Customer Ratings & Reviews

_____ *Pros: -Fast and snappy performance. -Bright and crisp display. -Tactile and very responsive keyboard and touchpad. -Nice selection of ports (USB-A, USB-C, HDMI, audio). -Lightweight. -Excellent battery life. -Comes with nice free perks (GeForce Now, Minecraft, Google storage, and more). _____ *Neutral: -The speakers aren’t very loud, and the range is very so-so. -The display’s auto-brightness feature doesn’t work well. _____ *Cons: -Still no custom touchpad gestures. My first experience with a Chromebook was with the 2018 HP Chromebook x2 which left a largely negative and disappointing impression on me. That Chromebook was horribly under-specced, under-powered, and terribly sluggish and slow. I still use it occasionally but only as a large tablet detached from the keyboard base. In 2019, I had a brief experience with the 15.6” Acer Chromebook 715, which overturned my bad impression of Chromebooks due to its fast performance and good build quality. It’s now 2023, and I decided to give Chromebooks another go with the 2023 Acer Chromebook Spin 714, and I’m glad I did so. The Spin 714 Chromebook is fast, has an excellent and comfortable keyboard, a responsive touchpad, and a bright and clear screen which makes it an easy laptop to use and live with. === Build Quality === My first impression of the Chromebook Spin 714 was that it looks and feels like an upper-low to middle-range Windows laptop in terms of build materials and quality. Almost the entire laptop is made of plastic, and it’s one of those plastic materials that very obviously feels like plastic when you run your finger across the surface. If you press down semi-hard on the keyboard deck, you can make it flex inward and even hear some creaking sound. Same for the lid cover and bottom panel. Acer coated the plastic with some metallic flake paint job which makes the laptop look metallic and prevents it from looking cheap and low-end. It’s a nice effect, and I’m okay with that. On the positive side, the predominant use of plastic makes the Spin 714 lightweight and very comfortable to carry around. My 8-yo daughter will be inheriting the Spin 714 from me when she begins third grade later this year, and she shouldn’t have difficulty carrying it around inside her backpack. The component choices and other design aspects of the Spin 714 get no major complaints from me. The 14” 1920x1200 display is evenly lit, bright, and very sharp. The display is touch-enabled, and thanks to the Corning Gorilla Glass, swiping and tapping on the display feels buttery smooth and pleasant. The keyboard keys are spaced just right, and the keys are tactile and accurate with nice resistance, quick uptake, and low noise. The backlit keys aren’t overly bright and offer good visibility in dark environments. I’m also happy with the display hinges – I can lift the lid with just one finger without supporting the base with my other hand, and when I rotate the display to tent mode, the actuation is smooth. The touchpad surface is plastic, but it’s quite smooth and I’m okay with it. Taps and swipes register accurately, and all the ChromeOS gesture shortcuts worked correctly. I like that the touchpad isn’t loud when you press down on it to select or right-click on items. There are only two things I would want more out of this touchpad – a larger surface area, and the ability to create custom three-finger and four-finger swipe gestures like you can on a Microsoft Precision touchpad found on many Windows laptops. I don’t know why Google still hasn’t made that option available to end users as it’s so convenient. Thankfully, the Spin 714 comes with a nice selection of ports – 2x USB-C (Thunderbolt), 1x USB-A, 1x HDMI, and 1x audio. This means I don’t have to use dongles, and I’m grateful for it. One thing that woefully stands out are the speakers. Despite turning it up to 100%, the volume simply doesn’t get very loud, and the range feels muted and lacking in soundstage detail. In other words, I did not really enjoy watching movies and listening to music on the Spin 714. Perhaps I’m being extra picky by being spoilt on high-end Windows laptops such as the Dell XPS 15 and HP Spectre x360. Even so, I feel Acer could’ve done a better job here. Moving on to the webcam, I was pleasantly surprised by its fidelity. The 1080p HD webcam is clear and offers natural colors and saturation, great for conference calls with Microsoft Teams or Zoom. There is a physical shutter above the camera you can slide to cover up the camera which is nice and appreciated. Overall, besides the underwhelming speakers and audio capability, I’m quite satisfied with the Spin 714 and I enjoy using it. === Performance === Despite packing a mid-range 13th-gen Core i5 CPU (10 cores, 12-threads), 8GB of LPDDR4X RAM, and a 256GB NVME drive, the Spin 714 pleasantly surprised me with its fast, snappy performance. It probably has to do with the lower system requirements of Chrome OS which isn’t as resource-hungry as Windows 10 or Windows 11. Whatever the case, the Spin 714 allows me to multi-task and do stuff just as well as on a Windows laptop with a Core i7 CPU with 16GB of RAM. My usual routine is to have the Chrome browser open with about 22 tabs, Microsoft Edge with about three tabs, and some music streaming in the background while I work on reports, edit videos and photos, and perform some spreadsheet functions. The Spin 714 handled all of them just fine without lag or sluggishness, which again, surprised me. It really made me realize that Google is truly serious about ChromeOS, and if the manufacturer puts in a decent CPU, memory and fast storage, like NVME, then a Chromebook can really be a viable alternative to a Windows laptop. === Using and Living with Chrome OS === Due to constant improvements and refinements made to ChromeOS over the years and my previous dabbling with a couple of Chromebooks, my transition back to a Chromebook from a Windows environment was smooth. Although many of my favorite Windows app don’t have identical counterparts on ChromeOS, viable alternatives can be found without too much time and effort. And a cool thing about Chromebooks is that you can run both Linux apps and Android apps on the same device without needing to dual-boot. I think once people get past the initial learning and adjustment period of getting used to slightly different keyboard layouts and shortcut functions, getting used to using the Cloud more for saving and backing up their data, then they’ll discover that ChromeOS is pretty decent and it’s a nice and good alternative to Windows machines. As a heavy PC gamer, however, I cannot see myself completely transitioning to a Chromebook in the near or far future – I would be missing out on too many great games. But for people who aren’t dedicated gamers that primarily use their laptops for web browsing and working on reports, spreadsheets, school stuff, Teams or Zoom meetings, and watching and listening to media, then I think a Chromebook will suffice just fine. === Battery Life === Acer promises up to 10 hours of battery life from the 3892mAh battery, and I would say it’s pretty accurate. Even though the battery is relatively small compared to the 86 Wh, 7167mAh battery inside my Dell XPS 15 laptop, the Spin 714 lasts longer and I don’t need to charge it up as often. For the stuff that I do, the Spin 714 lasts about 8.5 hours before needing a fill-up. It is always a good thing when a device can actually live up to its marketing claims. Good job, Acer~! === Is it worth the coin? === I say yes. For about seven Benjamins, you get a nicely equipped Chromebook with a very performant Intel CPU, 8GB of RAM, and fast NVME storage. The display is bright and crisp, the keyboard and touchpad are a pleasure to use, and the machine is fast and snappy. ChromeOS is constantly being worked on and refined, and the ability to install and use Linux and Android apps is pretty cool. The only glaring weakness for me is the subpar audio system, but I’m sure there are people out there that might not be bothered by it as much. The Spinbook 714 has no deal-breakers for me, and I truly enjoy using it.

The Spin 714 (model CP714-2W-5682 to be exact) boasts impressive specs for its price, but I have a few quibbles with some use aspects and when combined with missing features Acer seems to have removed from previous years models, I can’t say it’s 5-star great. I’ll outline the great, the bad, the missing of this model below, but upfront this is why I give it 4-stars. Most importantly though it does not lack “horsepower,” or I would have not even been tempted to try the Spin 714, having been frustrated using low powered “budget” Chromebooks in the past. The Spin 714 boasts an Intel i5 processor and, in my use so far, it tackles advanced applications like photo editing with ease. It’s ability to turn into an Android tablet also shares the spotlight with the i5. Hardware Basics Before I detail my Spin 714 experience, both as a laptop and a tablet, a few details on the hardware itself. While it’s all plastic, it has a good feel and heft to it. Some plastic devices feel “icky.” This isn’t one of those. The 14” 16:10 ratio screen is bright and sharp except with moderate scrolling. Resolution is a hair better than 1080p HD but if it was 2K or 4K I’m not sure I’d notice the difference here. Since the Spin 714 is a convertible the screen has 180 degrees of motion and can sit in any position in that range. Embedded in the screen, is a 2K webcam that delivers a professional-like picture on the other end – at least in my test using a MacBook Pro as the incoming device w/ 300Mbps broadband. The full-size keyboard is backlit, which, to me, it the sign of a “serious” work machine. When folded to a tablet the backlighting turns off to save battery. Touch typing has an acceptable feel but a tad more tactile feedback would be appreciated. It’s perfectly useable though. You can always connect your favorite keyboard if you want too – and I do when I have a lot of writing tasks. The trackpad, to me, is the weakest component. I’m spoiled with the big “real estate” trackpads these days. So even my small hands feel confined by the Spin 714’s 4.5” diagonal trackpad. I also don’t like that it only clicks from the bottom. The speakers, according to the screen printing below the grille, can pump out DTS audio. That is true, at least from my test of playing a DTS video on YouTube. The sound separation is very good. But for everyday audio things the sound was rather puny and lacking depth even at high volume. It’s even more lackluster when in tablet mode. For external connections, there is a USB-C port on either side, surprisingly with Thunderbolt 4 speed. I’m not sure why this kind of speed in necessary on a Chromebook, but it’s there if you can make use of it. You can use either of these ports to charge the Spin 714. On the left side there is also a full HDMI port, which, really, thank you Acer for not putting in a mini-HDMI port instead, along with a headphone jack and the power button. On the right side, in addition to the USB-C port, there is a USB-A port and a volume toggle which is convenient to have in tablet mode. Acer claims a 10-hour battery life. While I did not do a timed test here, I can say I have only needed to charge the battery at night before going to bed after using on and off during the day. Usually when I put it on the charger the battery still has about 20% or so power left. Saving the best for last, the guts of the Spin 714, which is quite hearty for a Chromebook. 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD, and the Intel i5 processor. For those wondering, ChromeOS uses 60.4GB of the 256GB and the pre-installed apps use about another 1GB. For an OS that mostly relies on Cloud storage that’s a decent amount of available internal storage. There isn’t much packed in the box. It’s just the Spin 714, a power adapter, and a carrying case. But a couple words on those. The power adapter, while USB-C, is an “old fashioned” brick plus a power cable. I was disappointed to see this in an upscale laptop rather than the modern USB-C travel charger and USB PD cable. Of course, you can use your own USB-C travel charger, but if you don’t own one, and don’t care for the supplied brick, that’s another expense. The carrying case is another odd duck, mostly because it’s fit for a 15” laptop so there is about 1” extra space on either size for the Spin 714 to slide around if stored vertically. But also, I think most people these days use backpack or messenger bags with dedicated laptop slots. So, for a lot of people this case is just a waste when something like a stylus would be more useful to more people (more on that in my impression as a tablet section). Use Impression As A Laptop Powering on the Spin 714 for the first time the user is asked to log into Google or set up a Google account. There is no way around this, and for good reason since ChromeOS is tightly integrated with Google apps. So once you log in all of the Google apps are ready to go. The Spin 714 is compatible with the Google Play stores so you can find other apps there. So, for example, I’m not a fan of Chrome so I downloaded Firefox. I also grabbed Adobe Lightroom to edit photos, Zoom for video conferencing, and DirecTV Stream for when I travel I only use a few Google apps – Gmail, Docs, Google Drive. No surprise these work fluidly and with no lagging or momentary freezing. This is really the heart of any Chromebook. I did tire of the Spin’s keyboard typing notes on Docs so I folded the screen tent style and brought out my Logitech Keys S keyboard and went to town. This is one advantage to a convertible laptop because it lets you get the internal keyboard out of the way. To put the put the Spin 714 to the test I launched Lightroom with a bunch of 20MB RAW photos. Here the Spin 714 simultaneously failed and succeeded. As a creature of habit, I went to put my SD card in the Spin 714 only to remember there isn’t one. I believe the previous model had a microSD slot, so I’m guessing a full-sized SD slot just wouldn’t fit. I can’t fault Acer too much there, though it would be a huge convenience. But the true “fail” here is that this particular version of the Spin 714 not only doesn’t include a stylus it doesn’t even have a dummy storage slot where you could store one if you bought it separately. This is just dumb since some versions of the Spin 714 do include the stylus. It seems Acer could use the same case for both and fill in the stylus slot for this model with a removeable cap. I’ll buy a stylus, but now I have to keep up with it rather than be able to store it in the laptop itself. That’s a bummer since I thought all Spin 714’s came with a stylus. Instead of using a stylus I use my finger for the time being. It’s actually a better experience than expected, though too tedious to be useful long term. But the accuracy of Lightroom’s controls w/ my finger were excellent. No lag or missed touches at all. I was also impressed how the changes I made were in real time or close to it. That says a lot about the Spin 714’s power and abilities. I’m also happy to report that, even when editing a decent size photo, the Spin 714 has never felt more than slightly warm and it’s always been pin-drop quiet. This is true in both laptop and tablet mode. Use Impression As A Tablet While I had Lightroom fired up I switched to tablet mode to experience the difference w/ the same app. The first thing I noticed though was that unlike a dedicated table, the backside is the keyboard. It feels a little weird and something to get use to but I think this is the nature of a 2-1 laptop. Back to Lightroom, the interface changed a bit to conform to a more mobile GUI. When I get a stylus I think this is how I will use Lightroom. Web browsing is great in tablet mode as well. It’s a little weird handholding a 14” screen, but yet it surprised me how manageable it was, especially with the bottom resting on my stomach so my hands didn’t have to carry the weight. Performance of Firefox was fast. Pages loaded as expected and scrolling is reasonably smooth though there is visible refresh of text even at moderate scroll rates. Watching videos is a good experience both in tablet and tent mode, but you may want to use headphones if watching in anything but a silent location. Since the screen is only HD there is no reason to load 4K streams. That will only bog things down. The Spin 714’s physical volume control is key here as well since it allows you to moderate the volume without interrupting the movie using the software controls.

If you like chrome, google docs and everything google, a chromebook is the perfect device. That is really the question you need to ask first. If you use Microsoft products I would stay away from chromebooks, unless you've only worked in the browser and you don't mind the limitation that provides you. There are a ton of advantages to Chrome OS from simplicity to just a lack of viruses that would make it very tempting to get my grandparents onto but at the end of the day getting them to not use word was a deal breaker as the word app gives you a notification that it is not optimized for this device every time you open it and you can't disable that. I say this because if you aren't willing to try new programs then no matter how good this or other chromebooks are, it will be a problem. So with that out of the way, onto the review. The very first thing I noticed is there is no right click on the mouse pad, this for me is the hardest thing to get used to, no chromebook I've used has this feature so maybe it is just an OS thing, but when I plug a mouse in I get right click ability so I find this feature hauntingly annoying. Physically the screen is big and nice and the physical port options are awesome. There is a full sized USB A, two USB Cs that both work for charging, an HDMI, and Aux port. For me this is the perfect set of ports. The touch screen works well and is compatible with USI pens, I bought a USI pen with an 'eraser' and the eraser works as advertised so that made me thrilled but I wasn't thrilled that the pen doesn't come in this 714 when several other models of 714s have it, so be aware that there isn't a built in stylus if your looking for that. The camera has a built in physical cover which i think all laptops should have most don't so that is awesome, more than that the camera is definitely better than most I've used. If quality video conferencing is important to you this camera has the specs. Moving onto speakers and mics; the mics work great for conference calls, I sat on the back porch with the AC running and did a conference call, the computer/mics/software/or combination thereof canceled out the noise of the AC consistently and well, since I knew it was an AC I could hear it but i'm not sure that I would have been able to recognize it otherwise and the other participants didn't notice anything when I asked. The speakers aren't great, but they do get loud. For video chats and meetings they work great but I can't say that I would love watching a good movie with them (a documentary or youtube videos are fine) , I'll go grab my headset instead. I've found using this as a traditional chromebooks it works extremely well and is competent, games work well as well. Where this chromebook has struggled is apps like drawboard pdf that won't seem to log when I download the app from the play store and instead only work well as an installed webapp. It has also struggled with apps downloaded with linux like Microsoft edge. If you use VMWare Horizon for work you'll be happy to know the pen does work with the app and it is responsive, however, it can only expand to two screens with a doc. Overall, if you use Google's system and you don't use OneNote or you don't mind getting the message that this app isn't optimized for this device every time you open the app this is a well built chrome book with an excellent typing experience. Squid is an alright note taking app instead and works great on Chromebook but the organization compared to OneNote is lacking, for drawing on pdfs, nothing compares to drawboard pdf in my mind and it is getting most of the capabilities of Squid and exceeds it when intermixing pen markups with typing markups, but still lacks the organization on OneNote. All this to say the device itself is a solid choice, I am happy with how well built this is but depending on your needs the OS might not be best for you. On the other hand, this laptop has a full browser which is almost the most important feature on a computer at this point, it starts up instantaneously, it has an excellent battery life and when it is sleeping the battery consumption goes to almost zero. Lastly it does have access to almost all of the apps available in the play store and you can customize your window to tablet, phone, or resizable to better play nice with app limitations. The reliability for the price point on Chromebooks is insane compared to other products out there. Pros: Battery Life USI pen compatibility Available ports Speakers get loud Web camera quality and cover USB C charging big nice screen touchscreen Wakes up instantly Cons: Some app compatibility issues from play store Linux programs seem to run a tad slower no built in pen Speaker cinematic quality isn't there power button on side No 'right click' on mouse pad (works with external mouse)

Specs details: This is a premium machine with state of the art specs, that happens to run Chrome OS: • The screen is a 16:10 HD: 1920 X 1200.touchscreen. Moving away from 16:9 (1080p) form-factor, which is much better for editing documents, and while watching movies, I appreciate the controls remain outside the viewing area. • Tablet mode: The 'Spin' in the name indicates this is a convertible laptop, so when folded with the screen on top, the keyboard becomes disabled, and one uses it via touchscreen. The screen has a gorilla glass (like phones) with a antimicrobial coating. • The keys are island style, backlit, with the ChromeOS distribution. It's very comfortable to type with. • Trackpad is large and responsive, with a smooth glass surface. Very nice to work with. • Ports: On the left: One Thunderbolt/USB-C 4, HDMI, headphone and power button. On the right: One Thunderbolt/USB-C 4, USB-3 and volume rocker. • The sound (With DTS label) comes from speakers above the keyboard next to the screen. • Charging is via one of the thunderbolt/USB-C ports. It comes with a typical laptop-size charger that has an USB-C port, and also worked by charging from an USB-C dock. • Wi-Fi: Supports the newer WiFi 6E. • Storage is via an M2 type SSD: 256 GB. • RAM is 8 GB. • Bluetooth 5.1. • The CPU is an 13th gen Intel Core i5, and is 'Evo' compliant: Evo is an approval mark by Intel for systems that support current state of the art specs like higher-end Intel embedded graphics, Thunderbolt 4 and WiFi 6E, with a rated 10 hours battery life. Because the ports are Thunderbolt, I was able to use both Thunderbolt and USB-C docks. The laptop also has a 2K web camera which has a built-in cover (An actual plastic piece covering the camera behind the glass. Activated though a notch on top of the screen. It also comes with a sleeve case to carry it in a backpack. Fit and finish: The case is all metal and the screen all glass. Hinges fold 360 degrees so it can work in tablet mode (ChomeOS switch to a tablet mode). It can also be set in a tent shape or with the keys pointing to the table when watching videos. The hinge, edges and Acer logo are finish in a subtle rose gold that look very tactful. Note that it also supports stylus made for Android/Chromebook (Those are different from Windows stylus or iPad ones). ChromeOS: Although initially it was basically a way to run the chrome web browser, within the last few years it can also run Android apps. Many android apps work well within a laptop screen, and with Intel 64-bit CPUs. And now in beta, it also runs Debian Linux within a Virtual Machine, which also supports complex GUI applications like Microsoft Visual Studio Code. This works by either using apt-get from the Linux console or by downloading a .deb package. So within Chrome apps, Android and Linux there isn't much it cannot do. ChromeOS is generally very secure, and is fairly straightforward to restore the laptop to like it came from the factory. Much of the system is 'read-only', and that makes it more resilient. Keep in mind that ChromeOS, for much of its functionality requires internet connectivity, although there's plenty that can also be done offline as well. Also keep in mind that Google collects plenty of data from Chrome. In return, a lot of what’s done on the device is backed up and synced into Google's cloud, so working on different devices or replacing a Chromebook is also a lot simpler. Overall, I'm very impressed with this laptop and how capable ChromeOS is while being very secure. The multiple-personality of the system running Chrome and web applications, Android and Linux is great but there are occasionally some rough areas in how these coexist, although it's been very good overall and it keeps improving. The hardware in this laptop is top of the line, comparable with a business laptop. Consider this if looking for a premium Chromebook or even considering a high-end Android tablet, as it also runs Android and Linux.

I have been using this device for work and media consumption as my daily driver. It has great battery life and display but there are a lot of heating issues and the system hangs a lot. Considering this is a Chromebook with simple Chrome OS and the tasks are mainly media browsing - it should have done a better job at handling this and the experience should have been smooth but unfortunately, that's not the case. The previous version from Acer - the Chromebook spin 13 was miles better. Please avoid this and take it only after testing it in the store.

Right out of the box, I was quite impressed with this model. The graphite color, along with the rose/copper finish makes it look so stylish and sleek. It’s certainly a laptop I will be taking to the office. Although it is mainly made of plastic, the chassis feels quite sturdy. The hinges are smooth and stay in whatever position the laptop may be. There is almost no wobble with the screen. I mainly use it in laptop mod, but I have found the convertible feature quite useful. The tent and dock modes allow me to watch content comfortably. It can also be used in tablet mode, but it can be a bit cumbersome while handling it in one hand. The touchscreen is very responsive. I heard that the last model had a pen, and sadly this particular model does not. Nevertheless, it is compatible with any USI 2.0 pen, and that works great if you have one. The keyboard is well-spaced and there’s plenty of travel. It was very comfortable typing this review here. The backlight is bright and subtle. The glass trackpad is a bit smaller than I’d like, but it works smoothly and feels great. The 1920x1200 screen is one of the best I’ve seen on a Chromebook. It’s vibrant and colorful. While it’s only 350 nits, it can easily be seen in super bright environments. The upwards-firing speakers are loud. As with any laptop, there’s some lack of bass but is still enjoyable to a point. The battery life is quite good, clocking at about 8 hours at the brightest setting while watching movies, surfing the net, and doing some productivity work. What impressed me the most is how buttery smooth this laptop is. It is super fast in everything I do. There are no hiccups in scrolling, flipping, or changing tabs or apps. I was playing some videos, writing, and had more than 20 tabs open and I didn’t hit the RAM limit (8GB). I also played some Android and cloud games with a Bluetooth controller and I was very impressed. I also love how fast the booting process is. I do wish it had a fingerprint or face log-in, but opening it with my phone nearby worked well. For those who like to hook up a monitor, I was able to connect 2 monitors plus the laptop. I used a hub, but an HDMI and a USB-C to HDMI or DP connection work as well. The QHD camera is very good. There is some graininess in dark environments, but it adjusts well. The mic pics up sounds well. It’s definitely very good for online meetings. Sure, 256GB is not much for space, but since most things are cloud-based, I did not worry about that. Besides, you can always carry around an external SSD since there are plenty of inputs. Being a Chromebook, I feel more comfortable taking this laptop during travels as I trust it more than Windows. It almost goes without saying that I am very happy with this laptop. It’s not perfect; but the performance, build quality, features, and stability are well worth the price.

This is an elegant Chromebook that keeps me productive at all times and is powered by the Intel Evo platform. It is a two-in-one device with a touch display that can be easily and conveniently converted between a laptop, tablet, or a tent at any angle between zero and 360 degrees. This has a 13th Gen Intel Core i5 processor, QHD webcam, and military-grade durability that makes it pretty robust. Not just this, the best part is the battery life of over 10 hours and gets up to 4 hours of battery with just 30 mins of charging. Due to the Evo platform, this charges fast, lasts longer, and wakes instantly. I immediately liked its stand-out color as soon as I opened the box. It comes with thousands of apps, built-in antivirus, and cloud backups. This OS is versatile, quick, up-to-date, and fast. The 14" display is crystal clear with vibrant and highly accurate colors. The device comes with dual upward-facing speakers, a dual microphone array, and a built-in QHD MIPI webcam with a privacy shutter and temporal noise reduction technology to provide ultra-clear high-quality audio and video, even when the surrounding light is extremely low. This Chromebook has multiple features to support high-quality productivity like Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.1, Corning Gorilla Glass touchscreen & touchpad, backlit keyboard, HDMI port, USB 3.2 Gen 2, dual USB Type-C ports with the latest Thunderbolt 4 technology. I can't ask for more than what I am getting from this Chromebook. With 256GB PCIe Gen 4 SSD Storage, I get enough space to securely keep my data intact. With Solid State Drives I can start fast, stay fast, and quickly load apps with ease to play faster and sooner! All-in-all this lightweight, compact and good Chromebook to have!

Been using this Chromebook for several weeks now, and I've thus far been impressed. I went with this over the HP X360 model for the extra ports and i5 chip. While I prefer the chassis of the HP, the screen, power, and keyboard on the Acer have all proven worthwhile. Everything boots super fast, it runs 30+ tabs of docs, YouTube pages, Google Classroom, etc. with no issues (my 2019 HP was sounding like a Boeing taking off with anything more strenuous than an Amazon page). Xbox cloud gaming runs reasonably well - played some Halo Infinite without much of an issue. Haven't had a chance to tackle any video editing yet, but it runs Canva and Adobe beautifully. While it's not labeled, this Acer DOES get the Chrombook Plus OS update, so if that is something you are looking for, rest assured it's all here. Only issue worth noting at this point is that the screen is more reflective than I would like when watching movies with a lot of black, but I didn't come across a screen at this price bracket that didn't share this issue.

I have found this Chromebook to be perfect for my current needs. I purchased this model to replace an older Spin 713 which had a failing battery. I elected not to replace the battery on the 713 when the Spin 714 went on sale. The new upgraded edition seemed like a great deal. It works perfectly with no glitches. Battery life is great and it is fast and easy to use. The only negative I have found is that it is on the heavy side, but I do not use it outside of the house so that is not a large factor for me. The sound is better than the 713 with top facing speakers and the screen looks great for streaming movies. I like that the USB-C inlets are on both sides of the unit instead of just one side like the 713. Charging is really fast as well. This is the best of the four Chromebooks I have owned.

This is the first Chromebook laptop that I have ever tried out. I kept an open mind as I went through the easy setup process and was impressed with some of the nicer features. I had to go through a slight learning curve for adapting to the different types of operating systems and setups. I realized while I was importing my settings from Google that some of my favorite gaming apps were not available for a Chromebook but only for phones or tablets. I decided to focus on the other aspects of the device that could still be a source of entertainment with the various streaming apps and for being able to access my documents from the cloud for work projects. I realized that after spending many hours trying out different features on it that it is a device more suited for students or people who only want a streaming and web surfing device. I did like the touch display on the Acer Spin 714 and the flexibility with the design to use it as a tablet, laptop, or a 2-in-1 angle device to work on. The Chromebook had all the special features that I like using in my home starting with the WiFi-6e for my fast connections and that it had Bluetooth 5.1, an HDMI port, USB 3.2 Gen 2, and dual USB Type-C ports. I liked the backlit keyboard and 10-hour battery pack inside. The webcam had decent quality and the DTS sound was a good feature but a little weak on the two speakers on the Chromebook. The 13th Gen Intel Core i5 processor had plenty of power to handle multiple tasks without a strain on the system. The Intel Iris Xe graphics were crisp enough to suit my needs with streaming videos as well. I would have to say that after experiencing everything incorporated with the Chromebook that I now know what to look for in the future and to recommend this device mainly for students due to the lightweight and portability aspects which are good.

This July 2023 version of the Spin 714 resolves all issues reported in the previous version. In fact, none of the expert reviews even tested this release. So, here's my take.... Get this! It's FAST, can handle many open tabs and has a premium feel much like a quality laptop. Battery life is long. The display looks fantastic and is bright. The backlit keyboard makes night usage a joy, and the keys make typing easy. The camera's 1080p resolution and shutter is a welcome upgrade. The glass trackpad is smooth, but requires presses closer to the center to make clicking easier. The speakers are sufficient, but not loud; they're not a substitute for listening to music via Bluetooth earbuds. While there's no garage storage for a stylus, it does work well with my own 3rd-party stylus or finger. The bottom line: This Chromebook 'does it all' and makes me smile when using it. It's a significant upgrade from my previous premium Chromebook.

it is a very nice little laptop, love that it is touch screen, has a back lit keyboard and can 'flip' into a tablet of sorts. I don't use the pad and prefer to use a cordless mouse. Only problem is the thing seems to want to use an on screen keyboard and will switch to that in the middle of doing something and it's REALLY inconvenient. It seems to be something to do with the position of the hinge and I'm thinking of contacting the Geek Squad to see if it's the machine or something I need to do differently.

I will start with saying that I am an avid chrome user. I have used various chromebook options since the inception of Chrome OS - and looked forward to using it even before that. I was so pleased when a premium device like the pixelbook came out and I loved using that over the last many years. However, it has begun to show its age and really struggled to run android apps. It was quite slow overall, so I knew it was time for an upgrade. I didn't feel like spending $1000, so I thought I'd go with this little guy after reading and watching the reviews over at chromeunboxed.com. I am so glad I did. I really love this little guy. Great screen, plenty of brightness. Convertible design and build in HDMI. Awesome battery life and snappy performance. Plenty of storage and metal chassis are all features I love. I am very pleased with this chromebook and anticipate that I'll be using it for many years to come. Definitely recommend.

I love this chromebook! Best buy has the best prices and I trust their packaging and care of the products so I know that when I buy from them I know that i am receiving the best value for my money and time. Online purchase with local pickup was easy and could not have been a smoother process. The associates that greeted me to retrieve my purchase were friendly and helpful. 10/10 all around!

This is a very nice computer! I downsized from a HP Pavilion. And this Acer had all the capacity I needed. I added Microsoft 365 to it. And there is plenty of storage for all the photos, spreadsheets, etc. It loads quickly, and has lots of functions. Without being complicated.

I've had several Chromebooks and this by far is the best. No, it's a Chromebook, so it has its limitations, however, this one has enough power to make it the fastest Chromebook I've ever used. It's got a nice bright screen. Touch pad is receptive. Easy connectivity to Bluetooth devices. Pairs seamlessly with Android phones and tablets.

I loved this computer more than words however it was not compatible with all of the college programs that I needed. I gave it to my parents and they use it for everything though so win win in my book!!My advice is check with your schools IT before purchasing any computer for school.

This Chromebook really performs well. Boots up in a few seconds and apps all work fast too. I am retired so this allows me to do everything I want plus got rid of the clunky, slow Windows desktop. Battery life is just ok but it charges quickly. Glad I got this !!!

I had a chromebook prior to this one. I am retired and have little computer knowledge and experience but it was so easy to get the data and info from my old chromebook onto this one. The batterylife is good, the other day I was on 2 long zoom calls (at least 4 hours) and it still had plenty of battery left. The screen is clear and has good clarity. It is light and comes with a padded carrying case making it easy to pack and travel with.

I bought 2 of these for my kids to replace their Lenovo Chromebooks I got for them a couple of years ago. Great product for the price. Upside is the included case, downside is the 2023 model does not include a stylus. I purchased a stylus from Acer, but still can't get it to work. Battery life is great...they use them to play Roblox on the weekends, and haven't heard any complaints yet about having to plug them in too soon.