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Acer is pushing Chromebooks to a place they haven't gone before: 17.3 inches. It's just one of four new notebooks the company is offering this year spanning across the price spectrum including a top-tier convertible with Thunderbolt 4 ports.
The original Chromebook 14 from Acer came out in 2016 and was a decent device for the price (around $300) — as such, it was popular with critics and consumers alike. So we were naturally excited when we heard Acer was going to bring out a successor. I first got my hands on the Chromebook 514 in Berlin at IFA in the summer of 2018, but it was rather a disappointment. The build quality of the pre-production unit Acer had on display at the show left much to be desired, leading me to an initial opinion that it was too flimsy to even command a $350 price tag. Acer, understandably, was not pleased with this assessment but admitted the product needed improvement and vowed to deliver me a review unit at a later date with all of the kinks ironed out.Some changes to the production line later, I now have a Chromebook 514 that more closely aligns with Acer's previous efforts. The model I’m reviewing (CB514-1HT-C3EG) is specific to The Netherlands but equivalent in specifications to this $429.99 US version (CB514-1HT-C07F). Unlike the cheapest variants that start at $349.99, mine has a multi-touch screen — useful for Android apps. There is also a more expensive SKU with double the RAM/storage and a more powerful Pentium processor for $499.99.
We've seen a few different Chromebooks announced at IFA 2018 in Berlin, including 3 models from Lenovo and a consumer-targeted, premium device from Dell. Not to be outdone, Acer unveiled a long-awaited refresh of its Chromebook 14, although the press release was suspiciously devoid of pertinent specifications such as the processor, storage, and RAM. Thankfully, we were able to check it out in the press area of the Acer stand here at IFA — keep on reading for our initial appraisal.