible joint is smooth enough to allow opening the palpebra with one hand , but that makes it a bit wobbly in clamshell , tent , and media modes . Tablet mood is fine , though .
The top bezel and bottom chin are a bit dense , making the depth a bit more than a grapple with smaller bezel all around . And , it ’s a bit boneheaded at 0.78 in whereas many 14 - inch laptop computer are a lot tenuous . As a quotation , the MacBook Air 13 is deadly thin at 0.44 in , but other 14 - inch 2 - in-1s like theHP OmniBook Ultra Flip 14(0.59 column inch ) are also thinner . The 3.21 - pound weight is fine , although that ’s a bit heavy to hold as a pad .
Keyboard and touchpad
The keyboard is quite good , with magnanimous keycaps and flock of fundamental spacing . The switch are light and nipping , which I like a lot . I ’d rank it tightlipped to the best keyboards , like HP ’s OmniBooks and Apple ’s Magic Keyboard .
The touchpad is more everyday , as a smallish mechanically skillful interpretation . It work out fine , although its button mouse click are a bit sharp and loud . The display is touch- and pen - enable , although the pen is optional and was n’t embark with my follow-up unit . Chrome OS has okay pen support , and the touch modality video display is good for Android games .
Connectivity and webcam
Connectivity is very strong , include both fast Thunderbolt 4 port , which are unusual on Chromebooks , and legacy port . Wireless connectivity is also reasonably up - to - date .
The webcam is a mellow - Re 1440p version , and it supports various Chromebook Plus features based on Google ’s Gemini AI features . I mention those here because a lot of them reckon on the webcam . But , there are in reality a host of Chromebook Plus feature that the Chromebook Plus Spin 714 has . In a mode , Chromebook Plus is Google ’s reaction to Microsoft ’s Copilot+ PC AI enterprisingness . The difference is that Chromebook Plus laptops do n’t seem to require a fast Neural Processing Unit ( NPU ) , which the Chromebook Plus Spin 14 does n’t possess .
I found the various features to work well , and that include the webcam . So far , AI seems more like a gewgaw to me , so I wo n’t expend too much metre on Chromebook Plus .
Performance
My Chromebook Plus Spin 14 revue whole uses an Intel Core Ultra 5 115U , a Meteor Lake chipset with eight cores ( two Performance and six Efficient ) and 10 threads , run at 15 watts . It ’s not a fast chipset , and as refer does n’t have an NPU like Intel ’s Lunar Lake , Apple Silicon , and Qualcomm ’s Snapdragon X chipset . If it was running Windows 11 , it would n’t be a very fast chipset at all .
However , Chrome OS is a lot more lightweight . Although its capabilities have expanded , including the ability to run Android apps , it remains at its core group a connection - based operating system . yield the Chromebook Plus Spin 14 ’s 8 GB of RAM , which is a lot for Chrome OS , its real - life functioning is very good . It only nock 1,599 in the Geekbench 6 single - core test and 5,482 in the multi - core test , and those are n’t very good . But the chipset is more than tight enough for adept performance in Chrome OS . We ca n’t run our complete set of benchmarks on Chrome OS , but I ’m prosperous that most exploiter will care the Chromebook Plus Spin 14 ’s carrying out .
The Intel integrated graphics are n’t the best , but you could still feed most Android games somewhat well . And that ’s about the limit of gaming on the laptop unless you go with something like Nvidia ’s GeForce Now streaming service . In that shell , you ’ll get very good gaming operation up to the demarcation of the subscription you purchase and the upper of your net connexion .
Battery life
The Chromebook Plus Spin 14 has a 53 W - hour battery and an FHD+ IPS display . The combination should bring home the bacon decent battery aliveness .
In my testing , the laptop attain around eight minute in our web browsing test and 14.5 hr in our video looping test . Those are expert results that promise most of a day ’s work running typical tasks . It ’s not as well as some of the safe Windows and macOS laptops today , but it ’s good enough .
Display
The 14.0 - column inch FHD+ ( 1920 x 1200 ) IPS display is just sharp enough at the size that school text is n’t too pixellated . If you require the sharpest text , you ’ll probably wish it was in high spirits solvent . Brightness was very adept and color seem dynamic and reasonably precise . It does n’t have the colours and ink-black blacks of OLED panels , but it will please productivity exploiter and media streamer .
I ca n’t utilise my tintometer to test Chromebook displays , but I have no subjective issues with this one . The audio , provided by a pair of upwards - firing speakers , was also serious but not great .
A solid Chromebook for a decent price
Some users do n’t need the complexness and wide compatibility of Windows 11 and macOS , but a simple tablet like an iPad or an Android pad wo n’t do . That ’s where Chromebooks come in , and the Chromebook Plus Spin 714 is a solid addition .
It ’s fast enough and has good enough battery living , with a display that ’s not spectacular but is effective enough for most uses . At its $ 699 price is miserable enough that it ’s a skillful budget option . It ’s an comfortable convertible 2 - in-1 to recommend .
