Acer Chromebook Spin 714 Looks Like the Premium Chromebook to Beat

Acer had one of the best Chromebooks available in 2021 with the Spin 713, and now it looks like it might repeat its success with the Chromebook Spin 714. The premium two-in-one doesn't stray far from its predecessor in terms of what it offers, but Acer did make some changes to keep it competitive and likely a top pick for Chromebook power users. 

For the 714, Acer moved from a 13.5-inch, 2,256x1,504-pixel touchscreen with a 3:2 aspect ratio to a 16:10 14-inch, 2,560x1,600-pixel display with 100% sRGB color gamut coverage. The switch still gives you extra vertical space to work compared to a 16:9 widescreen but it's not as tall, which feels more balanced and slips more easily into a backpack. 

The display is covered in antimicrobial Gorilla Glass for added durability and the reinforced aluminum body is Mil-Spec tested (MIL-STD-810H) for protection from minor drops, vibration, rain, dust, high and low temperatures and humidity. That's just the start of the premium features, though. 

The first configuration that's expected to be available in the US in August will sell for $750 with an Intel Core i5-1235U, 8GB LPDDR4X RAM and a 256GB PCIe NVMe Gen 3 SSD. (That price converts to roughly £600 or AU$1,065.)  That's enough to run Steam for gaming, but it's expected to be available with even more power featuring up to an Intel Core i7-1260P, up to 16GB of RAM and up to a 512GB PCIe NVMe Gen 4 SSD.

The Acer Chromebook Spin 714 is Intel Evo verified, which means it meets certain standards for performance, battery life (up to 10 hours in this case), responsiveness, and wireless and wired connections, among other things. Rounding out the top-flight features are Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.2, dual Thunderbolt 4 ports, a backlit keyboard, a full-HD webcam with a privacy shutter and a slim USI stylus that stores and charges in a garage under the front edge on the left side of the Chromebook. There will be an optional fingerprint reader also.

Although there was a steep drop in Chromebook shipments during the first quarter of 2022, business PC shipments rose. The Chromebook Spin 714's combination of durability, potential performance and premium features is certainly a good fit for hybrid workers. But I guess we'll have to wait for August to find out for sure.