Acer - Chromebook Plus Spin 714 Laptop with Google AI – 14" WUXGA Touch - Intel Core Ultra 5 115U – 8GB LPDDR5 – 256GB SSD - Steel Gray

Chromebook has been great for my kids homeschooling assignments so far. It feels easier to navigate than our windows laptop. And I was surprised to see that it came with a small case to put it in.

It is expensive but the quality and the feel impressed me the most, this is a really nice machine, the only negative I found, it felt big, heavy and a it is thick, not so portable, felt like a brick, but everything else was excellent, the whole feel, the color, the gold accents, the keyboard, the lighting of the keys, the glass track pad with haptic feedback, the sharp vibrant display, fast and snappy, everything was good about this machine, I loved it. Recommended. It feels expensive.

I needed a Chromebook for a classroom project, so picked up the Acer Chromebook Plus Spin 714 as it could double as a table with the touch screen and ability to fold flat. I mainly needed it to be easy to pick up and go while running ChromeOS. Pros: - Great performance for a Chromebook. - Touch Screen. - Folds flat. Cons: - Limited upgrade options. - AI Integration adds little to no benefits for most Users. Setup: This was the first time I got to set up a new Chromebook, so it was a new experience but very familiar as I’ve had to troubleshoot issues on Chromebooks before. But overall, the process is almost the same these days regardless of the operating system. Power on the device and be greeted with a guided setup that usually starts with connecting to the internet, then logging in or creating an account, with some customization options at the end. For the ChromeOS, it helps to have a Google account already, as it streamlines the setup process and loads most of your existing settings and Apps. Hardware: The Plus Spin 714 comes with an Intel Core Ultra 5 125H processor with a total core count of 14 cores: 4 performance, 8 efficient, and 2 low power cores. The Intel Core Ultra introduced the use of Low Power Cores, which help with increasing the battery life and reducing heat by running background tasks on lower powered cores. One thing to note about this CPUs is that Intel has already outdated it by the newer AI focused Lunar Lake cores that are releasing later this summer, Lunar Lake will have roughly 4x the performance in AI related tasks compared to the Intel Core Ultra Series 1. So if you are mainly focused on the AI-Infused features, then you may want to wait a few months for the new CPUs to come out. There is 8GB of DDR5 memory, this is soldered on and not upgradeable. For storage, there is 256GB of solid-state storage on an NVMe included, this could be upgraded to a larger size, but Acer only lists support up to 512GB though most likely any Gen 4 NVMe could be supported. The display is an ISP Touch Screen panel with a resolution of 1920 by 1200, a 16:10 ratio. The peak brightness is 340 nits with 100% sRGBG coverage. The web camera is on the nicer side at 1440p QHD with a full resolution of 2560 x 1440 at 30 frames per second. A built-in privacy screen is included. Paired with the webcam is dual-mic support, which works well enough to cut out background noise. The keyboard has backlighting. Bordering the sides of the keyboard are two upward facing speakers. The multi-touch keypad is about 4in by 3in. For ports, on the left side is 2x Thunderbolt 4 ports that can also charge, a full-size HDMI 2.0 port, and the power button. On the right side is 1 USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type A port, a combo jack, and a volume control button. The laptop is technically thin and light, at 0.71in thick and 3.21lbs, which makes it easy to transport day to day. Additionally, Acer included a well-padded laptop sleeve with a pocket that keeps the Chromebook safe during travel. General Use: ChromeOS is easy to navigate, feeling like any phone or tablet navigation. Paired with the Touch Screen, the experience is almost identical to a table or phone. I had no issues navigating to the apps, browsing websites, and typing up this review! I was concerned that the screen brightness might not be enough to use the device in direct sunlight, but that proved to be no issues, the screen was still clearly visible without straining my eyes. Though, with the ability to fold in half to a tablet mode you can just pick up and go as needed. Not a huge concern, but the Keyboard has a bit of a weird feel to it, I want to say the tactile response just feels off for what should be a pretty good keyboard. It probably is more my own personnel preference, but I found typing on the Plus Spin 714 not completely pleasant. The camera, mic, and audio were all amazing compared to other Chromebooks I’ve used, the camera quality really stood out as it was comparable to an external USB camera with how clear and smooth the image quality was. The dual mics did good cutting out background noise, but I prefer headsets for most of my calls, the audio and mic would do great in a pinch. The battery life is pretty good, the stated 10 hours is pretty accurate even without cutting too many corners. Though this is not the best battery life for a Chromebook, for the amount of added features included with the Plus Spin 714, it is a pretty decent run time. AI Features: I’ve had quite a bit of exposure to the whole AI movement going on with work and hobbies. But I found that the Plus Spin 714 has fallen into the “Slap AI On It To Sell” category. The claimed added benefits of AI-Infused features really don’t stand out enough compared to other similar laptops. I didn’t find there to be enough benefits here to the capabilities to justify calling out the features. The best addition to the AI tag is the included 12 months of Gemini Advance, that’s an extra $240 in savings that is usually an additional $19.99 a month charge. But for most users, the standard free features are plenty enough to summarize, help write, or find the answer to a question. But in the case where you don’t want to wait or have any limits on the number of uses, this would be a cheaper way to do it over shelling out for the monthly charge. Performance: I’m going to start off by simply saying, this is a Chromebook. That should set your expectations, this is not going to be playing any high-end games nor cranking out algorithms, but the provided hardware is more than enough for the average User who just wants to browse the web, watch videos, take some calls, or type up some papers. This is a perfect laptop that is a step up from a budget laptop for student or administrative tasks. I didn’t encounter any issues browsing the web, listening to videos like YouTube or Netflix, or using office applications. The Acer Chromebook Plus Spin 714 tackled multitasking perfectly, even plugging in an external monitor to so some video watching while typing and browsing the web was no issue for this Chromebook. Conclusion: I would highly recommend the Acer Chromebook Plus Spin 714 to anyone looking for just a basic laptop that can handle general tasks like streaming videos, office tasks, or video calls. I would not recommend this for lite gaming, but mobile games or simple web browser games work just fine. Treat this like a phone or tablet, and you will come out with a mostly positive experience! If you’re looking for something that takes advantage of AI-Infused features, I’d suggest waiting 3-4 months to see what comes out with the upcoming hardware enhancements. Or to grab this when it inevitably goes on sale.