Acer Chromebook 15 review: This big Chromebook is a big bargain – CNET
If you believe “bigger is better,” allow me to introduce the Acer Chromebook 15. For $399 (£249), and currently on sale at Best Buy for $349, the laptop packs a 15.6-inch touchscreen, making it one of the biggest Chromebook models you can buy.
Mục Lục
The Good
The Acer Chromebook 15 is a stylish notebook with a large 15.6-inch screen. It has a backlit keyboard, touchscreen and loud speakers. Battery life is long-lasting.
The Bad
The screen is dull. Chromebooks have inherent OS limitations you need to be aware of. Low-end CPU hampers performance.
The Bottom Line
As one of the biggest Chromebooks, the Acer laptop is perfectly priced for anyone interested in a big laptop for basic online use.
Aside from its super-sized screen, it has great battery life, loud speakers, a backlit keyboard and solid performance. One or two of these features on a budget laptop is good, but all of them combined makes for an excellent value.
The large
Acer
laptop is a solid alternative to the bevy of 13-inch and smaller Chromebook models out there. Since it’s not that much more expensive than compact Chromebooks, anyone interested in an affordable laptop with a big screen shouldn’t hesitate to check it out.
Acer’s 15-inch Chromebook is back and better than ever.
A metal makeover
Unlike last year’s all-plastic model, this new CB515-1HT version in the has an aluminum and plastic build, featuring an on-trend metal lid and cool chamfered edges. Combined with its slim dimensions and silver MacBook-like bezels, the Acer resembles a more expensive laptop.
Weighing 4.85 pounds (2.1kg), it’s not extremely heavy to carry around, despite its large dimensions. Size-wise, it’s more comparable to the 15-inch
Apple MacBook Pro
or the
Microsoft Surface Book 2
than it is to other Chromebooks.
The full-size, all-black keyboard is flanked by two speakers. It’s backlit (a treat for a budget laptop), and the keys travel and respond well. I didn’t find them stiff to type on, though they’re not as comfortable and fluid as a Lenovo ThinkPad laptop’s keyboard. If a superior typing experience is required, I’d recommend taking a look at the
Lenovo ThinkPad 13
instead.
Chrome OS, now with apps
This budget-friendly notebook runs Chrome OS, of course. It’s built for checking Gmail, working on Google Docs or browsing the web using Chrome. It also has the
Google Play
store, which allows the downloading of apps previously limited to Android devices.
The Google Play Store gives the laptop a bit more utility. Instead of just using it for browsing the web, checking email and streaming video, you can additionally post to Instagram, download video for offline watching using the Netflix app, or download games to play when there isn’t a Wi-Fi network available.
Apps give Chromebooks extra utility that isn’t cloud-based.
Support for Google Play is in beta, and, unfortunately, most apps haven’t been optimized for laptop use. Instead of launching in full screen, apps look as small as a phone screen on the Acer’s 15.6-inch display.
Big screen problems
The Acer’s most appealing feature is its big screen, however it’s also one of the laptop’s weak spots.
- 15.6-inch LED-backlit display
- 1,920×1,080-pixel resolution
While the full 1080p HD resolution is pleasingly sharp, the screen’s color saturation is dull. The fantastic imagery in the “Black Panther” trailer lacked a vibrant punch that’s easily visible on high-end
laptops
. It was serviceable, but nothing great.
Viewing angles are decent, and the laptop’s 180-degree hinge helps achieve an optimal viewing angle thanks to the ability to tilt back and forth. I think a 360-degree hinge would’ve been better instead. The added functionality would allow the laptop to be folded into tablet for easy reading, or propped into tent mode for a better movie viewing experience.
The big screen lacks a punch of color.
Up to snuff
The Acer Chromebook 15 performed smoothly and swiftly for basic tasks, like surfing the web, checking emails and streaming HD video. Its performance limits were made obvious when multitasking. Lag usually occurred if a handful of Chrome tabs and apps were open at the same time. For optimal performance, I chose to do one task at a time and tried to keep open tabs to a minimum.
Specs
This budget-friendly notebook runs Chrome OS, of course.
- Intel Pentium N4200 CPU
- 4GB RAM
- 32GB SSD internal storage
- USB 3.0, USB 2.0 and HDMI ports
- SD card reader
The Acer’s speakers were a pleasant and unexpected surprise. Located on the left and right edges of the keyboard, they’re impressively loud and crisp. They easily fill a room with sound, however, like most laptop speakers, they lack bass.
Battery life was impressive, lasting an entire work day on a full charge. In battery testing, looping a 720p video on Airplane Mode, it ran for 13 hours and 45 minutes.
A big no-brainer
The Acer Chromebook 15 is a horse of a different color. Chromebooks with screens larger than 14-inches are few and far between. The Acer laptop slightly fills the void in a fashionable and affordable manner. Even though its big screen isn’t perfect, it’s a small sacrifice for the rest of the laptop’s great features. Anyone interested in an affordable laptop with a big screen should put the Acer towards the top of their list.
Google Octane
Lenovo ThinkPad 13 Chromebook
30415
HP Chromebook 13
27178
Samsung Chromebook Pro
22586
Acer Chromebook 15 (2017)
11214
Lenovo Flex 11
10121
Acer Chromebook 14
8474
Note: Longer bars indicate better performance
JetStream
Lenovo ThinkPad 13 Chromebook
179.72
HP Chromebook 13
154.68
Samsung Chromebook Pro
120.79
Acer Chromebook 15 (2017)
64.651
Lenovo Flex 11
56.059
Acer Chromebook 14
47.171
Note: Longer bars indicate better performance
Streaming video playback (in minutes)
Acer Chromebook 15 (2017)
825
Lenovo Flex 11
719
Acer Chromebook 14
570
Samsung Chromebook Pro
537
Lenovo ThinkPad 13 Chromebook
495
Note: Longer bars indicate better performance
Specifications
Acer Chromebook 15 (2017)Lenovo ThinkPad 13 ChromebookAcer Chromebook 14HP Chromebook 13Samsung Chromebook ProLenovo Flex 11Price as reviewed $399 $845 $355 $819 $549 $269 Display size 15.613.31413.312.311.6PC CPU Intel Pentium N4200Intel Core i5-6300U Intel Celeron Quad-core N3160 Intel Core m5-6y57Intel Core m3-6y30MTK 8173C Processor (2.10GHz)PC Memory 4GB8GB4GB8GB4GB4GBStorage 32GB32GB32GB32GB32GB32GBOperating system Chrome OSChrome OSChrome OSChrome OSChrome OSChrome OS
