Acer - Chromebook Spin 713 2-in-1 13.5" 2K VertiView 3:2 Touch - Intel i5-10210U - 8GB Memory - 128GB SSD – Steel Gray

I've owned this Chromebook for a little over two weeks now and I'm in love with it! Upgrading from a 2017 Asus C302 with a Intel Core m3/4GB to this with the 10th Gen i5, 8GB and speedier NVMe storage is awesome! Pros: - Specs for value: 10th Gen i5, 8GB DDR4L and 128 GB PCIe NVMe SSD, with a 2K 3:2 screen that exceeds 400 nits of brightness with a build like this at $629 makes aluminum/plastic build Windows devices cheap by comparison, and the prettier Samsung Galaxy overspec'd and a bad value. For those who like to tinker, you CAN UPGRADE THE SSD YOURSELF! Remove 9 screws on bottom, VERY CAREFULLY lift a black piece that holds a ribbon in, and then one more screw to swap the SSD. Be sure to grab a NVMe one, as a SATA M.2 2280 SSD will NOT work-- Needs to be NVMe, which is the one with one notch near bottom on the connector side. Best Buy sells them in store, so you can checkout at same time and either have Geek Squad do it, or if you're comfortable, see Reddit. Most important thing is to know it will void warranty I'm sure, and to create a Recovery image before you even open the thing to install once you swap. I ordered the right drive to upgrade it to 500GB, so I will have a i5/8gb/500GB for total cost of $699+ taxes. Unreal value! - Screen is really bright-- Exceeds 400 nits of brightness. COming from the Asus C30 which was 300 nits and 16:9 to this, which is 3:2, for browsing the web or watching fullscreen content, it's much better here. Keep in mind most YouTube videos and almost every single Netflix movie is 16:9, so there WILL be black bars on top and bottom, but for browsing or being productive in Microsoft Office suite or Google Docs, it is a LOT better! - Fans are fixed! For those who read this wondering if Acer fixed the fan profiles from the previous Spin this is a modern refresh of, they did! The fans ramp up for one second when you power on, and they are very quiet even under heavy conditions. Attached an image of the overview mode showing a ton of apps open, and the Chrome window has over a dozen tabs, and the fan would be only audible in the quietest room, but even so very light and like other laptops. I owned the previous Acer Spin and returned because the fan was full blast with one single Chrome tab streaming a movie on VUDU. This is by FAR the best fix Acer has done - Keyboard/Touchpad: Keyboard is another huge upgrade from previous model. Key caps feel smooth but enough grip, not at all mushy and the backlighting is even and bright with multiple stages to adjust to your liking. Touchpad is smooth and ChromeOS gestures feel good with no dragging. - Ports: You get (1) USB-A, (2) USB-C, which al both full service, meaning you can do charging from either side, video out and data transfer or use a hub; (1) HDMI 1.4 port, a microSD card slot, a headphone/microphone combo port and then your usual power button and volume rocker for tablet mode. I was able to use the Chromebook and two external displays at the same time no issue. As mentioned, the HDMI is 100% 1.4, as it maxes out at 4K 30Hz. The USB-C does the same, but I did not have a 4K60Hz USB-C dock, so jury is still out if it can push that out, and multiple at same time. - Wifi 6 and Bluetooth 5.0. Any issues I had with connecting bluetooth controllers, mice on ChromeOS before has been a non issue in my short time with this device. Cons: - Webcam/microphone are subpar. I attached two images which are just a simple picture of the front facing camera. The darker one is this Acer SPin 713, and the lighter one is the Asus C302 from 2017. Definitely not a great webcam for those who needs to do conferences or work from home. - Speakers lack bass, and an overall rich sound. Maybe it's the placement on the bottom, where the HP x360 14c and the Lenovo Flex 5 have them dual front firing, but for Youtube watching the vocals are clear, just doesn't sound like a full stage. - 1080p HD playback inside of third party Android apps from the Google Play Store. This issue is a ChromeOS issue and not specific to this Acer; literally EVERY SINGLE CHROMEBOOK EVER MADE has this issue, and I believe it's the app developers negligence of optimizing their apps for Chrome OS, or Chrome OS has issues verifying the level certificate of Widevine, as the processor has HDCP support, but Netflix identifies it as L3, not the needed L1. What does this mean for you? Stream Netflix through the chrome browser any chance you can for best quality. If you use the Android app for offline playback from Netflix, Amazon Prime or VUDU they will max out at 480p SD. That's it. I included these cons to support those who are pointing out the bad camera and speakers aren't so great, but for me personally, I barely use them, so they're a non-factor to me personally. The rest I mentioned is a huge upgrade, the fact I can upgrade the SSD by myself for more storage on the cheap is incredible! Chromebook have been known to have everything soldered on board with no way to upgrade, so this switch to NVMe drives is a miracle! I cannot recommend this Chromebook enough! Word to the wise: I write this review as someone who loves the simplicity of ChromeOS and Chromebooks. As of 7/14/2020, there are "rumors" of Google working with Parallels to get support for full Windows software, and upgrade their version of Linux to be based off Ubuntu to add native out of the box Steam support for gaming as well as you can with an integrated GPU. I emphasize this again: rumors and development. If you read this today asking "is this device right for me?", look and see what you need from your device. If you can run everything inside of Google Chrome browser on whatever device you work at, or are looking to upgrade from, then the answer is absolutely. If you need to run a program or software made for Windows, or you need to run the FULL suite of Microsoft Office apps and you're familiar with the limitations the Google Play Store version has by comparison, understand what ChromeOS is and it may not be compatible as of now with everything you need. For 90% of people or everyday users and students, I believe ChromeOS is at a point where it can work completely for them. For business users who need specific software or an in-house VPN whatever, check with your work's IT for compatibility. With that out of the way, Chromebooks give you, IMO, better quality and better productivity at a much better price compared to Windows. For this $629 as it is configured here, there is nothing Windows can offer that compares. A Microsoft Surface device is the closest thing in terms of the screen ratio/brightness and flexibility to use as a tablet, but that's the Surface Book which STARTS at $1599! There is the Intel version of the Acer Spin 3 for those who can dig online, but that is plastic and non-convertible.

If you´re reading this review, you´ve probably already read all the good things about this chromebook: the i5 processor, the 128 GB, the bright 400 nit screen. All the things that reviewers have raved about before. Now, I will share why I´ve decided to return this chromebook. 1) The 3:2 aspect ratio. It has its benefits: browser pages look more zoomed in because the extra white space on the sides is reduced, you can see a few extra lines of text vertically (but only 2-3), and if you´re going to use the CB as a tablet for reading, it´s more like a regular page than a long 16:9 screen. However, it is not for everyone. I, personally, often multitask by placing windows side by side. A widescreen (16:9) is better suited to providing a horizontal real estate in this scenario. Likewise, I stream video content on my CB and a traditional widescreen is better for this purpose, filling up the whole screen. The 3:2 ratio of the Acer 713 makes it so that the widescreen video has to be reduced somewhat to fit on a more square screen and the top and bottom are filled in with a black bar. Also, I simply don´t really care for the shape of the computer with this aspect ratio. 2) The track pad. I found it often unresponsive, making it necessary to tap or click multiple times. 3) The hinges. These are too loose for my liking. If I tap the CB gently on my lap, the screen tips back a little. If I keep tapping, the screen tips back some more each time, until the screen and keyboard are flat. This is only gentle movement, like when you´re shifting your seating position. Because they are so loose and easily moved, I don´t have any faith that these hinges will last for the useful life of the CB until 2028. 4) The camera. The camera is strange. The image is somewhat grainy, but workable, except for the fact that, while my room was extra colorful, no doubt due to software color enhancement, my face was covered in dark patches, so that you couldn´t really see my expression. This persisted even after I shone a light directly at my face, so it wasn´t due to normal shadows. 5) The build. It´s supposed to be mostly aluminum, but it didn´t feel premium to me. It felt a bit flimsy and I can´t believe that it passed some military grade tests. A lot of people have complained about the sound. While it´s not great, it is also workable. It´s not as low as some people have said it is. This is not one of the reasons that I chose to return it. I really wanted to like it, since I got it on sale, but I finally decided that it´s not for me. Overall, the CB is future proof in terms of software, but I have my doubts about its durability in terms of hardware. In the pictures the Acer 713 is on the right and is being compared to another CB that has the 16:9 ratio.

This Chromebook is amazing! I've watched tons of reviews and after all the positive ones on this specific one, I decided it was going to be it. The specs and the price don't match up, in a good way though. The same spec google pixel go. $850. $900 after taxes. The build doesn't look as nice as that, but honestly I just want a chromebook to work smooth and it honestly looks very nice to me and the screen is beautiful. Especially, once again for the price. Also the fact that it changes from laptop, to tablet so efficient, easily, and quick. The touch screen is so responsive. I honestly can't say enough good about this. The Bad. The bluetooth kind of suck. You wear bluetooth headphones and they will not reach very far. I've tried 4 different pairs and my jabra elite 75t's did better than the jaybird and airpods, but not much. Accessories such as skins, or even sleeves. Basically anything specially for this device are hard to find. Most sleeves are universal but still. Also still don't understand why everything is made for the spin 13 but not this one. Last but not least the absolute worst part which makes the first problem even worse. The speakers are complete TRASH! First off. Who the hell puts a speaker on the bottom of a device, and not only that a horrible sounding one. Now I know I gave this 5 stars, but that's because the "bads" aren't serious too me. I have a jbl charge 4 speaker that works perfectly. The value you get for what you pay. These are extremely minor tradeoffs that honestly probably wouldn't effect me either way just want to make sure that if someone else is deciding, and these are big deals, they know. One for thing I've only had this for a couple days, but for all my nerds out there, know that in 2 days you probably haven't left the device alone. I have worked this thing as hard as I can. On that note, the battery is not as great as everyone says. And if you connect your phone through the hub your phone might die quickly with or without use. Mine has. But like my OnePlus 8t it charges pretty fast.

Been using for about 2 weeks. Here are my likes and dislikes Pros: Screen- its beautiful. It gets bright. Has great colors. Great resolution. And I'm like the 3:2 ratio Processor- latest 10 gen i5. I mean its a chromebook, it makes everything super snappy Ram- 8 gb is future proof. Harddrive- 128gb, more than most chromebooks. NVMe which is quicker than most chromebook ssds keyboard and touchpad- very nice Cons Speakers- all chromebook speakers I have heard are bad. These are at the lower end as well. Besides poor quality they fire down which makes it even worse. In a quiet room no problem. Any real noise and they just don't get loud enough Webcam- its not good. But again I havne't seen many chromebooks that are good. I'm not sure why a chromebook can't have a decent 1080p webcam. Screen glitch. I get it about 2 times a day. It last for half a second. Its usually when I change tabs or go to a new app. Its almost like the the display shifts slightly then corrects itself. Its of no bother to me right now since it happens so infrequently and for such a short time. If somehow it begins happening all the time it would def be annoying and change my review Keyboard deck - its plastic and has some flex. I've owned completely plastic chromebooks with more but my last one was a completely metal Dell with zero flex. Little rubber tabs at the hinge mechanism. They are there for when the screen tilts more then 90 degrees. The bottom of the screen becomes lower then the back of the laptop and puts the keyboard on a slight angle. I was working on my desk the other day and slide the comptuer over a little. The rubber piece came undone and twisted. I was able to put it back in place but now I have to be careful not to slide the laptop in that position. The other plastic tab seems to be holding up fine. If that plastic tab breaks off I'm not sure replacing or fixing it would be easy The cons while I listed a couple are much less important than the pros. In my opinion processor, screen quality, ram, hard drive are more important than speakers, webcams and some plastic parts.

I'm really happy with this product in overall. At first I was doubtful because is ChromeOS but then after realizing that most of the things that we use in a laptop is within Chrome then we gave it a try. No regrets and highly doubt going back to windows. I'm a college student and this works perfectly as I can access anything office related to my needs on their website/webapps Worth every single penny. Having the chance also access the my Android Apps is great as well. Also, it has a feature were you can unlock it by tapping your profile picture of you have your Android phone unlocked. When flipping it and making it a tablet it works flawlessly. I do not see myself needing a computer for a while now since this also will be supported by Google until 2028.

I have been using a Chromebook Pixel 2015 since it came out, and its high-end materials and design spoiled me for most of the cheaper Chromebooks on the market. Now that it's approaching it's end of life I have been looking for a successor, but I didn't want to spend another $1,000 for a top-end device if I could avoid it. So after a lot of research, I've had my Spin 713 for about 6 weeks, and I am very pleased with its screen quality (the 3:2 aspect ratio is excellent for documents and web scrolling) and its large Gorilla glass touchpad especially. The keyboard is good, but I'm spoiled by mechanical keyboards (which I can plug into this if I want to). It's fast, easy to use, and handles web apps, android apps, and Linux apps very well. Really the only negative is the speakers--they're pretty weak and sound both tinny and quiet. It is, however, easy to plug in headphones (either 3.5mm or usb-c headphones work well) or to connect it via Bluetooth to wireless earbuds or an external speaker. Bottom line: if you're looking for a high end Chromebook at a midrange price, as I was, I don't think you will find a better option than this one.

This Chromebook is the hands-down winner on so many levels. It’s a portable office. It’s a movie theater. It’s a LAMP server. It’s a desktop PC. It’s a tablet computer. It’s a Chrome browser. It’s an Android platform. It’s a Linux server. And it gets almost 8 years of free software and firmware updates. Rather than regurgitate our entire blog review, here's the link: http://nerdvittles.com/?p=33719

Awesome computer slash tablet love it looks great works Awesome great graphics and great price recommend to anyone its the best out there top of the line