Acer is giving the Chromebook Spin 11 an update, cramming in a new Pentium CPU and fitting it with USB Type-C ports.
It's part of the trio of Chrome OS-powered devices the company is debuting at the Bett Show 2018 in London, which includes the Chromebook 11 C732 and the Chromebox CXI3, aside from the 2-in-1 convertible.
Chromebook Spin 11 Specs, Features
To start things off, Acer equipped the Chromebook Spin 11 with an 11.6-inch IPS touch screen with a 1,366 x 768 resolution.
It's available in three different processors, one of which is an Intel Pentium N4200. The two other options come with either a Celeron N3450 or a Celeron N3350. Depending on the model, the CPU will be married to 4 GB or 8 GB of LPDDR4 RAM and 32 GB or 64 GB of eMMC storage.
Also, the convertible sports two USB 3.1 Type-C ports and two USB 3.0 Type-A ports as well as a microSD card reader to boot. When it comes to connectivity, it supports 2x2 MIMO 802.11ac Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.2.
It weighs just 2.75 pounds too and measures at 11.7 x 8.11 x 0.78 inches. In other words, lugging it around won't be a problem.
Keeping the lights on is a 4,870 mAh battery that's touted to provide enough life "all day."
In terms of cameras, it's got an "Acer HD" webcam on the front, and there's an optional rear shooter as well.
One thing that makes it stand out from among the current brood is its Wacom EMR stylus that's bundled with it. Needless to say, that allows it to edge out competitors in its range and arguably even stand alongside with certain premium Chrome OS machines. However, it should be noted that the stylus is packaged only with the CP311-1HN model.
Now this goes without saying, but since it's fitted with a 360-degree hinge, it can be used in tent, tablet, display, or notebook mode. More than that, it runs on Chrome OS and supports the Google Play Store, and that means it can fire up Android apps and even provide stylus support for certain ones.
"The new Acer Chromebook Spin 11 continues in the tradition of the Chromebook R 11, which won many awards for its design, performance and strong feature set, and now includes even more features that make life better for our customers, including the latest ports, all-day battery life and solid performance in a stylish, convertible design," James Lin, general manager of Commercial and Detachable Notebooks and IT Products Business at Acer, says.
How Much Is It, And When Will It Be Available?
The Chromebook Spin 11 lineup consists of the CP311-1H and CP311-1HN models, and they'll be available sometime in March in the United States. The starting price is set at $349.
The Bottom Line
On paper, the Chromebook Spin 11 looks great on all fronts, but the exact performance it can deliver when it comes to real-life usage is still up in the air.
It's also worth mentioning that the Lenovo also brought affordable Windows 10 laptops at the Bett Show 2018, and they were unveiled as Microsoft doubled down on educational tools such as Minecraft: Education Edition.
For the record, this is an upgrade from the Chromebook Spin 11 released in 2017.
