ACER Chromebook 514

VERDICT The Chromebook 514 looks the part, even if it has a weak screen and an old CPU

- Alan Martin

THESE DAYS, THERE are two types of Chromebooks: the original concept of simple laptops that are cheap to produce and cheap to buy; and the more recent, more powerful premium Chomebooks, embodied by Google’s own Pixelbook (Shopper 368). The Acer Chromebook 514 is the first we’ve seen to take a third approach, aiming to occupy the space in between.

How does Acer square that circle? Essentially, by putting basic innards into a chassis with elegant looks, plus some nice little extras, aiming for a stylish and feature-rich Chromebook that won’t break the bank. To that end, a 1.1GHz dual-core Intel Celeron N3350 processor is paired with 4GB of RAM, and pitted with a 14in, Full HD touchscreen, a metal frame, a Gorilla Glass-topped touchpad and backlit keys.

If anything, it looks more MacBook than Chromebook. Together with Chrome OS’s more limited functionality, Acer will be hoping that you won’t notice that a three-year-old CPU is running the show.

SHELL GAME

For the most part, admittedly, it works. The aluminium chassis is very stylish when closed, and it’s reasonably lightweight at 1.5kg. When opened, things get a bit more utilitarian, with sharp angles and quite wide bezels top and tailing the screen, although the ones to the side are impressively narrow, measuring just a few millimetres.