The Acer Chromebook Plus Spin 714 reminded me of what I love about Chromebooks. as someone deep I’m part of the Google ecosystem for work and personal purposes, and I own an Android smartphone (like a Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra), which is much more convenient than the M2 MacBook Air I use.
During setup, I was asked to log in using my Google credentials, but I didn’t find it particularly confusing. (No offense to Microsoft, but I don’t use Microsoft properties like OneDrive, Teams, etc. that often and I can never remember my Microsoft credentials, which makes setting up my Windows laptop a pain.)
At an attractive starting price of less than $500, I briefly thought I might as well buy a Chromebook, but a deal-breaker brought me back to reality. Still, I would argue that this is one of the best Chromebooks you can buy.
Acer Chromebook Plus Spin 714 price and specs
As of this writing, the Chromebook Plus Spin 714 starts at $499 at Best Buy and comes with the following specs:
If you need better performance, you can upgrade your Chromebook Plus Spin 714 to an Intel Core Ultra 5 115U (this review is based on this configuration). This costs an additional $200 for the $699 price.
Acer Chromebook Plus Spin 714 design
The design language of the Acer Chromebook Plus Spin 714 really speaks to me. You can’t go wrong with the gray and rose gold color scheme.
Credit: Kimberly Gedeon
The entire aluminum chassis comes in steel grey. This is the only color option for Acer laptops. But what gives this laptop an edge are the rose gold touches found on the hinge and the reflective trim surrounding the touchpad.
Speaking of hinges, as the name “Spin” suggests, the Chromebook Plus Spin 714 becomes an acrobat in its human form. It is bendable and flexible, so it can be transformed into different postures, such as tent mode, tablet mode, etc.
Credit: Kimberly Gedeon
Tent mode is perfect for those who want their display to be the focal point, making it easy to enjoy streaming apps like Netflix and Hulu on your Chromebook Plus Spin 714.
If you want to draw or take notes, you can use tablet mode. The Chromebook Plus Spin 714 supports a stylus like this one sold on Amazon, but unfortunately it doesn’t come in the box. However, this is not the drawback of tablet mode. all 2-in-1 laptops have always felt uncomfortable because the keyboard feels under my fingers when I use them.
One of the Chromebook Plus Spin 714’s biggest selling points is that it complies with MIL-STD 810H standards. This means it has military-grade durability. This means you can rest assured that it can withstand everyday wear and tear. (This makes it an ideal “starter laptop” for young children who tend to be picky about technology.)
It’s also worth noting that the Chromebook Plus Spin 714 is quite heavy. It’s not heavy, but it’s not a laptop that makes you think, “Wow! It’s so thin and light!”
It weighs 3.21 pounds and is 0.74 inches thin.
Acer Chromebook Plus Spin 714 Display
I wasn’t expecting to be blown away by the Chromebook Plus Spin 714’s display. Remember: Prices are less than $700.
Credit: Kimberly Gedeon
It is equipped with a 14-inch. Display with 1920 x 1200 pixel resolution and 16:10 aspect ratio. This aspect ratio is becoming increasingly popular among laptops (16:9 used to be the traditional option) and I’m happy about it. The increased vertical screen space gives you more viewing area for scrolling the web, reading documents, and more.
However, the Chromebook Plus Spin 714’s display performance was much better than I expected. I’ve seen some trailers. Snow White (2025)and the screen perfectly captured Rachel Zegler’s warm ivory skin tone. The textures were so vibrant that you could actually feel the yellow tulle of Zegler’s twirled dress in the whimsical scene.
One thing to note, however, is that the brightness is quite low, around 340 nits. Therefore, the screen may be a little difficult to see in sunny environments.
However, if you use the Chromebook Plus Spin 714 indoors, it has an above-average display for a Chromebook.
Acer Chromebook Plus Spin 714 Port
The Chromebook Plus Spin 714 comes with a variety of ports.
Credit: Kimberly Gedeon / Mashable
On the left you will see:
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USB-C/Thunderbolt 4 (2)
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HDMI2.0
Right side:
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USB-A (3.2 Gen 1)
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headset jack
The power button is on the left, while the volume rocker is on the right. Chromebook Plus Spin 714 supports Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.1.
Acer Chromebook Plus Spin 714 Audio
The worst thing about the Chromebook Plus Spin 714 is its audio quality. It’s impossible to win everything, right?
There are upward-radiating speakers next to the keyboard, but I don’t like the sound quality. When I played Sabrina Carpenter’s hit song “Espresso” via Apple Music (downloaded from the Google Play Store), it was loud enough at maximum volume, but the song sounded a little tinny, metallic, and flat. .
Acer Chromebook Plus Spin 714 keyboard and trackpad
I like keyboards and I don’t understand sufficient Introducing the satisfying keyboard of the Chromebook Plus Spin 714. As soon as the key is activated, it moves to the next letter, creating a seamless and rhythmic typing experience.
Credit: Kimberly Gedeon / Mashable
The keys click and click, but it’s not loud enough to elicit sidelong glances from irritated co-workers or classmates.
Another point is the high visibility of the keyboard, which has a contrasting white and dark gray color. Additionally, you can adjust the keyboard’s white backlighting by pressing the ALT key and the brightness key (next to the mute button) in the function row.
The trackpad isn’t bad either. The reaction was good while I was driving it to the edge with irregular movements.
Acer Chromebook Plus Spin 714 benchmarks and performance
In Geekbench 6, which tests how well a laptop can handle real-world applications such as PDF rendering, ray tracing, image editing, and file compression, the Chromebook Plus Spin 714 scored: 5,223.
Credit: Kimberly Gedeon / Mashable
This score is OK. However, since ChromeOS is designed to lighten tasks performed via applications over the cloud (rather than relying on local processing power), I’m not too concerned about this performance number. No.
Because most tasks on Chromebooks (such as using Google Docs, streaming videos, and browsing the web) are done online, these laptops rely on cloud servers for heavy processing and require powerful hardware. sexuality is minimized.
Even after pushing Google Chrome to its limits with about 40 tabs, I didn’t notice any slowdowns or lags.
Acer Chromebook Plus Spin 714 battery life
The Chromebook Plus Spin 714 is powered by a 53 watt-hour battery and is touted to have up to 10 hours of battery life.
In a video rundown test that included a nonstop video loop of 1080p video, the Chromebook Plus Spin 714 lasted about 9 hours on a single charge. 8 hours 57 minutes To be precise. This is a bit of a problem for me. At least 10 hours of battery life is a must.
Acer Chromebook Plus Spin 714 Google AI
AI isn’t everyone’s thing, but it’s definitely mine. I’m cautiously optimistic about the sudden resurgence of artificial intelligence.
Google Gemini on Chromebook Plus Spin 714
Credit: Kimberly Gedeon / Mashable
Although you can experience Google Gemini on any laptop or phone, this Google-based AI suite is essentially built right inside this ChromeOS laptop, allowing you to right-click anywhere on the screen to see an overview of a web page. You can use it as a reference for your writing, or to create advanced information. Video call resolution background.
Creating the outline was quick, easy, and worked great. For example, at Mashable, I asked Gemini for a direct answer as to why replacing the iPhone 16 Pro battery is more expensive (as the headline suggested). Then Gemini “read” the article and gave me the answer. With a quick and concise response.
I asked Gemini to help me summarize the story on Mashable
Credit: Kimberly Gedeon / Mashable
And I didn’t even have to read a word.
One issue I have with Gemini is that it can be painfully slow at times. For example, I tried to create a background image for a Google Meet call, but it took so long to generate (over 9 minutes) that I finally gave up and closed my laptop.
It took almost a lifetime to generate the background for the AI.
Credit: Kimberly Gedeon / Mashable
Acer Chromebook Plus Spin 714 comes with a 12-month Google One AI Premium plan, which includes Gemini Advanced and 2 TB of storage and access to Gemini in Docs, Sheets, Gmail, and more. ).
Acer Chromebook Plus Spin 714 Webcam
The Chromebook Plus Spin 714 has a 1440p webcam, and I hate to use this cliché, but there’s not much to write home about.
Acer Chromebook Plus Spin 714 webcam image
Credit: Kimberly Gedeon / Mashable
It’s not the sharpest, sharpest webcam you’d expect from a sub-$700 webcam, but it gets the job done. Still, it was able to accurately capture my complexion and burgundy top.
Is the Acer Chromebook Plus Spin 714 worth it?
The Acer Chromebook Plus Spin 714 has a better display than I expected. wonderful Keyboard, sleek design, military tested durability. However, the screen brightness isn’t very bright, the sound quality is middling, and the battery life could be better.
If not for the battery life, we’d consider the Chromebook Plus Spin 714 on our best cheap laptops list.
On the plus side, there is a laptop available for everyone. For budget-minded users looking for a laptop to keep on their desk at home, we recommend the Chromebook Plus Spin 714. We also recommend this Chromebook for kids who don’t need a high-performance, long-lasting workstation. They’ll be happy with a laptop with a good display and decent performance.
