CES 2022: Acer Chromebook Spin 513 Hands-On

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We were as bummed out as anyone with the rise in the Omicron variant that forced us to forego this year's in-person CES event. We knew a few great Chromebooks would be at the show and that made us all even more upset that we'd likely not get our hands on them until a later date. With HP's new Elite Dragonfly Chromebook and this Acer Spin 513 (that is the world's first Chromebook with the MediaTek Kompanio 1380 inside), there were some very, very notable announcements from this year's show.
We were beyond excited to be able to get our hands on the HP Elite Dragonfly Chromebook and just as pumped to now have the new Acer Chromebook Spin 513 in the office as well. Even better, this all works out for you as a reader/viewer, too, since we have a more-extended time with these devices than we would just at the physical CES location. With all that in mind, here are some early thoughts on the Acer Chromebook Spin 513.
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[@PatrickC139]

Finally a more premium Chromebook that will run at a decent price.

[@malcontent_1]

Very excited about the new SOC competition in the Chromebook space

[@lucasbrown7338]

I think this chromebook is the most affordable one with the stunning features and most striking one is the kompanio processor that gives outstanding performance

[@cobaltblue5523]

Can't wait to see the performance. I just got the 713

[@chrishalle1982]

Is the spin 513 mediathek better in comparsion to the last years spin 513 with snapdragon?

[@charbax]

Finally someone decided to make a decent upgrade for my Arm powered Samsung Chromebook Plus of 2016? Here's some advice for Acer since you'll read here: - Sell it at $399 at launch - Add a fingerprint reader before launch please. - 1080p webcam, at least. - Full size HDMI port (no space?) - Full size SD card slot... I have been using Arm powered Chromebooks since 2011 or 2012 or so. And I think Arm has always been superior to Intel, it's not Arm's fault that device makers haven't been wanting to optimize for Arm, and ship top specs for Arm, and device makers haven't been demanding of Arm chip makers to bring fully Laptop optimized SoCs to the market! just look how Apple shows everybody how Arm laptops are supposed to be made! Samsung/HP/Lenovo/Acer should have done perfect Arm Chromebooks back since 2012! What have they been waiting for! Importantly, bring all high end productivity apps to Arm Chromebooks, I am talking about Davinci Resolve (with full 10bit 4:2:2 4K60 smooth editing supported, the chip can do it just support it!!), the full Adobe Creative Suite, DAW music apps, Architecture apps, 3D design apps, everything needs to run fully Arm compiled and Arm optimized! And sell 3x cheaper than Apple to make these Arm Chromebooks dominate the world! Sure this means all these need to be available on Android (Google wake up and bring true Android productivity finally!), full Linux and full Windows apps support on Arm Chromebooks necessary too! Also all these Arm Chromebooks need to double as Lapdocks to dock any future Type-C Dex/Huawei PC Mode phones and add that "external CPU/memory/networking" to boost the performance of the device. Thanks a lot 😃

[@ricknebiolo2694]

How are the speakers? I have a one or two year old Acer 713 and the speakers are almost inaudible. It's the only thing I don't like about the machine.

[@dbjungle]

One of those SoCs in a 8" tablet is a done deal. I'll buy that ASAP.

[@riazzaman20]

This looks really interesting. I've been thinking about getting a 713 but might hold off now for this as I like the design a bit more. Looking forward to the benchmark tests. Maybe Acer pan to release a superior 713 so they set this one in the 500 bracket.

[@ih212]

i like Acer CB and am looking forward to a new 713 to come out.

[@gregamania1327]

The eMMC storage alone puts this machine well below the 713.

[@johnnyc0882]

Can't wait for a review when you can run some benchmarks on it and truly see where the 5 comes from

[@FigWidIt]

Will wait for a BestBuy sale eventually. I've been on 16:9 13in-14in 1080p Chromebooks for too long. I want to try one with a taller screen ratio and close to 2k resolution, but also wanted a fanless device. This seems like the one for me. hope it runs good though.

[@yourlocalstarwarsman1562]

Hopefully it can run its own browser

[@yifeipei5484]

I bought a chromebook (Acer Spin 311 2-in-1 touch screen, 64GB) for $199 in Target on Christmas holiday. The original price is $349. I use this chromebook to play Stadia games. The resolution of Stadia games on Chromebook is much better than my $4000 gaming PC. I think probably Chromebook has better wifi receptor and Stadia is optimized for Chromebook.

[@andyH_England]

eMMC is a bit of a deal breaker for me when paying $600. I would get a discounted Pixelbook Go i5 for around that price if I did not need the 360 take (I do not as tablet and pen support on ChromeOS is still lacking). Also, 10hr seems a bit low for ARM-based hardware. My MB Air can get 18hr doing light stuff on Safari. I assume it is poor optimisation? In any case June is a long time in tech nd I suspect there will be far more interesting PCs arriving that will make this look less.

[@CastleBomb44]

What are you doing that you notice a different in storage on a chromebook?

[@andyH_England]

@@CastleBomb44 I do a lot of uploading and downloading as well as some rendering and exporting so it is nice to have the speed. It is not a deal-breaker for everyone but when your workflow is such, then everything is much quicker.

[@woodworker168]

I think SOME of the higher end models have the eMMC storage on a board that fit's in a M.2 2230 slot (faster than the eMMC that comes with') and it can be replaced with a M.2 2230 SSD. I am not sure which models, i would check Samsung brand 1st. I Just saw a Lenovo with 128GB SSD, 3.0GHz i3-1115G4 Dual Core 8GB RAM, under $400.00 2 in 1 touch screen. IT should have Lenovo Flex Pen support.....though, I agree ChromeOS is lacking in the pen /art area. I am only looking at new models because i am hoping the new Linux App support may add something in that department.

[@caseyryanmather]

How do you take a picture when using it in tablet mode? There needs to be a camera on the keyboard side.

[@Fpsnut]

No fans is a big advantage over current 713 IMO. If Mediatek can pull off a powerful cpu on passive cooling like what Apple did with M1 Macbook Air, it will be a big win for chromebooks.

[@VGTIMEDBS]

I have been waiting. Can't wait till the full review and release

[@cobaltblue5523]

I hope it gets better battery life than the Acer spin 713-2021 model with 8gb ram 🐏 . Mine only gets around 6hrs . I was a bit disappointed with that and the speaker's and the web cam. If they can fix that then I would be happy.

[@darrylphillips6301]

Purchased same one new a few weeks ago and can definitely agree with that. Although overall I think it's the best Chromebook you could have bought at the time and still to this day for the most part. Core I5 and 8gb and 2k screen with some real storage. Got mine for $625 on Amazon. Its back up to like $685 now, guessing bc of this bs inflation going on...

[@andrewjohnson1486]

Interesting device from Acer. They did really well with the Kompanio chipset and I think this device should come to market soon.

[@liddlekiddle1962]

My current Chromebook (and first / only laptop) expires in June 2022 - sure hope this one is available soon!

[@northstar15]

Can you attach an HDMI adapter to one of the the USB ports to connect the Chromebook to an external monitor?

[@ericyoung3183]

I will buy the new Chromebook by Acer i.e., Spin 513. It has good features and the mediatek processor.

[@CastleBomb44]

I dig the 4:3 screen and the new chip in it can do AV1 decoding, that means better battery when steaming 2k content. Not sure I can wait until June to purchase a Chromebook.

[@katylamay]

exciting news on getting the mediatek new chips! I had the 8173 and it works well on my HP 11a Chromebook.

[@sonnymkim]

With the 3:2 screen ratio, will full screened KZbin video have black bars on top and bottom of the screen?

[@krazmokramer]

Each of these Acer reviews further convinces me that I made a fantastic first Chromebook purchase 2 years ago with my Acer Spin 713. These new ones are very nice but not a huge step up at this point. HOWEVER, I still wonder why Chromebooks have garbage cameras. The quality of the camera on my 713 is below that of the camera on my Kyocera 7135 Palm phone from 20 years ago. A higher quality camera can't add that much more to the purchase price. With all of the "virtual" usage this pandemic has caused, a better camera is a necessity now.

[@bradysimmons84]

The newest 713's internals are light years above the previous generation. 11th gen Intel on the i5 with the upgraded graphics outperforms the older gens by a shit ton. Worth the upgrade .

[@woodworker168]

that's interesting? I've had a Chromebook since day 1 (still use it, it is way past it's expiration date and still feels new if i login with a new Gmail account); but i am always hesitant to recommend a higher end Chromebook as a 1st.... i think i've always thought anyone NEW to Chromebook, would need to fall in love with what they can do with garbage specs, and under $100 bucks for refurbished; and then, once they never want to go back, they can treat themselves to the extras. I agree about the camera. These dedicated Chrome channels and channels like Lon's TV should critique the cameras more.

[@ahmedmustafa8166]

I had this laptop, however it is refusing to turn on after 10 months of usage. I was advised to find the pinhole to reset the battery, but there's no such pinhole on this device. It's very annoying as we actually loved it. The warranty in Europe is 1 year only.

[@curbsidetech]

I cant wait to see the benchmarks, performance tests.

[@cobaltblue5523]

It's on

[@natslo26]

Can you do an update on the dark mode flag? It now has an issue with making the notifications screen so dark it is unreadable. Thanks.

[@JacobSpeer]

You had made a video previously about MST / daisy chaining of monitors to a Chromebook and I believe it was a work in progress. Do you know if this, and newer Chromebooks have the capability to use daisy chained monitors? I have 2 daisy chained Dell monitors with a USB C out which works great on Windows and Mac OS but my Asus (2018 ish?) can only mirror the display to both monitors, do you have any updated responses to the video you posted previously about this topic? Hopefully without using an adapter or dongle?

[@reviewchan9806]

Do you happen to know any convertible chromebooks that have pgup and pgdn buttons next to the arrows?

[@tomt7706]

Świetny i niezawodny sprzęt w tym roku planuję zakup takiego chrombooka tyle że z przekątną ekranu 14' 8/128 i oczywiście musi być podświetlana klawiatura.

[@keacoq]

I'm looking for a no-fan Chromebook perhaps more powerful than my present no-fan C732. How can I identify which Chromeboooks have no fans? I like the silence,

[@JonLa89]

It would have a Solid State Drive and no ventilation ports or moving parts.

[@keacoq]

@@JonLa89 I want to find out on line. It is the absence of need for a cooling fan that is important.

[@keacoq]

Have upgraded to C851T. Pentium 5030, Silent, 3:2 screen, touch, 64 v32 GB, 8 v 4 GB, good until 2027. Just what I need. But I found it a little by chance. Saw it at supermarket reduced 50%. Discovered good points only when I stopped to look.

[@markalitheapprenticehacker]

I have a Chromebook CB311. I have paid 200$ for it. I have put it into developer mode. I have made the root file system writable. There is a command, a bash script, to do that. Ssh daemon was running whit default credentials. I WAS HACKED !! !! !!

[@arifuddin2172]

Damn did u fix it?

[@MoChuang343]

Having never really used Linux on ARM, what’s the software situation like there? With a decently powerful ARM chip can you do video editing in kdenlive? Or even some gaming? I know there are emulators and things like openMW that run on ARM. But are there any translation layers to run proton games on ARM? Are Google and Valve working on that with the new steam on chromebook launch?

[@beomon3449]

Wonder if the speakers are better than 713

[@Formeou]

Does anyone know if you can upgrade the RAM on this?

[@7GtwNYkHYs]

if this is what the 513 is going to be, I'm more excited about an ARM 713!

[@corneliswilkes]

lots of big hands waving all the time, yaks!

[@zero-lpds]

This was THE machine I was anticipating the most. I'm absolutely with you Robbie, if this thing will be as cool as you now think it will be (backlit keys, decent battery) I'm getting right that minute. Currently I rock the 513 and the 713 and it would be a great step ahead to mix them both into one machine. Honestly I would prefer it to be a little lighter than the 2020 713, but you can't have everything I guess? ;)

[@ioannisthemistocles9198]

Hello, interesting video. Do you know the actual weight?

[@blue4059]

Hopefully comes with UFS 3.1 storage and NOT the awful eMMC that has been plaguing Chromebooks. If it's another 10 year old eMMC for the high, high price of $600, I am done . That's like having a cheap spring mattress at a 5 star luxurt hotel that costs $1000 a night - NOPE.

[@RicardoHernandez-ii9lx]

Apparently it does have eMMC which sucks

[@RicardoHernandez-ii9lx]

@@blue4059 Yea it’s sad to see that chrome books like these are still using it, but I was mentioning to someone else that I’ve been getting interested in chrome books and how they’re improving on certain hardware and I might be thinking into switching to one in the near future from my windows laptop. It’s interesting to see that you get many different cpus in chrome books like mediatek and snapdragon as well as intel and amd

[@benjaminlee3669]

This seems like a pretty efficient Chromebook from Acer and the new Mediatek processor seems gaming-efficient as well.

[@slapnut892]

What are the storage speeds? You're not going to say, are you?

[@rhec4102]

Saw the video of y’all on skills with Phil at windrock

[@rhec4102]

@Matt Clapham kzbin.info/www/bejne/joDNin6rpcysmZY

[@larrywebber2971]

I'd be curious to know if this will run Crostini (Linux Applications).

[@crazyballs9387]

I would like a name without numbers, less bezels, more colors, fingerprint scanner, and better audio, that's never addressed on chromebook reviews.

[@KingZero69]

why is there a CRINGE ultra closeup of the side of this guys FACE in the middle of the video... 😂😂😂

[@oliversmith7354]

Nice, Is this the model that comes with a Kompanio chipset?

[@keacoq]

Does the 2250x1504 panel use PWM? I hear PWM is not good for eyesight, because it lowers apparent intensity by pulsing high intensity,.

[@keacoq]

That previous reply seems to be some form of spam

[@oldtechnobodycaresabout]

Looks like a new Acer Chromebook r13

[@philipspijkman]

Could this chip output a 4k monitor at 60 hz

[@samanthasims7123]

When does it expire

[@JustRegi9]

Cool

[@robertisaacs5122]

IMHO You should mention something about the audio when you review these laptops. Would like to know cause I use Zoom and listen to some music. Thanks

[@williamhenry1701]

I saw you on skills with Phil xd I see you like your biking

[@2jamadu]

But... Do the speakers suck?

[@432wheels]

Does it have UWB?

[@bradavon]

Because Mediatek doesn't have the Intel brand. Brand awareness goes into where a product is placed too.

[@RicardoHernandez-ii9lx]

I started getting into looking at chrome books because it’s interesting how they’re improving now and hopefully find one in the near future to replace my current windows laptop. What I find interesting is that chrome books are getting so many different cpus and this is the first time I hear about Mediatek. I usually just hear about Intel and AMD as the big dogs for cpus in laptops but I think now chrome books are getting snapdragons as well if I’m not wrong?

[@LivingLinux]

I'm pretty sure that MediaTek chip can't compete with a current Intel i7, so I guess that's also one of the reasons it's an Acer 5xx class.

[@LivingLinux]

@@RicardoHernandez-ii9lx Last year Acer and other companies already released Chromebooks with the Snapdragon 7C. Chromebooks have been released with ARM chips for quite some years now, but I think in 2017 the Samsung Chromebook Plus with the Rockchip RK3399 (OP1) was the first one that people considered fast enough to be usable.

[@RicardoHernandez-ii9lx]

@@LivingLinux Yeah I just didn't pay much attention to chromebooks back then but I think they're starting to have some good potential, are there any upcoming ones you recommend? I'm thinking about replacing my lenovo laptop with an i5 8th gen, starting to act real slow now now sure if it's windows or the cpu since it has an ssd inside

[@LivingLinux]

@@RicardoHernandez-ii9lx This Spin 513 looks nice. Especially when you want to move away from Intel/AMD (x86). When you are considering a Chromebook, I assume you are not using it for hardcore gaming and don't use any software that isn't available in the cloud, or as Chrome or Android app. Android apps (and games) give you a lot of choice, but the majority is not optimized for a bigger screen. For your Windows machine you might want to check if TRIM is active. Without TRIM your SSD can slow down.

[@SignalChange]

Robbie - check the fydeos duo tab

[@DCart007]

I hope Acer will be offering an update on the Tab 10 with better specs and Wacom EMR pen.

[@jvp714]

I just want a laptop that weighs max 2lbs, is a 2 in 1 (preferably a pull forward), and is fanless. Basically combine the pixelbook with the surface laptop studio

[@hugoa4064]

where I can buy the asus CX9 i7 Chromebook?

[@tdbone35]

Good luck I've looked and cannot find any...although the CX5 is readily available

[@alexanderlogatschew4038]

I don't think that you can work seriously with a chrombook, so the price of what the chrombook costs is not particularly interesting for me (price/performance ratio).

[@totallycheckthis5134]

Rob....compare this with Lenovo Duet 5. I need Chromebook Comparison Battles. 👍 I would NEVER own a "good" Chromebook anymore only because the industry now prices them on par with amazing Windows 11 laptops with touchscreen, etc. I can't justify $600 for a "browser". I loved my HP Chromebook 14 from back in the day when it had the HDMI port built-in (older model). Spent a couple hundred bucks. Gone are those days.

[@erzascralet48]

All I want is for Android apps fro mthe Google Play Store to stream and download for offline use HD 1080p movies... which to this day no single Chromebook in existance could do. ARM, Intel/AMD x86... Fix it please!

[@porkyparry1]

Try vernier caliper

[@samyotta3569]

sRBG colour accuracy please

[@Dottorilla]

I think with 12th gen chips they think the jump in there will alow for this to be as good as it is

[@bignoob5462]

does the 513 support usi

[@7788tuan]

The old version does, so I think the new one is gonna have it too

[@slapnut892]

Also downward firing speakers is poos.

[@John3one7]

Chrome OS is super light. Why can't $700 get me something with no animation pauses & stutter throughout the UI? Won't buy another unless it's a Google machine with Tensor inside.

[@blueciffer1653]

huh? that's weird. my Chromebook with an Intel celeron and 4 gigs of ram is super smooth.

[@John3one7]

@@blueciffer1653 No way you're using it side by side with say a Pixel 6 or ios device and experience the same smoothness. I've tried multiple "hi end" Chromebooks and they all do it. Animations throughout, annoying glitches & lag when moving windows around, minimizing & expanding etc . I prefer Chrome OS and love the fact I can game via Stadia for hours with no heat or issues at all. Once Im in an app or extension I don't really have complaints. The Ui though, lets me down.

[@blueciffer1653]

@@John3one7 well no desktop operating system has the same smoothness as a ios or android lol. but I don't know, maybe you just have bad luck. but mine is smooth as butter only slowing down and stuttering when I push my CB to its CPU limits

[@Games.Gadgets.Sports]

@@John3one7 my chromebook spin 514 8gb ram is also smooth no stuttering whatsoever. think u got a defective unit.

[@John3one7]

@@Games.Gadgets.Sports So my Duet 5 with Snap 7c Gen 2 + 8ram, my Asus C434/core m3/8gb ram, & my HP Cbase 22/10th gen core i3/16gb ram are all defective? No. Trust me, I've been using the OS for years and I've tried plenty of display models and coworkers' devices. Even returned a Pixelbook Go and an overpriced 4k Samsung Galaxy. The stutter and chop is always there. Which is why I'm done for now until Google can do something all in house. Even then, I've heard the OS won't see this type of fluidity until it shifts from the Linux monolithic kernel to the Fuchsia microkernel. Also read it's gonna need to continue to rely on VMs and containers so that it will continue to run on low end hardware & needs a platform that can run a hypervisor and containers with less hiccups and overhead.

[@jeefberky2142]

Arm chip?

[@mdluk199]

I simply wouldn't buy any Chromebook with that screen aspect ratio. Whilst I understand it's better for some tasks, movie watching is a big part of my usage for a Chromebook and big black borders are horrible and I feel the same with ipads. If all Chromebooks go this way then I'm out.

[@JohnSmith-1957]

All Chromebooks are *definitely* not going this way. Chromebooks with this screen aspect ratio are best for folks who primarily work with documents, spreadsheets and such. There are lots and lots of other Chromebooks in all price ranges that will suit your purpose.

[@YurLord]

Is this display an OLED panel?

[@blueciffer1653]

no

[@YurLord]

@@blueciffer1653 disappointing

[@Spyke_misc]

Seems like a very nice package Got 2 negative points : no fingerprint reader and emmc Also it seems pretty powerful which I like, but debian linux isn't really on par with arm when arch might fare better with communities repo

[@kuiperrene]

That 128 GB eMMC storage is cutting a major corner. For expected upper midrange retail price it should at least have UFS 3.0 if not UFS 3.1 storage. And if you use that storage a lot, the device won't feel as fast as it's siblings with Intel and AMD processors combined with NVMe storage.

[@Spyke_misc]

@@kuiperrene Yeah i want ufs storage at least, or even better : socketed ssd I also wonder if it supports finally 64bits all around ? since it's pretty powerful apparently I also wonder about linux apps on arm through chrome os, kdenlive seems to run pretty well on a raspberry pi for basic use, but is it available through crostini ? I doubt it Google should perhaps shift crostini with 2 different containers, one for arm, one for x86 ? idk

[@SubramoniamMadhavan]

😍🤞🏻

[@ankitmukand4869]

What i understand i tell you okay In in hindi 1) pootra 2) priya pootra 3) samarthi pootra In english 1) Son by Jesus registered name 2) beloved son on lifestyle 3) Samarthi pootra means on Jesus coming non destructible body or spiritial body . Miracles you see is introduction of God ...

[@jebaker2]

Looks like a MacBook

[@arifuddin2172]

Yep a bit..

[@blueciffer1653]

looks nothing like a macbook

[@kurtaaronpintero8724]

its look good but laptop sucks LOL

[@Mangold108]

ACER: sux

[@mforce2]

This looks nice enough but I want native Linux on it. Some lower price and it would be nice.

[@arquimedespaolajeremymifam5013]

is mi laptop xd

[@freeatheist4072]

This screen is a mirror :(

[@sssss466]

Man get a good android phone instead of this