Acer’s Chromebook Spin 713 Is a Powerful Beast With a Pretty Display

Chromebooks had abig momentwhen the pandemic reach due in part to the searing desperation of parent look for a computer so their kids could do school from house . But before the bedlam , Chromebooks were regard mostly as an partizan ’s gimmick , or perhaps as a secondary associate to a more subject machine stationed back home .

TheAcer Chromebook Spin 713exists in direct contradiction in terms to this thought . It ’s a different kind of Chromebook from theGoogle PixelbookI’ve been using for the past four years . The poser I go over here costs$700 for an eleventh - generation Core i5 , 8 GB of RAM , and 256 GB of storage . It ’s get a wealth of ports , include an HDMI port for thieve up an international monitor . From this alone , you would think this was a laptop made for business — and it is ! Kind of . But at its pith , it ’s still a Chromebook , which means it also comes with concessions you would n’t have to make with a Windows PC around the same price .

Acer Chromebook Spin 713 ( 2021 )

The Acer Chromebook Spin 713.

The Acer Chromebook Spin 713.Photo: Florence Ion/Gizmodo

What is it ?

A 2 - in-1 Chromebook with Intel ’s eleventh - gen CPU

Price

Photo: Florence Ion/Gizmodo (In-House Art)

Starts at $ 630 ( $ 700 as configured )

So many ports ; a large 3:2 proportion display that works well with Chrome OS ; 360 - degree flexible joint action

Photo: Florence Ion/Gizmodo

Photo: Florence Ion/Gizmodo (In-House Art)

Dislike

Average battery ; irksome physique ; and a trackpad that wear down on you quick

Business From Every Angle

TheChromebook Spin 713looks like a Windows laptop the IT section head assign you on your first day at a new job . It ’s definitely utilitarian with its gray - on - white-haired material body and plain white backlighting . Unlike Google ’s Chromebooks , which ooze a playful panache , and even Samsung’sChromebooks , which are as over - designed as their smartphones , it feel like Acer rend from its common stock of available designs and slap Chrome OS on top . It ’s strategical for propagating the platform , but I hanker for something as root on as an Android smartphone .

If you may vibe with the rugged look , theChromebook Spin 713boasts an impressive silver screen . The 13.5 - in 360 - degree flippable touchscreen display has a 3:2 aspect proportion that is perfectly attuned to Chrome OS ’s soupcon - forward interface . It ’s a 2250 x 1504 resolution , which is weird for screenshots but act upon well when you ’re read and browsing on Chrome OS . Of naturally , videos will be black - boxed in full screen door , but it ’s a distinctive trade - off for laptop computer life . I did n’t mind it , and I loved the ability to sky over the Chromebook and watch 90 daylight Fiancé from the tub .

TheChromebook Spin 713reviewed here has some telling specs for its $ 700 damage tag end . There ’s an Intel 11th - gen Core i5 - 1135G7 C.P.U. inwardly clocked at 2.4GHz , with Turbo Boost up to 4.2GHz — and yes , this is aspossible on Chrome OSas it is on Windows . It has 8 GB of RAM and 256 GB of storage . It also sportsWi - Fi 6connectivity . There ’s a 720p webcam at the top of the filmdom , but it ’s not the best for low - light video - conferencing state of affairs . All of this come up in a nearly 3 - pound software system , just a second more than thePixelbookandPixelbook Go , but about the same as the highly - specced ( and well - rated)Samsung Galaxy Chromebook .

Photo: Florence Ion/Gizmodo

Photo: Florence Ion/Gizmodo (In-House Art)

So Many Ports

There are so many porthole on this laptop that it deserves a dedicated surgical incision . I ’ve used a long line of Chromebooks with a mere two USB - atomic number 6 ports : one for power and another for an adapter . gratefully , I did n’t demand an adapter with the Spin 713 . It has two USB - C Thunderbolt 4 ports on the left side , plus an HDMI port and a headphone jack . On the laptop computer ’s correct side is a received USB - A port for your preferent wired mouse , plus a microSD slot for extra storage and a bulk rocker and power push . I still had to use an SD card adapter to get my photos off of my DSLR , but it ’s so much easier when you have all those port already approachable on the gadget .

Better Keys, Please

The Chromebook has always been my favourite tool of the trade because they ’re light laptops that typically follow with very comfortable keyboard . TheAcer Chromebook Spin 713’s78 - key tissue layer keyboard is no different . I love typing on the gadget and make do up to 96 words per minute in a quick typewriting test . The keys themselves are a spot shaky when pressed , but I still found them as satisfactory to tap on as my super worn - in Pixelbook . The white backlight is squeamish and bright at night , too , though I wish Chromebook Jehovah would get on circuit card with see - through keys for those of us with vampiric working disposition .

The trackpad on theSpin 713is OK , truly . But it suffers the same destiny as other Chromebook trackpads I ’ve used . Sometimes when you ’re dragging your finger , all of a sudden it feels like you hit a paries on the touchpad . I ca n’t excuse what it is , but it ’s enough to inspire me to plug in a mouse when I want it ( or go to my desktop reckoner ) . There were also a few instances when it feel like my fingerbreadth - puff overshot the point I wanted to select . Chrome OS is meant for use with fingers on the screen , and I ’ve been a user long enough that I ’ve adapted to how to get around . But if you ’re new to the platform , the touchpad require a bit of a give - in period .

A Chromebook That Hustles

TheChromebook Spin 713is Intel Evo - certified , which intend the laptop computer is a showcase machine for Intel ’s latest processors . It ’s difficult to illustrate the true performance abilities of a Chromebook , however , because , by its very nature , it ’s not suppose to be complicated or resource - intensive like a Mac and Windows automobile . After all , it ’s a Linux - based operating system based around a web browser app .

To that end , most of the benchmark I ran were browser app - based , includingWebXPRT , which tests received HTML5- and JavaScript - based function within the web browser app , andCrXPRT 2 , which is in effect the same test but at the actual Chromebook organisation level . In both tests , the laptop do well , valuate around 704 for carrying into action in WebXPRT and around 160 on CrXPRT 2 . It ’s about on par with most new laptop we ’ve tested this year .

I also ran aGeekBench 5test . It order the Chromebook alongside other Android machine because it identifies the machine as an Android 9 gimmick . But a manual search of GeekBench ’s benchmark charts for thesame processorshows theChromebook Spin 713performs along the lines of Dell and HP ’s mid - range Windows laptop computer .

Photo: Florence Ion/Gizmodo

Photo: Florence Ion/Gizmodo (In-House Art)

In my universal usance , theChromebook Spin 713handled a variety of task with ease . I move about 164 RAW and JPEG filing cabinet from an SD notice , and it take under two second to import them all to Chrome ’s version of the background ( which is just the Downloads folder ) . I also batch - processed about 19 RAW and JPEG photos in Lightroom Mobile , and the computer managed to process them all in about eight seconds .

My only charge about theChromebook Spin 713is that it can be a flake noisy , and the fan action is tawdry enough that my smartphone mic could pluck some of it up . It also gets a bit hot around the heart of the keyboard area , as I found out while editing a curt video clip in tablet musical mode .

The Chromebook Spin 713’sbattery psychometric test were more unsatisfying . I thought it would hang around for a while since the reckon clock time on Chrome bone will indicate up to 10 hr of use as I ’m douse in and out of the screen . However , when I ’d lead off a benchmark , the estimation would then drop from four to five 60 minutes , and that ’s close to what theChromebook Spin 713managed in our battery test . It lasted almost six and a half hour our battery rundown test , which consists of continuous video - cyclosis over WLAN at 200 nit screen brightness . I ’d also hoped that theChromebook Spin 713could hold on the way the Pixelbook does when I allow it on understudy for a twenty-four hours or two . But I often refund to the laptop computer in desperate want of a charge .

Photo: Florence Ion/Gizmodo

Photo: Florence Ion/Gizmodo (In-House Art)

Remember, It’s Chrome OS

No matter how hard you endeavor to convert yourself with the Windows - like specification and looks , a Chromebook laptop is but a watercraft for Chrome OS and all the cloud - reposition solutions Google offers within its ecosystem . But there are fringe benefit if you ’re an Android drug user and often on the go with a telephone set and laptop in towage .

TheChromebook Spin 713tested here is running the latest unchanging build ofChrome OS 2025-04-23.114 , which include Nearby Share capabilities . That allow you cursorily share files between your Chromebook and Android gimmick — essentially like Google ’s reading of AirDrop that should have come a long time ago , and it ’s nice to have that capableness available finally . you could also unlock the Chromebook with a Pixel machine , and there ’s built - in Google Assistant desegregation .

Google has also fix how Chrome OS handle multiple window . TheDesksfeature can be ready to hand if you ’re , say , multitasking between redaction exposure and save the Scripture to follow them . Canvas is another squeamish value - add that rent you play and create with a third - company style . in the end , Chrome osmium offers quick memory access link to recently download and open files next to the status bar , and while it ’s convenient , it can get a second crowded when there ’s a flurry of telling .

Photo: Florence Ion/Gizmodo

Photo: Florence Ion/Gizmodo (In-House Art)

Keep in mind that with Chrome OS , the master concession is that you ’re not using a full - fledged desktop operating system . The available Chrome extensions and web apps , plus compatible Android apps , will only take you so far with productivity . For me , a blogger who writes in a coloured room all day , the Chromebook is suited for type , explore , and cut back a few picture . But someone with a more involved workflow should n’t even regard Chrome OS without a backup scheme in place .

If you ’re shopping for a Chromebook , you likely already know what you ’re getting yourself into . TheAcer Chromebook Spin 713is peck capable within the limitations of Chrome OS . The latest Intel chip inside this convertible two - in - one laptop means you ’ll be set for a couple of years . TheChromebook Spin 713 is an nonesuch machinefor a pupil or mobile individual who wants a computer that ’s easy to maintain , with enough porthole to adapt every kind of situation .

TheAcer Chromebook Spin 713is priced competitively against the Google Pixelbook Go , which runs on older Intel hardware . Asus is also jazz for its telling Chromebook devices , though we ’re still waiting for their 11th - gen hardware .

Photo: Florence Ion/Gizmodo

Photo: Florence Ion/Gizmodo (In-House Art)

seem , you’re able to drop about $ 100 more to get a better deal on a Windows simple machine running similar specification with more memory . But if you ’re looking for a inflexible , high up - powered Chromebook for whatever reason , you ca n’t go wrong with theAcer Chromebook Spin 713 .

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