In my search for my first Chromebook, I picked up the Acer Spin 713 3W (2021 model). This is the 4th (and hopefully final) one I've picked up - first being ASUS C536, the HP x360 14c being the second, and the Acer Spin 713-2W being the 3rd. Being these are my first experiences with chromebooks and a lot of people seem interested in them, I figured I'd type up my thoughts.

As with the other ones, I won't cover everything in here...but here are a few things that were either really good, really bad, or just surprised me.

Supporting YouTube Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q624SnkEeyI

I've already evaluated the 2020 model, but I want this "review" to stand on it's own, so I won't do much of a comparison here. I'll probably do another direct comparison thread between the 2 though.

Purchase Type: I got this as "Open-Box: Excellent" from Best Buy for $434. It's missing documentation and original box, but other than that it feels/looks brand new.

Construction Wise it's pretty good. The only negative marks I'd really give it are for the keyboard (more on that later), and the screen. It's not the screen itself, as much as it is the housing. It's a VERY thin "lid", and a taller screen. Because of this, it is more susceptible to flexing. The primary place I notice this is when it's shut, due to the the gap between the screen and the keyboard/body. Applying a light amount of pressure will allow the screen to flex/bow down. Most chromebooks that I've tried do this to some extent, but the aspect ratio and thinness of this one exaggerate it a bit. Not too concerning, but not the best that I've seen.

Again, this one has Ergo Lift tabs. They're right next to the hinge, so maybe it won't be an issue. I'm just always afraid that they'll break off.

Tablet Mode isn't fantastic, but it's the best of the 3 I've tried so far due to it's smaller size. Because of the aspect ratio, it's actually somewhat usable in either direction which is kinda cool. Due to the magnet that helps keep it closed in clam-shell mode, it somewhat helps hold it shut in tablet mode as well. I wish the magnet was a tad stronger, but it's at least strong enough to keep it from wobbling when using it as a tablet.

The Hinges are super smooth and it's easy to open. The hinges in combination with the taller screen allowing a larger moment arm give this the the ability to have a 1-hand open. I said the same thing for the 2020 model, but this takes it even further...basically macbook level. I think it's the same hinge smoothness, but now the magnet is a bit weaker, so the initial opening easier now.

I wish the USB-C ports were on opposite sides. I don't know why they'd put them both together. Most probably won't mind, but at my desk and on my couch, the outlet for my charger comes in from the right. It would have been nice to be able to charge from either side.

The Speakers are MUCH better than expected. I could use this on a table or on my lap - even covering the speakers, and I could still watch videos just fine. They're by no means amazing speakers, but with them being the primary negative aspect in my online reviews, I was expecting pure garbage. These are more than acceptable for my use.

It has a 11th Gen i5 processor. I haven't been able to put it through it's paces, but it should be more than capable. I mean, this is the most powerful processor you're going to get in this price range.

Having 256GB of NVMe SSD space is great. I really only wanted 128 min and would have gotten one with 128 if it was cheaper. But hey, I won't complain about extra drive space.

The Keyboard is decent. Size/Placement are good, backlighting is okay, but the construction is just "good". The keys have a bit of rattle/wobble (which I don't like), but other than that they feel fine. At this price point (reg $699), I would have expected a bit more. It's a big improvement over last year though, and I find it perfectly acceptable.

The Trackpad feels great. I love the larger vertical room that it offers. It's super smooth and has a nice click to it. As with others I've tested it's not super accurate (compared to my windows devices), but it's acceptable, and certainly tied for the best of the 4 Chromebooks I've tested (tied with 2020 model).

It's unfortunate that The Charger needs to have a brick/adapter. That said, the cable is nice and long. I may look at picking up a different charger to use when traveling.

The Fan is something that I'll be paying attention to - it's one of the common complaints I've read. This more powerful processor is going to generate more heat, so I'm hoping they have good thermal management. With some light use, I haven't heard the fan kick on at all. When I was done for the night though, I held it up to my ear, and I could certainly hear it spinning. So it's good & bad I guess. It's good that it wasn't audible unless I held it up. It's bad because well, for 1 it could always get louder when doing more intensive tasks, and 2 being on will drain the battery.

The Battery is also something I'll be paying attention to in the coming days. After my usage last night the drain didn't seem any more/less than expected, so I'm not too worried. But as I said, I'll be monitoring it.

Okay, time for The Screen. That's always the highlight when people talk about this device. I'll break it into a few sub categories:

  • The Aspect Ratio is something I read people loved or hated. It's unfortunate that it makes for a smaller screen when watching videos. Luckily for things like YouTube, it actually uses the top black bar for the title and the bottom black bar for the controls, thus leaving the video clean. For web browsing, I didn't notice any advantage at first, but after switching back to a normal device, it was quite apparent. I really do like that nice aspect ratio.

  • The Brightness is nice I guess, but not something I care too much about. Maybe if I used it outside I'd see the benefit. But inside where I was using it, I kept it down at the ~2/3 mark.

  • The Mouse Cursor was actually quite annoying. Maybe it has to do with the resolution. By default the cursor is fairly larger. If I scale the screen down to 90%, the cursor becomes very small. It sucks that there's no in-between. Keeping it on 90% has been the solution I've stuck with.

  • The Resolution is much nicer than the other devices. It's more pixels & smaller screen, making for a very pixel-dense 2k display. That said, on screens this size, I'm not one to notice a difference between 1080p, 2k, or 4k. On my TV, sure...but not on this.

Conclusions:

Wow, just wow! This thing is amazing at it's price point. I can totally recommend this to anyone looking for a premium chromebook. I'll be looking into things a bit more to compare this to the 713-2W and the HP X360 14c, but based on initial impressions, this thing is a beast.

What's Next?

I plan on doing 2 more reviews:

  1. Comparing the 713-2W to the 713-3WThis is something that I wish I could find more direct comparisons of when doing my researching...so I figured someone out there may appreciate seeing it

  2. My decision/process for down-selecting my final choice

When starting my chromebook research, I narrowed it down to 11 devices. Five I was able to cross off based on research. I have 4 of them in-hand to evaluate, and 2 of them aren't likely to be available for the sub-450 price range in new or open-box-excellent condition.

Because of this, I feel that I've now got all of the info I need to make an informed decision. I don't really plan on getting more devices to do more reviews. That said, I really enjoyed this, and hopefully people found these write-ups helpful.

As a hobby, I've got a YT channel where I post Gears of War videos. I've been thinking about expanding that and creating a 2nd channel to post reviews (like this) and videos about DIY projects around the house. I think these reviews were the kick-in-the-butt I needed to pull the trigger. So I think I'm gonna end up doing a video-format for these past threads...just for people who don't wanna read.