Acer Chromebook Spin 513 (2H) review: Remodeling the fundamentals

Acer Chromebook Spin 513 (2H)

The Acer Chromebook Spin 513 (2H) is a well-rounded Chromebook that balances design, show, construct high quality, and battery life. The gradual flash reminiscence and middling processor imply it isn’t the very best for heavier workloads, however for college kids and informal customers, the Spin 513 (2H) is an efficient alternative.

The Acer Chromebook Spin 513 (2H) is an iterative replace to 2021’s Chromebook of the identical identify, bringing a brand new Mediatek processor for improved efficiency and battery life. The Spin 513 is the mid-range brother to Acer’s Spin 713 line, containing the identical show and construct high quality, simply with much less energy, however are these upgrades sufficient for a $215 premium over final yr’s mannequin? That is Android Authority’s Acer Chromebook Spin 513 (2H) review.

What you could know concerning the Acer Chromebook Spin 513 (2H)

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Acer Chromebook Spin 513 (2H) (128GB/8GB): $615 / £499

The Acer Chromebook Spin 513 (2H) is Acer’s mid-tier providing inside its premium Chromebook lineup, slotting in earlier than the Spin 713. The latter encompasses a devoted Intel CPU in comparison with the 513’s cellular CPU, just for this iteration, Acer swapped out the slower Qualcomm 7c cellular processor from the earlier mannequin for Mediatek’s octa-core Kompanio 1380. It additionally raised the asking value by over $200 for the bottom mannequin, although its sole configuration does double the eMMc storage (128GB) and RAM (8GB).

The laptop additionally adopts an honest quantity of ports, which embody two USB-C 3.2, one USB-A 3.2, a 3.5mm headphone jack, and a microSD card slot. It additionally has a 13.5-inch IPS touchscreen panel that may swivel on its hinge and has a 2,256 x 1504 decision.

See additionally: One of the best Chromebooks

The Acer Chromebook Spin 513 (2H) prices $615 and is at present offered via Amazon in North American markets. Acer is concentrating on this gadget towards college students and “hybrid employees” who’ve each in-person and digital elements to their workflows. Within the field, you’re getting the laptop, guarantee information, and a 45W USB-C charging brick that comes with an extension. It is available in a single grey coloration.

What’s good?

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The Acer Chromebook Spin 513 (2H) is just not a big overhaul over its predecessor, however that’s an excellent factor. The Spin 513 (2H) retains a wonderful design and minimal profile. The laptop deck is plastic, however the firm didn’t skimp on placing Gorilla Glass on each the display and trackpad. The remainder of the gadget, together with the lid and backside is product of aluminum.

The display will get an honest overhaul this yr, bumping up the decision to 2K and delivering the next peak brightness of 360 nits. The show has a facet ratio of three:2, which suggests it has extra vertical area in comparison with the usual 16:9 side ratios you’d see in most computer systems. In comparison with 2021’s Spin 513, you’re getting 18% extra vertical display actual property. That is nice for enhancing paperwork, interacting with the show in pill mode, and navigating Chrome OS. In addition to contact, the show additionally helps stylus enter.

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The 360-degree hinge design provides you loads of choices for truly utilizing the show. The hinges present an satisfactory stage of stiffness to permit the display to carry in a number of orientations together with pill mode, tent mode (pictured above), and the essential laptop mode. Like different articulating shows, that is nice for college kids who might use a stylus to jot down or draw. Relating to watching content material, being able to cover the keyboard additionally makes the viewing expertise significantly better.

Talking of content material consumption, the Spin 513’s audio system are additionally fairly nice. They gained’t beat out costlier computer systems like a MacBook Air, however the two stereo audio system have DTS bass optimization and do an honest job at delivering full sound in such a slim type issue.

The two-in-1 type issue of the Acer Spin 513 is a wonderful alternative for college kids who wish to take full benefit of Chrome OS.

An analogous case will be made for the keyboard, which supplies an satisfying typing expertise in comparison with equally priced Chromebooks. The keys have an honest quantity of journey and are backlit, which means you may sort comfortably in dim lighting. Together with the glass trackpad, inputs on the Spin 513 ship a extra premium really feel than another laptops at this value level, which generally don’t have the identical accuracy or velocity.

To spherical off the great things, let’s discuss battery life. The Spin 513 (2H) has a quoted battery lifetime of 11 hours in comparison with 13.5 hours of the earlier era. Although it’s lower than its predecessor, in my testing of the gadget, I comfortably received about seven to eight hours of utilization on a single cost at close to max brightness. You may anticipate this kind of runtime when you have a number of Chrome tabs going for net apps like Google Docs and Slides. With heavier workloads, you’ll wish to carry a charger, however in typical day-to-day utilization, the Spin 513 supplies sufficient juice to get via a full day.

What’s not so good?

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The Mediatek 1380 that powers the Spin 513 (2H) is a step up from the Snapdragon 7c processor on paper, however the efficiency is simply… okay. It will probably deal with most purposes and Android apps through the Play Retailer, but it surely isn’t in line with its supply. My workflow typically consisted of getting a number of paperwork, information articles, and Google Classroom open, with the addition of a few apps like Spotify and YouTube. With all this, I’d get occasional lag and stutters; if you happen to use it lengthy sufficient, the ceiling for what this processor is able to is reached fairly simply. This, mixed with the leisurely velocity of the eMMC storage, makes the Spin 513 noticeably gradual at instances, but it surely all is dependent upon how far you push it. To Acer’s credit score, the corporate added 4GB of RAM in comparison with the last-gen mannequin, so that you get the next ceiling for multi-tasking, however in eventualities like mine, it doesn’t yield a lot.

The port state of affairs has additionally largely stayed the identical. Whereas the gadget helps the newest USB-C and USB-A gen 3.2 ports, it will’ve been good to see the addition of older ports since this gadget is aimed toward college students who might not have entry to USB-C-enabled gadgets. Ports similar to an HDMI would drastically profit many college students and hybrid employees since most of the older projectors and exterior screens present in colleges and workplaces don’t assist USB-C video output. Corporations like Dell and Lenovo provide a extra versatile port choice on their Chromebooks and Home windows laptops at this value level.

One other gripe we had with 2021’s Spin 513 iteration was the sub-par HD webcam. This stays unchanged; the Spin 513 (2H)’s camera nonetheless has a 720p decision. I feel Acer once more might have invested in upgrading the webcam to 1080p contemplating the prevalence of video calling at work and in schooling. That being mentioned, most laptops on this value vary fail to ship satisfactory webcam high quality, so this subject is a part of a broader drawback. You’ll wish to purchase a standalone webcam for a greater expertise.

Acer Chromebook Spin (2H) specs

Acer Chromebook Spin 513 (2H): The decision

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The Acer Chromebook Spin 513 (2H) is an fascinating addition to Acer’s Chromebook lineup. The corporate centered on refining among the laptop’s key parts whereas preserving the final design language and type issue comparatively related.

The Spin 513 excels at delivering a well-balanced person expertise; the up to date display with the next decision, and three:2 side ratio is bound to be a welcome change for employees and college students alike, as they’ll be capable of make the most of extra vertical actual property for work and play. The articulating display can also be drastically versatile with its 360-degree hinge, permitting for content material consumption, note-taking, drawing, and even some gentle gaming via the Google Play Retailer.

Different elements like a responsive glass trackpad, a well-rounded keyboard, respectable audio system, and near all-day battery life make the Spin 513 a wonderful alternative for many individuals. I’d advocate it to a dad or mum trying to get their middle-schooler or highschool freshman a brand new laptop to begin off the brand new faculty yr.

If it is all-day battery life and show high quality you are on the lookout for, the Acer Chromebook Spin 513 (2H) delivers these key options in a slim and light-weight type issue.

Nevertheless, contemplating the Spin 513 (2H) is costlier than earlier than, there are a few stuff you’d wish to make certain of earlier than spending your money.

In case your workflow consists of loads of research-based duties that will require you to multitask with a number of tabs and purposes, it could be price contemplating getting Acer’s higher-end Spin 714 Chromebook ($749), because the Intel-based processor will provide you with higher efficiency for heavier workloads. Whereas Acer has upgraded the Spin 513 to the Mediatek Kompanio 1380, I’d argue for many individuals it’s simply not sufficient energy if you happen to plan on doing extra than simply informal looking. With 8GB of RAM and gradual eMMC flash storage, there’s positively room to enhance on the efficiency finish. The low-resolution webcam, too, gained’t enchantment to those that do loads of video conferences over Zoom or Google Meet.

All in all, if you happen to’re contemplating Acer’s Chromebook Spin 513 (2H), likelihood is you’re on the lookout for a Chromebook that may nail the basic elements of a laptop properly, with out breaking the financial institution. If it’s all-day battery life and show high quality you’re on the lookout for, the Acer Chromebook Spin 513 delivers these key options in a slim and light-weight type issue. If you wish to save a couple of {dollars} although, contemplate whether or not the show and slight efficiency enhance are sufficient of a justification for choosing up the 2H variant over the Spin 513 (1H) (~$400-500), which on the time of this writing continues to be staying within the lineup at a diminished value.

Acer Chromebook Spin 513 (2H)

All-day battery with a wonderful show • Sturdy and well-built

Refining the Spin 513 system.

The Chromebook Spin 513 (2H) takes a well-known design and improves on it with a sharper, brighter show, improved specs, and all-day battery life.

High Acer Chromebook Spin 513 (2H) questions and solutions

Does the Acer Chromebook Spin 513 (2H) have a backlit keyboard?

Sure, the Acer Chromebook Spin 513 (2H) has a backlit keyboard.

Does the Acer Chromebook Spin 513 (2H) have a touchscreen?

Sure, the Chromebook Spin 513 (2H) has touchscreen assist.

Does the Acer Chromebook Spin 513 (2H) include a stylus?

No, the Chromebook Spin 513 (2H) doesn’t include a stylus, but it surely does assist stylus enter.

How massive is Acer Chromebook Spin 513 (2H)?

The Acer Chromebook Spin 513 (2H) measures 300 x 235 x 16.3mm (11.8 x 9.25 x 0.64 inches)

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