Acer has come out with the best Chromebook of 2021, the Acer Chromebook Spin 713. The hardware manufacturer has set the bar rather high for the competition. Chromebooks are meant to be work machines for the average office job. They’re not meant to be workhorses or ultra-specialized beasts. That’s a niche which can give people a lot of room to play with.

Acer, it seems, has done that perfectly with the Spin 713. It’s got great performance in an affordable package, with impeccable battery life to boot. It even has a beautiful display, which says something when you look at all the competition today.  So let’s take a look at the 2021 Acer Chromebook that has got everyone talking. 

Design

There’s no need to reinvent the wheel here, and Acer has stuck to that philosophy and presenting a sleek, matte finish for their new Chromebook. It’s steel gray finish hides an aluminum interior with glossy silver outlining the Acer logo.

There is a glossy silver trim on the outer sides of the laptop which is similar to the Acer logo. While this has no practical effect, it looks pretty good. The right side of the laptop presents the power button and the volume control.

When you open up the Chromebook, you get treated to the same color palette along the deck and keyboard. The keyboard is a little small, but it’s nothing you won’t get used to. The 13.5-inch screen is a beauty, even before you turn it on.

The touchpad is lined with 4.2×3.0-inch Gorilla Glass and is a little large for the laptop. However, for some this can be a boon, since touchpads are often a tad too small for people. There are 2 hinges on either side of the laptop which can flip 360 degrees to shift into tablet mode.

The Acer Spin 713 also doesn’t weigh a lot when you’re carrying it around. At around 3 lbs, it’s a little thicker than competing Chromebooks from Asus or Google. However, the specs make it worthwhile.

Adopting the minimalist aesthetic so popular among smartphone and laptop designers today, the Acer Spin 713 has tiny bezels. However, the chin at the bottom is quite noticeable. It has the Acer logo at the bottom. For the price though, it’s a pretty good looking laptop. So what if it’s not going to win any design awards? It’s the internals and the performance that matters here.

Configurations

You can get your Acer Chromebook Spin 713 in a variety of configurations. All include a touchscreen, and a 13.5-inch display. The base model comes with an Intel Core i5 CPU, 8GB of RAM, and a 128 GB SSD. If you want to take this up a notch, you can get the Core i7 model with 16 GB of RAM and a 128 GB SSD.

Hardware

The Acer Chromebook has some pretty beefy internals. It has a great display, some great performance, and as many ports as you need for work. Let’s take a look inside the hood.

Display and Touchscreen

This is obviously the one part of the machine that you’ll always be looking at, so it better be good. The 13.5-inch 2256×1504 display is as bright as you could want it. The brilliant colors and the contrast that the display shows off really makes it pop. Colorimeter tests show its sRGB rating at 80%, which thinly beats the 79% category average. Its brightness though, at 445 nits, beats any competitor in its class. 

As for the touchscreen, it offers smooth scrolling and high touch-sensitivity. The latter could be a problem at times since it can record scrolling as a click. However, it really depends on what you’ll be using it for. If you’re the type to use your laptop as a tablet very often, you’ll probably feel the experience could be better. However, if you’re used to the trackpad or the mouse, you’ll be just fine.

There is no stylus included for the Chromebook though. People who love using styluses in their daily work life or home life will be disappointed.

Keyboard and Touchpad

The keyboard of the Acer Chromebook Spin 713 is pretty small. For those with large fingers, you may find this a challenge to type fast on. Due to the large touchpad, there’s very little room for palm rests too. Despite that, the keyboard is pretty easy to type on. The keys have great travel and are relatively quiet.

The keyboard is backlit, but there are no controls for it. It’s light and not noticeable in daylight. Hence, it won’t hinder you during the day, and will be put to good use when working in the dark.

As for the touchpad, there are no complaints here. Seamless two-finger scrolling, coupled with pinch-to-zoom capabilities made this a pleasure to use.

Ports

Here, the Acer Chromebook Spin 713 justifies its slightly heavier weight and slight thickness compared to competing laptops. There are so many ports to play around with here. On the left you get a single USB Type-C port, a USB 3.0 port, a headphone jack, and microSD card slot.

On the right side of the Chromebook, you get an HDMI port and another USB Type-C port. You can use either of these ports to charge your laptop with ease.

As for the wireless communications, there is Wi-Fi 6 (802.11 ax) and Bluetooth built in to the Chromebook. With so many connections, you won’t run out of space to modify your machine for any extra work or play.

Webcam

The 720p webcam on the Acer Spin 713 is very decent. It picks up colors very well and the overall picture is quite clear. It’s slightly hazy when picking up objects that are very thin or small like hair. Also, the contrast could be a little better. The lighting in the video is a little blown out. However, it could be sharper, but that’s what you get with a 720p sensor. Overall, it’s a decent webcam that will work for most video calls.

Audio

Here’s something which is undeniably negative about this otherwise awesome machine. The speakers are really disappointing. If you’re fond of watching movies or YouTube videos, then you’ll need to plug in headphones. Assuming you’re doing that anyway, you probably won’t begrudge this notebook for less than perfect audio.

However, it’s not just the volume of the speakers, but the quality. The speakers sound very tinny and since they’re located on the underside, you won’t get a great experience. Depending on the surface you set your laptop down on, you’ll get a mediocre to terrible experience. A harder surface will provide louder sound, but not better sound.

Performance

Geekbench marked the Acer Spin 713 at a 3253 which blew past the average of 1774. This is perhaps it’s greatest strength. The Acer Spin 713 is a beast when it comes to playing the game. Even on the Jetstream 2.0 test, the Acer Chromebook scored 113.5. That’s miles ahead of the category average of 83.9.

Software

As with every Chromebook, this one is powered by Chrome OS. The Acer Chromebook Spin 713 has all the bells and whistles you get with any Chromebook. It connects with all your Android devices and carries any information to the laptop if you sync your account.

You also get unhindered access to the Play Store and you can download all apps you have on your phone. While it won’t get you the functionality or Windows or MacOS, it’s still a great OS to get work done. With access to all of Google’s Suite of apps, you won’t find yourself wanting more for office work and play.

Heat

Again, as with the blazing performance on this one, it keeps its cool. Streaming videos and browsing the internet is a breeze for this laptop. It doesn’t give you any uncalled for trouble and keeps its internals cool. The underside may get a little warmer, but you don’t need to worry. You won’t ever feel the heat is unbearable.

Battery Life

If you’re like me, you love battery life in your laptop. That’s another great advantage of the Acer Chromebook Spin 713. It can last over 11 hours at a time comfortably. Of course, this may vary depending on the tasks you’re subjecting it to. However, it’ll comfortably last a day. It’s certainly over the category average of 10.5 hours for a Chromebook.

Final Take Away

The 2021 Acer Chromebook Spin 713 is probably the best Chromebook you can buy right now. It gets almost everything right and cuts corners only where it needs to. Plus, at its base price, you probably won’t get a better deal out there.

Acer ChromeBook Spin 713

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