Acer Chromebook Spin 15 Review: Excellent Battery, Great Display

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Acer Chromebook Spin 15: At First Glance

The Acer Chromebook Spin 15 is a huge convertible 2-in-1 laptop that won’t break your bank. This laptop offers a 15-inch display screen and a reasonable performance for just a starting price of $300.00.

Moreover, this starting price was in September 2021, at the time this review was written. Additionally, this laptop features Chrome OS and other Google applications, making it ideal for studies, and less demanding tasks. 

However, the Acer Chromebook Spin 15 laptop, like most inexpensive Chromebooks, has some significant flaws. Continue reading to learn more about the laptop and its flaws.

Acer Chromebook Spin 15: Design, Dimension, and Weight

The Acer Chromebook Spin 15 is a stylish Chromebook from the outside. Specifically, it features a linen-like textured aluminum lid.

This is encouraging to see because the Spin 15 takes us away from days when Chromebooks look cheap. Unfortunately, it’s a shame Acer did not continue with the aluminum design on the inside. 

When you open the laptop’s aluminum lid, you’ll see a keyboard deck made of shiny plastic with beveled edges. On the plus side, the laptop’s aluminum lid and plastic deck are solid, with minimal flex.

In terms of display, the Acer Chromebook Spin 15 is unlike any other Chromebook. It is the first 2-in-1 convertible Chromebook with a 15.6-inch display.

Furthermore, the 15.6-inch display has an FHD (1920 x 1080) screen resolution. The display also features In-plane Switching (IPS) technology, which allows it to be viewed from various angles.

Additionally, the display screen on the Acer Chromebook Spin 15 is brighter than most affordable Chromebooks. It records a maximum brightness of 247 nits, which is higher than the 232 nits Chromebook average. 

In terms of color quality and accuracy, the Acer Chromebook Spin 15’s screen covers 68 percent of the sRGB spectrum. Unfortunately, this is well below the 80 percent category average.

As a result, the Acer Chromebook Spin 15’s color reproduction is below average and not particularly good. It compensates, however, with its amazing brightness.

Moving on, as a 2-in-1 convertible Chromebook, the Acer Chromebook Spin 15’s display screen is a touchscreen. Additionally, the screen can rotate 360 degrees.

Therefore, the laptop can also be used as a tablet.

Furthermore, the touchscreen display of the Acer Chromebook Spin 15 is quite responsive and precisely detects input. Unfortunately, unlike most convertible 2-in-1 laptops, Acer doesn’t include a stylus pen for this Chromebook.

This is so poor from Acer, considering that the Chromebook Spin 15 is a 15-inch laptop. Even the 13-inch Acer Chromebook Spin 13 features a stylus pen.

Budget laptops like the Chromebook Spin 15 constantly surprise me with how good of a typing experience they can provide. Specifically, this Chromebook features a standard backlit Chiclet-style keyboard.

This keyboard is very comfortable and enjoyable to use, with just the right amount of key travel. In addition to the key travel, the resistance and space between the keys make typing a pleasurable experience.

This keyboard also has a set of dedicated multimedia keys for adjusting volume and changing screen brightness, etc. These dedicated keys are found on the keyboard’s upper row.

The Acer Chromebook Spin 15’s 104.14 x 76.2 mm Gorilla Glass touchpad is located just below the keyboard. In addition to its size, it is sensitive and wide enough to comfortably perform Chrome OS multi-touch gestures.

The sound produced by the Acer Chromebook Spin 15 is loud enough for watching movies. Specifically, the laptop features dual stereo speakers that project sound directly from each side of the keyboard.

The speakers, like the speakers on most laptops, aren’t particularly good at producing exceptional sound quality. As a result, if you wish to listen to top-quality music, the headphone jack is the best option.

Moreover, a pair of Bluetooth headphones is also a viable option.

The only issue I have concerning the speakers is when you want to use the laptop as a tablet. Normally, the speakers are meant to project sound upward since it is by the sides of the keyboard.

However, when you use the Acer Chromebook Spin 15 as a tablet, the sound is then projected downward. This is because, in tablet mode, the keyboard is placed underneath the screen, with the screen facing towards the user.

As a result, the sounds generated by the speakers when using the laptop as a tablet will be less audible. In my opinion, the speakers should be placed on the sides of a laptop rather than the sides of the keyboard.

Moving on to ports, in spite of its low price, the Acer Chromebook Spin 15 has a decent number of ports. On the left side, there is a USB Type-C port, USB 3.1 port, a headphone jack, and a microSD port.

On the right, you get another USB 3.1 port, a second USB Type-C port, and a security lock slot.

The Acer Chromebook Spin 15 is quite heavy, measuring 386 x 262 x 19.9 mm and weighing 2100 g. Comparatively, the Acer Chromebook Spin 15 is thicker and heavier than the ASUS Chromebook C523 and the HP Chromebook 14.

The Asus Chromebook C523 measures 358 x 248 x 15.6 – 16.1 mm and weighs 1690 g. The HP Chromebook 14, on the other hand, measures 337 x 226 x 18.3 mm and weighs 1540 g.

Overall, the design of the Acer Chromebook Spin 15 is impressive for the price tag. However, it has some significant flaws such as its lack of a stylus, less-colorful display, and heavyweight.

Regardless, the Acer Chromebook Spin 15 is still a well-designed and good-looking laptop. Therefore, I will be rating the Acer Chromebook Spin 15 an eight in this design review section.

Acer Chromebook Spin 15: Processor (CPU) Performance

For the processor, the Acer Chromebook Spin 15 features an Intel Pentium N4200. Moreover, this quad-core processor comes with a cache of 2 MB.

Furthermore, the processor runs at a base frequency of 1.10 GHz and a maximum frequency of 2.50 GHz. Actually, this processor isn’t fast or powerful enough compared to an Intel Core processor.

As a result, don’t expect much from this processor. It can, however, handle basic tasks such as web surfing, or video streaming, as well as light multitasking.

Furthermore, it can also run Android apps downloaded from the Google Play Store without any issues. However, you shouldn’t expect anything more than that.

Interestingly, with this processor, the Acer Chromebook Spin 15 performed quite well on a Geekbench 4 test. Geekbench 4 is an app-based benchmark test that measures the overall performance of a computer.

On this Geekbench 4 test, the Acer Chromebook Spin 15 recorded a score of 4,752 points. This score is almost identical to the category average of 4,663 points.

Comparatively, the Acer Chromebook Spin 15 recorded a better score than the ASUS Chromebook C523 and HP Chromebook 14. Specifically, on the Geekbench 4 test, the ASUS Chromebook C523 scored 4,698 points while HP’s Chromebook 14 scored 2,733 points.

It is worth noting that the ASUS Chromebook C523 uses the same processor as the Acer Chromebook Spin 15. The HP Chromebook 14, on the other hand, uses an Intel Celeron N3350 processor.

In conclusion, the processor, like most Chromebooks, is the laptop’s weak point. Although an Intel i3 or i5 processor would have been nice, this would have increased the cost.

On the bright side, the Acer Chromebook Spin 15’s processor can handle basic tasks, as well as light multitasking. Asides from that, it performs excellently compared to most of its competitors on a Geekbench 4 benchmark test.

Therefore, I will be rating the Acer Chromebook Spin 15 a seven in this processor review for its decent performance.

Acer Chromebook Spin 15: Memory (RAM) Performance

In terms of memory, the Acer Chromebook Spin 15 features a standard memory of 4 GB LPDDR4 RAM. Unfortunately, the laptop features just a single RAM slot, and the maximum RAM supported is also 4 GB.

Therefore, you don’t have any other memory option other than 4 GB RAM. However, with 4 GB RAM and the help of its processor, this laptop is capable of handling day-to-day tasks.

To be more precise, the Chromebook Spin 15 had no issues performing tasks such as word processing and web browsing. Additionally, 4 GB of RAM should be able to handle light multitasking.

Therefore, I conducted a multitasking test to see how well the laptop performs with its 4 GB RAM. To fulfill this test, I had about 7 Chrome tabs opened while streaming an HD video on YouTube.

The laptop performed smoothly under these circumstances but I noticed the chrome tabs had some delay while loading. I didn’t stop at the multitasking test.

I also conducted a Jetstream 2 test to further determine the laptop’s performance.

Jetstream 2 is the combination of JavaScript and Web Assembly benchmarks that measure a computer’s performance under complex workloads. On this test, the Acer Chromebook Spin 15 delivered a score of 40.3 points.

Sadly, this score is miles below the 65.6 points received by the ASUS Chromebook C523. However, it is a bit higher than the 38.6 points achieved by the HP Chromebook 14.

In conclusion, the Acer Chromebook Spin 15’s memory capacity is limited to only 4 GB RAM. However, the laptop still performs decently with the 4 GB RAM.

Therefore, the Acer Chromebook Spin 15 deserves a seven out of ten ratings in this memory review section.

Acer Chromebook Spin 15: Storage Options & Performance

Just like every Chromebook I have ever reviewed, the Acer Chromebook Spin 15 features an eMMC flash storage. Furthermore, you can purchase the Acer Chromebook Spin 15 with either 32 GB or 64 GB of eMMC flash storage.

My review laptop came with 32 GB eMMC flash storage which was not really sufficient for me. Unfortunately, because eMMC storage is usually soldered into a computer’s motherboard, it is not removable/upgradeable.

The lack of upgradability of an eMMC storage simple explains why Chromebooks are far less expensive than Windows PCs.  Also, this is the type of storage that you will find in low-cost laptops, tablets, and smartphones.

On the plus side, the Acer Chromebook Spin 15 offers a Micro SDcard reader for storage expansion. In addition to its SDcard reader, the laptop also comes with 100 GB Google Drive cloud storage.

The inclusion of the 100 GB Google Drive storage is really impressive for a laptop in this price range. However, it is only free for two years.  

Finally, the storage options of the Acer Chromebook Spin 15 are pretty impressive for an affordable laptop. Therefore, the Acer Chromebook Spin 15 gets a rating of eight from me in this storage review section.

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Acer Chromebook Spin 15: Graphics Card Performance

Acer didn’t put lots of effort in terms of graphics, and that is understandable for a Chromebook this cheap. Specifically, the Acer Chromebook Spin 15 uses an Intel HD Graphics 505.

Additionally, the Intel HD Graphics 505 is an integrated graphics card – it is integrated into the laptop’s CPU. As expected, the Intel HD Graphics 505 doesn’t feature dedicated VRAM.

This implies that the graphics card shares memory with the processor. Therefore, resulting in poor gaming performance.

In addition to poor gaming performance, this laptop cannot run graphics-demanding games and applications.

Furthermore, the Intel HD Graphics 505 has a base GPU frequency of 200 MHz. Also, it has a boost GPU frequency of 750 MHz.

Moreover, despite featuring an integrated graphics card, the Acer Chromebook Spin 15 is capable of playing most android games. For example, while playing Alto’s Odyssey, the Acer Chromebook Spin 15 delivered a smooth frame rate of 54 fps.  

However, PC games such as GTA IV and Far Cry 5 can’t be played on the Acer Chromebook Spin 15. These games are graphically demanding, so they need a dedicated graphics card to run.

To further test the performance of the Acer Chromebook Spin 15’s graphics card, I ran a WebGL Aquarium test. WebGL Aquarium is a website-based benchmark test that measures how a computer can handle 3D graphics.

On this test, the Acer Chromebook Spin 15 rendered 500 fish at a frame rate of 45 fps. Unfortunately, this rate is lower than the ASUS Chromebook C523’s 57 fps.

However, it is very close to the HP Chromebook 14’s 48 fps.

Finally, I will rate the Acer Chromebook Spin 15 a seven in this graphics review section.

Acer Chromebook Spin 15: Battery Life & Performance

For battery, the Acer Chromebook Spin 15 features a 3-cell Lithium-ion 4670 mAh battery. Acer made a bizarre claim about this battery, stating it could last up to 13 hours on a single charge.

However, am not new to manufacturers’ false claims about their laptop’s battery. So, to ascertain this claim, I ran a battery test myself to find out the battery’s actual runtime.

This battery test involves surfing the internet over WIFI. For this test, I also set the display brightness to medium.

At the end of this battery test, the Acer Chromebook Spin 15 went off after 9 hours and 37 minutes.

This battery runtime is about 30 minutes longer than the category average of 9 hours and 8 minutes. Comparatively, the HP Chromebook 14 came close, lasting 9 hours and 18 minutes.

In conclusion, 9 hours of battery life is pretty outstanding for a laptop in this price range. As a result, the Acer Chromebook Spin 15 deserves a nine in this battery review section.

Frequently Asked Questions

Conclusion

The Acer Chromebook Spin 15 delivers a decent performance for a budget laptop. It features an outstanding battery life, a decent number of ports, and a bright 15.6-inch display.

However, its display screen color production is pretty poor. Also, the Acer Chromebook Spin 15 doesn’t feature a stylus pen and it is quite heavy.

Overall, the Acer Chromebook Spin 15 is a nice budget laptop for day-to-day computing activities.

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