Last year, Google Introducing the new “Chromebook Plus” label, ensuring that Chromebooks meet specific hardware requirements, meet certain standards of quality, and, importantly, have a starting price of $400 To do. It was quite successful. Chromebooks from companies like Acer and Lenovo are fully-featured hardware that delivers performance, functionality, and affordability for the price.
Acer’s Chromebook Plus 514 (model CB514-4H/T) is another laptop that accomplishes this goal. This particular model name is no tongue-in-cheek, but it does indicate that this is an Intel-powered model and should not be confused with his AMD-powered Chromebook Plus 514 (CB514-3H/T), which the company launched last fall. . It’s a bit confusing, but there’s also the similarly named Acer Chromebook Plus 515, which is close in price but has a larger screen and slightly different processor.
Photo: Daniel Thorpe-Lancaster
There are slight differences in port selection and screen ratio between the Intel and AMD versions of the Chromebook Plus 514, but performance is expected to be about the same. The heavy lifting on this machine is handled by a capable 13th generation Intel Core i3-N305 processor, which is on par with other Chromebook Plus models and is a significant improvement over past Chromebooks. Combined with the 8 GB of RAM and 512 GB solid-state drive in his CB514-4HT-359X configuration that Acer sent me for this review, you get a pretty fast machine that you can use at school or work. This model is only $350 at Costco, but oddly, the 128 GB model is even more expensive at $380 on Amazon.
Chrome OS is designed to be lightweight, and the Core i3-N305 processor can easily perform most tasks. My daily habit of writing in a Google Doc while watching YouTube videos with a few other tabs open never felt slow or unresponsive. The battery life holds up, getting me through an 8-hour work day, and typically has 1-2 hours of battery life.
Editing in Google Photos feels very responsive, even though it comes from the cloud. I had a lot of fun tweaking my (many) cat photos using the built-in editor, and video editing felt almost instantaneous. Please note that this is highly dependent on the speed of your internet connection for ingesting photos and videos from cloud storage, so your experience may vary.
I’ve never been attracted to using touch on a laptop, but the Chromebook Plus 514’s 14-inch touch panel has me hooked. Chrome OS is touch-friendly, and the smooth matte display is perfect for fingertip use (plus, it doesn’t leave fingerprints). During my week of testing, I found myself constantly reaching for better choices when editing photos in the Google Photos app or when scrolling through YouTube with more precision.
One disappointment is that this isn’t a convertible laptop. Being able to swing the screen around and turn it into a pseudo-tablet would make touch interaction even more comfortable (and fun). So the clamshell design is a bit limiting. On the plus side, the hinge allows the back of the display to extend down a bit when opened, allowing you to stand on a table or your lap for a more comfortable angle.
