Review: The Snapdragon 7c holds back the Acer Chromebook Spin 513

The processor variety on the best Chromebooks has expanded properly over the final yr, with Ryzen processors arriving on the ThinkPad C13 and the Snapdragon 7c first announced for Chromebooks final October. We’ve been ready on the Acer Chromebook Spin 513 for a strong six months now, with some questioning if the mannequin had been canceled after the silent delays surrounding its launch.

Now, the wait is over for the Acer Chromebook Spin 513, and whereas there’s usually lots to love about this laptop computer, what makes it distinctive additionally makes it a legal responsibility for not less than the subsequent few months: it is utilizing a funds processor that is not totally optimized but. In quick, the Acer Chromebook Spin 513 is a wonderfully nice laptop computer being held back by its chipset.

Acer launched the Chromebook Spin 513 on April 30, 2021, after first asserting the system back in October of 2020. The base configuration runs $400 for 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage, however there might be fashions with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage, and even an LTE-capable model for many who are engaged on the go and do not wish to problem with fixed tethering.

Right now, the Spin 513 is just out there at Walmart, nevertheless it needs to be coming to extra retailers — and extra worldwide markets — in the coming weeks and months.

Acer Chromebook Spin 513 Straightforward {hardware}

Acer’s been in the Chromebook enterprise for a very long time, and so they’ve obtained the {hardware} and design all the way down to a predictable science by now. As with the Acer Spin 311 (3H), Acer tapered the sides of the laptop computer whereas ditching ports they discovered extraneous, however we nonetheless get a USB-C port on both sides, together with one USB-A port and a headphone jack. There’s no microSD slot on this Chromebook, however on condition that the base mannequin begins with 64GB of storage, I’m not too disenchanted to see it not noted.

Once you open up the Spin 513, you may discover a backlit keyboard, the similar trackpad as the 311 — it is clean and responsive if a little bit small — and the 13.3-inch 1080p touchscreen. The display screen is vibrant sufficient to make use of in the shade open air, however like most Chromebooks, it isn’t vibrant sufficient to see comfortably in the solar. Inside, the display screen is fairly good for studying, working, or the occasional three hours of FreeCell. It additionally has USI stylus assist, which means you can use the best Chromebook styli with it for doodling or signing paperwork.

The backlight keyboard is a boon for working late into the night, with the backlighting smooth and even. The typing expertise is simply okay — nothing’s flawed with it, and there are not any standout qualities to the method the keypresses really feel underneath my fingertips — nevertheless it’s comfy sufficient to bang out 3000 phrases a day whether or not I’m at my desk or curled up on the sofa (the place I’m proper now) or sitting in the Japan pavilion at EPCOT people-watching.

At 2.6 kilos, the Spin 513 is not the lightest Chromebook ever, nevertheless it’s simple sufficient to hold one-handed from the sofa to the desk — or to haul round for eight hours in a backpack should you intend to seize this for varsity. You will not have to haul round the charger day-after-day, that is for certain: even after I had display screen brightness cranked up, I nonetheless had exemplary battery life throughout my two weeks with the Spin 513. I went nearly two full workdays with out charging the 513, and I can say that Acer is not simply showboating with the 14-hour battery life declare: you may get fairly shut, particularly should you are inclined to maintain your display screen reasonably low as I do.

Much of that battery life will be attributed to the Snapdragon 7c compute platform processor that Acer used right here. Originally designed for funds Windows — and particularly, schooling laptops that wanted 4G for youths with out residence web — the 7c takes full benefit of Qualcomm’s capacity to optimize for effectivity, which might be further necessary for the LTE model of the Spin 513 popping out subsequent month. I’ll replace this evaluation with the battery lifetime of the LTE mannequin as soon as I can take a look at it, however till then, the Wi-Fi model of the Spin 513 is a battery champ, however that is not to say that it is a efficiency champ.

Acer Chromebook Spin 513 Processor ache factors

It’s at all times thrilling to see new chipsets develop into out there for Chromebooks, nevertheless it’s a course of. A Chromebook launches with a brand new processor, there are some minor — or not so minor, in instances like the Pixel Slate and ASUS C436 — bugs that come up and are squashed inside the first couple of Chrome OS updates as they’re found and reported by customers.

Bugs will be mounted, however this lag is extra than simply bugs.

Thankfully, the Snapdragon 7c appears to fall on the minor aspect of the bug spectrum, with a number of cases of lag and wonk that I’m principally satisfied are a results of Chrome OS nonetheless being optimized for the chipset. I’m mentioning it as a result of early adopters would possibly see a little bit little bit of bugginess from the Spin 513 in the first few months, however I can all however assure that it will get mounted.

What will not get mounted is that the 7c simply is not highly effective sufficient to run a number of displays or home windows with out noticeable lag when swapping between duties. Most customers most likely will not be utilizing a Chromebook with an exterior monitor — though there are some excellent reasons you should — however should you’re utilizing a Chromebook to work from home (as I do), the Spin 513 may not minimize it. Once I plugged into my BenQ monitor and booted up a Google Meet name on one display screen whereas having notes and articles pulled up on the different, the Spin 513 obtained downright sluggish, with a noticeable delay in closing or opening new tabs.

Now, I’m underneath no illusions about the Snapdragon 7c making an attempt to compete with Intel Core Chromebooks. The 7c is supposed to compete with the Celeron and MediaTek Chromebooks that dominate the budget-end of the market, and it does that decently — or not less than it is going to as soon as Google finishes optimizing for it. But I do know lots of you have an interest on this Chromebook for the processor, so I must be blunt about its limitations: it is a budget-minded processor that is geared in direction of informal computing and battery effectivity, and it exhibits.

Acer Chromebook Spin 513 Competition

This Chromebook is designed to compete with Mediatek and Celeron Chromebooks like the Lenovo S340 and HP Chromebook 14 G6, with a number of added comforts like the backlit keyboard, stylus assist, and prolonged battery to assist justify the further price. The greater downside Acer has in convincing you to purchase the Chromebook Spin 513 is that Intel Core-powered Chromebooks will be discovered for principally the similar worth and with most of the similar options.

Case in level, the Lenovo Flex 5 has been out for roughly a yr now and remains to be the main champion of our best Chromebooks roundup as a result of it gives an i3, a 2-in-1 touchscreen, backlit keyboard, and front-facing audio system all for $380-$400. There’s no 4G choice like there may be for the Spin 513, however for a workhorse Chromebook, that is the higher worth until you need a fanless Chromebook otherwise you want a Chromebook that’ll simply go 11-13 hours between costs.

The 4G model of the Acer Chromebook Spin 513 has considerably much less competitors — 4G Chromebooks have been ridiculously uncommon the final three years — and if there’s something Qualcomm is aware of easy methods to do, it is easy methods to create a really environment friendly 4G system. The solely different 4G Chromebook introduced in 2020 is the Dell 3100, a two-year-old mannequin that had a USB port taken out and a 4G modem shoved in. The Samsung Chromebook Plus V2 is considered one of the solely different LTE Chromebooks on the market, and it nonetheless runs $600, and its battery life is less-than-stellar, so the Spin 513 will beat it hands-down.

In quick, the Wi-Fi model of the Spin 513 may need hassle standing out in a crowded pack, however the 4G LTE mannequin coming in the coming weeks might be a scorching commodity.

Acer Chromebook Spin 513 Should you purchase it?

You can buy this if …

• You need an LTE Chromebook with a good battery
• You need a light-weight laptop computer for informal computing
• You want an additional laptop for the household to share
• You’re curious how Snapdragon runs Chrome OS

You mustn’t purchase this if …

• You use a number of displays or Linux functions
• You want loads of ports
• You have a low tolerance for lag or bugs

This is the first Snapdragon-powered Chromebook to hit the market, and I’m certain it won’t be the final. Hopefully, we’ll even see Qualcomm and Google come collectively on a Snapdragon compute platform that is geared particularly to Chrome OS and Google Assistant, however for now, the 7c Qualcomm does a good job as long as you retain your tabs underneath management. The downside is, why would you accept that when there are extra dependable $400 Chromebooks with the similar characteristic set on the market proper now.

3.5
out of 5

If you continue to wish to take an opportunity, the Acer Chromebook Spin 513 is probably not the least expensive Chromebook on the market, nevertheless it’ll go actually all day, and it is adequate for mild work and basic shopping whereas we watch for the bugs to get tamped down. The backlit keyboard, USI stylus assist, and the sturdy construct high quality assist deliver the degree of consolation we would count on in a mid-range Chromebook whereas nonetheless preserving the worth affordable.