Acer - Spin 15 2-in-1 15.6" Touch-Screen Chromebook - Intel Pentium - 4GB Memory - 32GB eMMC Flash Memory - Sparkly Silver

I am a 30 year veteran of the computer industry, I worked on computers back when screens showed only one color (green or amber). Or they didn’t have a screen at all, and instead printed everything on a teletype widebody dot matrix printer. I worked for a couple of companies that designed the first thin and light computers. Of course back than that designation was completely different than what we have today. The technology advancements are nothing short of incredible, if only our transportation system and energy sector advanced at the same rate! I could spend time making comparisons for the technology in the Acer CP315 and compare it to the laptop computers I worked on 20 years ago. But that would be laughable and pointless. Instead I’ll tell you my impressions of this computer, what I think it’s good for and whether I recommend it. Hardware Very impressive build quality! I would not have expected this level of fit and finish at this price point. It’s really incredible that Acer can manufacture a system this solidly built, with quality components and keep the price point so low! A true testament to engineers, and their constant pursuit of building high quality products efficiently and cost-effectively. The body and chassis are stiff and feel well put together. It feels like a single unit, which is impressive. I really like the texture materials, and the high-end look and feel. Outstanding! The screen quality is quite good. The resolution is excellent, and the backlit screen is very evenly lit and accurate. Edge to edge the light emission appears quite evenly distributed. Fonts look crisp and not-blurry at all even at the highest supported resolution. Very, very nice! Off angle viewing is also surprisingly good! Far better than I expected it to be. That’s good and bad depending on what you will use this for, if you don’t want people next to you seeing what you are typing - well, this screen won’t help you any because it displays well even at extreme angles. Having said that there is a fair amount of glare on the screen, which I attribute to the touch screen capabilities. What’s that you say? Touchscreen? Yep! Not only is the panel crisp and clear but also doubles as a touchscreen display. More on that shortly… Color reproduction is also very good, and very minimal artifacting even while watching fast moving videos. The keyboard is shockingly good! The debounce is good, the travel length of the keys just right! Really good, and not at all like the terrible ‘chiclet’ style keys of the past. I can type on this keyboard and not get frustrated. It doesn’t have much feedback in terms of sound, but that’s not unusual. I like the old-fashioned clickity click mechanical keyboards - I’m kind of spoiled that way. My first PC was an IBM XT with an 8088 process and a keyboard that weighed more than the entire Acer CP315 with adapter! Ha! As far as laptop keyboards go, this one is excellent. And for bonus points it’s backlit! Good job ACER! Built-in storage is a mere 32GB… I say that jokingly because my first notebook computer had a 100mb hard drive! It was puny and slow, by today’s standards. But back then it was state of the art. What can I say, I guess I’m old… The 32GB of flash memory in the CP315 is all you need, honestly. If you feel you need more, go ahead and add it. Acer was kind enough to provide a MicroSD card slot and USB 3.0 ports. Knock yourself out if you really want to pile in more memory. But it’s not worth it in my estimation. This is a networked Internet device, that uses as part of its architecture Google’s online services and storage. The whole idea of this system is to separate out the processing part from the storage part. Storage is online, is plentiful and can be accessed anywhere in the world so long as you can access the Internet. Well maybe not in China and North Korea where it would likely be blocked. Add Iran to that too.. Hah! You can save your work locally, for those times that you won’t have access to the Internet (on an airplane for instance). But memory is cheap, if you are running low - go buy some more… The battery life in this machine is awfully impressive! It’s rated at 14 hours, and while I haven’t reproduced that - it wouldn’t surprise me if that’s a real number. I’ve used the CP315 for 8 hour straight on battery only and it still had battery life left. YRMV. There aren’t any moving parts in this system, Acer did a great job optimizing energy consumption. This is the laptop I’ll bring with me on extended trips. The power adapter is also lightweight, small and features a long cable. Nice!~ The touchpad is… Ummm… A touchpad. I was never a big fan, and I’m still not. I liked the old trackballs of the old laptops. They just don’t exist anymore. You have to buy external ones and plug them in. The touchpad on this computer is ginormous! There is plenty of surface area to get very detailed movements on. I should like it, but I just don’t care for any touchpads. The other thing I don’t like about this particular touchpad is that there are no buttons. Zero. Not two, now one. Instead the button(s) are under the touchpad so you have to train yourself to click and double click in place on the touchpad. If you’ve used Apple notebooks, this will make perfect sense to you. But I’m an old fashioned mouse guy, and I haven’t got comfortable with it yet. Having said that the touchpad combines a number of capabilities and functions all in one. One finger press, one finger drag, two finger press, two finger drag… Ugh… Read the manual is all I can say… The CP315 is the contortionist amongst other normal laptops. It has an ingenious hinge design that not only holds the screen stable at most every angle I tried, it also allows the user to flip the screen completely backwards. The end result is that the laptop transforms into a tablet computer. I personally don’t have much use for that, but I’m sure lots of people do. The feature is there if you want it. When you convert it to a tablet the keyboard and touchpad are disabled so you don’t accidently type things on the screen. In tablet mode you will use the touchscreen to navigate and type - it’s like a big smartphone in this mode. I recommend getting a stylus to use if this mode is important to you. It is really cool, and a nice added bonus for those people that will appreciate it. The speakers sound very and are very loud for the size and depth of this laptop. No complaints at all! Of course most people have Bluetooth speakers, and headphones. I tried both and they both connected quickly and worked flawlessly. I tried the built-in webcam and microphone only long enough to verify they work. They work… I haven’t used them in practice, but I’m sure given everything else with this machine they’ll work equally well. So that’s a review of the hardware, of the major functions. Oh the wifi works great! No problems at all, fast solid connection. Never lost connection, very stable. No ethernet connection of course, this notebook is too thin. If for some reason you must be hard wired, you can use a USB style connector. I won’t review the software on this computer because Acer didn’t design it, they integrated it. This runs the Chrome OS, and uses Apps instead of full fledged software applications. This operates a lot like Microsoft Windows, but it’s not. It takes a little getting use to. But if you have an Android phone, you probably already know how to use this. So who is this computer meant for? In my opinion it’s perfect for the user who wants to browse the Internet, to watch videos online, to correspond via email and to use the wide assortment of Google Chrome Apps. You get access to Google’s excellent office productivity apps. I wouldn’t use this to write a thesis or my memoirs, but in a pinch it can double as a work computer. But this is not a gaming computer, nor is it meant to be. It has enough power to do what I mentioned but not anything requiring lots of processing power. If you are a power user and want to play video games or edit large videos - this isn’t for you. But if you are looking for a stable and well-built laptop that will keep going on battery power all day long - this is a winner - and you better believe I recommend it. It’s a bargain!

It's been an amazing year for Chromebooks especially since they added the Google play store. I was using an Acer Chromebook 15 from last year as my device but this one is much improved plus the "Spin" feature makes it even more useful than last years model with the same performance which still feels good use. Design: The design is great with the aluminum well-constructed throughout the top and surrounding the keyboard. Almost the same as last year with a textured top. There is a nice silver trim that just gives off the illusion of luxury. Everything about the laptop feels nice even the bottom of the laptop which is plastic but better than last year model. Chromebook Spin 15 somewhat lightweight, it feels heavier than a basic Chromebook 15 from Acer. I can still pick this up with one hand and place it down but not as easy as before. The design also allows for the Spin feature to work which lets you put the Chromebook in Tablet mode. Screen: The screen is great to look at for a Chromebook. it's a 1080p IPS Muti-Touch panel and nothing looks ugly on this screen. Having the touchscreen allows you to use the Google play apps that are available. I am able to multitask with more than one screen open at once. The screen gets really bright when you turn up the brightness and gets low enough not to disturb anyone next to you. YouTube Netflix and Hulu all look amazing on the vibrant screen. Games look awesome like Asphalt 8 as well. Sound: The speakers are placed on each side of the keyboard and the speakers are LOUD. There are not tiny small speakers at all and they sound way more fuller than anything on a tablet. Youtube at its loudest is a treat to hear but listening to music on Google Play Music, Pandora, Spotify, and Apple Music sounds loud and clear. There isn't a lot of bass in the speakers but they do get loud enough for people to enjoy. When the speakers on this laptop aren't enough, When connected through Bluetooth you can use any wireless speakers you have. Don't have Bluetooth? Well just use the headphone jack on the side of the laptop. But the speakers are amazing on the laptop itself though. There is one problem, in presentation mode, the speakers will be muffed laying down. I wish Acer would have put 2 more speakers on the bottom of the Chromebook Spin. Performance: Intel Pentium makes this Laptop hum though many task and great for a Chromebook like this.This laptop cuts through whatever Chromebooks do. Acer Chromebook also never overheats at all. I had multiple tabs in chrome open while using some Android apps. It opens up a whole new mind of mindset getting used to having an OS so smooth with Google Play store. Other apps like Netflix, Youtube, Hulu, Amazon, and Pluto TV all was here working just fine with the respective apps. If you doing basic task this is the product to own! Battery Life: THE STAR OF THE SHOW AGAIN. I have never ever witness battery life in a laptop EVER such as this! I was getting INSANE standby time but using it all day was great. there was never a time I was worried about the battery dying out. The Acer Chromebook 15 last so long before needed another charge. Certainly the first laptop I can confidently walk out the door and be safe about it lasting all day. Keyboard: The keyboard works well with a nice travel between them. They are pretty satisfying to click even as I type this review in the dark The keys are backlit. They are bright enough to get work done at later hours of the night. There are some annoyances that I personally don't like about it as with the last year model. One is the long "search" on the left is still there. I nearly hit the key every time near the "a" on the keyboard, It's not as bad as it was on the last year model but its still annoying. I can't fault it because I think this is just a Chromebook thing. Another problem I have with the keyboard is that there are two icons that are "gears" one is a big one and one is a small one, you control the brightness with these keys and they feel mislabeled and nothing that could resemble brightness. Something I wish Google would change but this doesn't take points of Acer's efforts. Chromebook 15 Spin biggest feature is well the "Spin" the ablity to turn it into many standing modes and even laptop. This makes it closer to an Android tablet too albeit being thick. Laptop Mode: Standard mode you and most likely other people will use. Nothing special here, This mode makes it look like a basic laptop. Tablet Mode: This is a mixed bag, There are things to love about tablet mode as you can use the device as a tablet for the tons of apps on the Google play store. Some people found it strange to hold in tablet mode and I'm here to report that it is depending on what you do. If you browsing around on the browser or using it to play Spotify then it's very good to use. The basic task is great for the tablet mode but gaming is a different story due to button placement of each game onscreen. If one of the things you use android is gaming spear yourself the trouble and get a BT controller. You will quickly realize that the tablet mode is not very easy to hold for long periods of time. The keys on the keyboard deactivate in this mode so you are not hitting buttons by accident. Tent Mode: This makes the laptop pop up into tent mode so you can watch or play your Media, Music, or even play some old school games in a "Nintendo Switch" fashion. I use this mode more then I thought I would, It's nice to just pop it up and watch Hulu like an HDTV. Presentation Mode: Same like tent mode this pretty much make your screen more accessible. Allows easy touch for the screen and showcasing what you have on screen to friends/ family/co-workers. I like this mode as well but there are some drawbacks with sound as the speakers lay flat against the table blocking them. I/O ports and others: 2 USB-C ports for charging on each side of the laptop, 2 USB 3.0, MicroSD card slot, and headphone jack all work fine. if you need ports its funny enough here on this Chromebook 15. all the same ports from Chromebook 15. There is a webcam and the quality is ok, It's there if you need it but that is about it. MIMO Wireless is supported so superfast Wifi is here. My final word is I love it, I love everything about it because it feels like the hardware with the software is unmatched. If you have the basic Chromebook 15 don't feel compelled to upgrade but for newcomers this is perfect. The build is phenomenal, the OS is fluid with the performance as always. For my basic internet needs, this is the best product to use, because Acer did an outstanding job. I had no shortcomings from using the device and would recommend this to my family, friends, and students. Good job Acer.

Remember Lily Tomlin in those old Electric Company episodes where she's acting like a little kid in a giant chair? When you put the Acer Spin 15 in tablet mode this is how you'll feel! As impressive as it is in tablet mode it's also a bit unwieldy. It just too wide and to heavy to use without fear of dropping it. In portrait mode it's a bit more manageable and very usable as a tablet. Still may be a bit to heavy for some, but it feels very functional for me. Because of the size and weight I'd suppose tent mode would be better suited most. Watching video, reading recipes, etc. The downside of using it in tent and table mode is that the speakers will be facing away from you, and these speakers are some of the best I've heard in chromebook. Don't expect a lot (or basically any) bass, you just can't fit a decent sub in such a thin body. But the mids and highs come out clear without being to shrilly or tinny and get pretty loud without distortion. Without using any benchmarks the N4200 drives this laptop with ease. Webpages load quickly with no stutter on most websites and 4GB of RAM I've had just over 20 tabs open without a hiccup. Navigating with the trackpad and the touch screen was a breeze. The trackpad is impressive as it feels smooth and glides nicely tracking every movement. Some might balk at at 1080p screen but those are the "emperor's new clothes" type of people. All the marketing tells them they need the new shiny "Big K's" when 1080p does just fine in most cases, especially in smaller screens. Sure if you stare long enough you'll see a little aliasing on thin fonts, but if you just use it then it's perfect for the job. The screen is a little unevenly lit with a little dark spot on the lower right, but my eyeball is pretty sensitive to colors (passed the pantone test at 100% and I'm the official color checker at work) so most people my not notice it unless under certain conditions - total darkness with a black screen. I did a little gaming with a few android apps and it handled the games pretty well with very little stutter - just an ARPG and RPG. I can't say what the actual frame rates were, but the never got low enough to cause any problems. Just keep an eye on the space because 32GB can go quickly. Luckily there's an mSD slot to take car of some of that burden. Battery life is pretty impressive. I usually get better than normal life than most because I set my screen's brightness to about the brightness of a sheet of paper in your current lighting conditions - meaning I barely go over 30% unless I'm outside. That said the meter says I can have almost 12 full hours of use. I've never run it all the way down, but I've only charged it full three times in a week- once after getting it, and then twice when it was around 30-40%. I use it mainly for media consumption so it's not a "power user" device for me. With that kind of batter life it can keep me entertained for a day or two before having to hit the charger again. My biggest gripe, which I don't know if it's Google's fault or Acer's, is that the set up is set extremely small. It didn't bother me but those with worse vision than mine will have to pull out their reading glasses for setting up the device. Maybe there was a setting to enlarge the UI, but I didn't see it. Once you've gotten it all set up you can change the preferences for the UI in the settings. They should have set it a lot bigger and let those with better vision change the UI smaller afterwards. So far I'm loving the Acer Spin 15 and so is the family. Definitely one of the better Chromebooks out there should be one at the top of you list if you're looking for a 15 inch laptop.

My first impression of the Acer Spin 15 Chromebook was it was BIG and likely to be in a completely different class of Chromebook than I had previously used. My hands on experience with Chromebooks has been 2-in-1 systems with screens from 10 to 13 inches in diagonal and a weight from 2.0 to 3.2 lbs. Once in a great while I used the Chromebooks in tablet mode holding it with one hand while walking or standing. For me I don’t think I will be able to use the Acer Spin 15 one handed in tablet mode it is just to large and heavy to manage confidently with one hand. When I used a Chromebook for entertainment, reading or streaming video I used it in tent or laptop mode. When doing web activity, email, research, shopping, etc., I usually use a Chromebook in laptop mode for the Acer Spin 15 so far that means on a table or desk although I have used it in my lap. So other than BIG what I find the Acer Spin 15 to be is, first the display is impressive it is large enough to have several windows open at the same time, for example the Chrome browser for research and an Android word processor at the same time drafting a review. Second the Pentium processor in the Acer Spin 15 is in the lower Intel Core m class performance judging from benchmark results found on the Internet, but better than the average Intel Celeron results. The only differences between the two versions of the Acer Spin 15 that Best Buy has now is storage size 64Gb vs 32Gb and price, the 32Gb version is usually less. 32Gb of storage is not a handicap for me so far my available free storage hasn't fallen below 18 Gb yet but that is subject to change. Wifi performance has been excellent over 100Mb/second and very stable connections on our home Wifi virtually anywhere in the house. The feature of the Acer Spin 15 that really surprises me is the battery life I only have two charging cycles with the Acer Spin 15 so far but claim of 12 hours battery life seems conservative. The battery consumption while drafting this review looks like the battery life will exceed 14 hours per charge. The backlit keyboard is quite bright and the level of back light is adjustable using the alt-key and the screen brightness keys simultaneously. It looks like the Acer Spin 15 was perhaps targeted for student or business usage and it looks like a very successful design given its price point. The Acer Spin 15 makes a nice personal Chromebook but you have to factor in the reduced mobility compared to alternative models. It would have been nice to see the addition of an active stylus and digitizer to expand drawing capabilities but tha that would probably very substantially increase the price. As it is it is well built with an excellent display and sound for entertainment, it is nicely optimized for student and business usage if Chromebooks fit into the the school or business IT ecosystem. And it is an excellent value in Chromebooks. I recommend the Acer Spin 15 to my friends and relations with the caution that it is a large Chromebook I rate it 5 stars for features and value..

Coming from a 5 year old Acer C710 Chromebook this Acer Spin 15 is a big leap forward! The Spin 15's bigger and better HD screen with touch is a major upgrade over the C710s 11" non touch non HD screen. Reading emails and watching movies/videos is a lot more enjoyable thanks to the HD screen. Touch input works well especially with Android apps/games. Speakers are o.k. when in laptop mode but kind of useless in tablet or tent mode. I use headphones instead. The Spin 15 runs Chrome OS smoothly with no hang ups while playing a Play movie and multiple Chrome tabs running. I had one issue while watching a movie having Closed Caption on caused the screen to flicker. Mostly around the edges about an inch and a half on the bottom and about a half an inch on all other sides. Not sure if it is a Play Movie app issue or not? The bigger 15.6 screen is a big difference from the 11" and thus makes for a bigger heavier package but I wanted the bigger screen. Also there is about a half inch of bezel on either side of the screen and about an inch top and bottom. Not sure why but seems that the Spin 15 could have been in a slightly smaller package then it is. But is in a nice package with a brushed aluminum look on the cover and a nice chromed beveled edge around the keyboard area. The keyboard is compfortable to use. The backlight is a nice add on but I haven't found anyway to control its settings but not a deal breaker You get 2 USB 3 plugs, 2 micro USB 3 plugs, a headphone/microphone plug amd a micro sd slot. There is a volume control button on the right side as well. Battery life has been good so far getting around 5 hours of mixed use and still having around 30% battery left. If you are looking to upgrade to a newer Chromebook especially from older Chromebooks that are no longer supported like the C710. With the added ability to run Androud Play store apps/games and having a convertible touch screen will definitely improve your Chromebook experience for the better!

Let me start by saying if you have ever had a Chromebook in the past, other than the $1200 one, you were disappointed in the display. This was my number one problem with them. They started out with a pretty awful screen that looked washed out and little contrast, and they got better each time, and now this Acer is at full HD (1920x1080). An amazing screen! The other problem was the trackpads on these Chromebooks. This one has a trackpad that rivals the big fruit. Seriously. I'm a big fruit guy who uses a MAC all the time. And I'm going to tell you that this trackpad is amazing. This was the second biggest frustration I always had with a Chromebook. Speed was my third frustration and Acer has now solved this problem too. This machine, with the RAM and processor combo, provides a very useable computer to do all of the normal stuff most people use a home computer for - web browsing, checking email, a spreadsheet or typed document, etc. Fast, fast, fast. And Chrome, while at one time was an obscure browser, now seems to have overtaken Internet Explorer in terms of compatibility, with a bunch of websites. As a bonus, and I don't normally do this, but this Chromebook is a convertible and can be used as a tablet. My limited time doing this was a success, and it might be for some people, but it was a bit hard to handle as a tablet - it works great, the hinges are strong, it just isn't something I'm used to doing with a laptop. This is where the SPIN part of the name of it comes from. And the touchscreen IS VERY responsive. Acer has a huge hit on their hands - I'm totally sold on this now and find myself loving the larger screen and everything this has to offer. Mostly I'm web surfing or doing emails, and this exceeds any expectations I had. This has a very long battery life, will carry your settings over from the machine you were last using, and allows access to all of your stuff as it is in the cloud - and not only is it convenient, it is so cool to sign into a brand new machine and have all of your stuff right there! For anyone wanting a decent laptop computer, for this price point, a Windows laptop will be a disappointment because the hardware won't come close to what this has to offer. This has everything you could want, at a price that is reasonable for what it has to offer, and will bring laptops to those who never thought they could get something so feature rich for such a decent price. Great job Acer! Thank you for showing me a Chromebook has finally entered the mainstream!

This feels like a very nice laptop. It seems a bit large at first, but I've actually come to enjoy having a larger screen again (my most recent computers have been 10.1" and 7"). The extra real-estate is nice, particularly if you don't have to carry it around all the time. The construction of the laptop feels premium, even with a plastic top and bottom. The plastic on top is more heavily textured than many that I've used in the past, which helps it feel more premium and avoid finger-prints. The main area that you end up touching is the keyboard and related surface, which is actually metal. The built in speakers seem nice with the drilled-in grills. The audio isn't great, generally lacking in the low-end, but serviceable. The keyboard feels reasonable. There is no noticeable flex to it, which is nice. The keys don't have a long travel distance, so it may feel odd if you're used to a mechanical keyboard, but it is very responsive and feels nice to type on. The screen is nice, with a full HD display. The bezels around the screen are significantly larger than is ideal, lending to the general over-sized feel of the computer, but the screen itself presents nice color, is sufficiently bright to use in a sun-lit room (though I haven't tried direct sunlight). Flipping the screen around to use as a tablet seems a bit odd, but tenting the device to have a second screen to watch a video is nice. It is unfortunate that this makes the built-in speakers face away from you, but you're probably better off using external/bluetooth speakers anyway. For the battery, I've used this chromebook for a few hours of video, and it looks like you'll get about 8-9 hours of video play-time based on the rate of drain. If you're just doing other web-browsing or document work, I don't think it would be an issue to have the battery last all day. Even if you need to carry the cord, the brick is a bit smaller than most other laptop adapters I've seen. I've tried a Chromebook every couple of years, and I do think they are getting very close to replacing a regular laptop. You can use MS Office apps, or other less expensive apps, to do actual work; most things that people do with the internet will work perfectly; security isn't an issue as most everything lives on Google servers, and if you have a remote machine for work that you access through a web-browser, this works just fine. The only thing holding this back is specialized software that requires Windows/MacOS.

I recently received my new Acer Spin 15" Touch Screen Chromebook and the first thing that stands out is the size. Most people, including myself, probably think of more portable devices when thinking Chromebook...but the 15.6" screen on the Acer Spin is a bonus. This Chromebook can now replace many of those old 15" laptops that are being used for online, email, google apps, etc. The full HD backlit LED display is impressive with bright and accurate colors and great viewing angles. The 180 degree hinge is also a plus for watching movies. The touch screen feature works perfectly and surprisingly there is not too much in terms of fingerprints and smudges building up on the display. The Spin also comes with a full-size backlit keyboard and two impressive speakers mounted upwards. The key feedback is a little lighter than I'm use to, but still provides decent feedback, and the backlighting does its job during those late-night web surfing sessions in the dark! The speakers are crisp and loud, but do lack a bit of bass...but that's not a surprise coming from a laptop configuration. The Spin is also loaded up with USB, USB-C ports and SD card readers on both sides of the unit for easy access and setup on a desktop area. Lastly, the build quality is pretty impressive for a sub $400 machine. Acer uses aluminum for the top sheet this year and it really looks and feels great. I was a bit concerned with "sparkly silver" as the color, but it's certain to impress most users. Overall, it feels very solidly built with no flex in the machine or keyboard. Pros: - Large 15.6" display - Multitude of ports and readers - Great Speakers - Overall Build Quality Cons: - Would have been nice to make the 180º hinge a full 360º - Little bit of an edge on the lower case, but this is kind of a nitpick Overall, the Acer Spin 15 Chromebook is a great alternative to a 15" laptop, it's packed full of features, performs well and is built with quality in mind. I would certainly recommend this machine for anyone looking for a full-size Chromebook.