Laptop Mag Verdict
The Acer Chromebook Plus Spin 714 is an AI-powered refresh of one of the top Chromebooks, delivering smooth performance in an affordable package with built-in AI tools.
Pros
- +
Built-in AI tools
- +
Fantastic typing experience
- +
Top-firing speakers
- +
Bright, colorful display
Cons
- -
Occasionally laggy touchpad
- -
Battery life could be better
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Recent updates
November 15, 2024: Updated from hands-on impressions to a fully scored review following completion of additonal benchmark testing.
The Acer Chromebook Plus Spin 714 adds baked-in AI features to one of our favorite Chromebooks, offering new ways to enhance your productivity and creativity in ChromeOS. It’s one of the first in a new line of Chromebook Plus laptops, which feature built-in AI enhancements and include a one-year free trial of Gemini Advanced.
Like many of the best Chromebooks, Acer designed the Spin 714 to appeal to many users. Starting at $749, the new Spin 714 easily handles tasks like web browsing, word processing, video calls, and casual gaming. It’s a 2-in-1, so you can freely swap between laptop and tablet mode for added versatility.
If you have your eye on a new Chromebook, this one is worth considering. Here's a look at my experience with the Acer Chromebook Plus Spin 714 and a few things you should know before buying one.
Acer Chromebook Plus Spin 714 (2024): Specs (as reviewed)
| Price | $749.99 |
| CPU | Intel Core Ultra 5 115U |
| GPU | Integrated Intel Graphics |
| RAM | 8GB |
| Storage | 256GB |
| Display | 14-inch 16:10 WUXGA IPS touch display |
| Dimensions | 12.35 x 8.84 x 0.71 inches |
| Weight | 3.3 pounds |
Acer Chromebook Plus Spin 714 (2024): Price and configurations
The Acer Chromebook Plus Spin 714 starts at $749.99. I reviewed that base model, which includes an Intel Core Ultra 5 115U processor, integrated Intel Graphics, 8GB of RAM, and 256GB of storage.
There is also an enterprise version of the Chromebook Plus Spin 714 designed for schools and businesses that offers more powerful specs. These include up to 512GB of storage, up to 16GB of RAM, and a Titan C2 security chip.
Acer Chromebook Plus Spin 714 (2024): Design
The Acer Chromebook Plus Spin 714 looks sleek and stylish, especially for a Chromebook. The aluminum steel gray chassis has a subtle bronze trim around the top edge of the lid, the hinges, the edge of the touchpad, and the Acer logo. It’s a small detail, but it looks great and gives the Spin 714 a more elevated look than many other Chromebooks.
It also resembles its predecessor, the Acer Chromebook Spin 714 (2023), which earned 4.5 out of 5 stars and an Editor’s Choice award from Laptop Mag in 2023. The new Chromebook Plus version offers a hardware upgrade while maintaining the attractive design cues of the 2023 model.
The keyboard and touchpad are well-sized and comfortable to use. The keyboard deck also includes top-firing speakers, which I'm always glad to see since they usually offer the best audio experience.
With the Spin 714, you won’t have to worry about durability. It’s MIL-STD 810H Certified, passing military-grade durability tests for temperature, humidity, shocks, vibrations, and altitude. Antimicrobial Corning Gorilla Glass also protects the display.
One of the only design features I don’t like is the power button placement on the side. It’s common practice on 2-in-1 laptops to have the power button accessible even when the laptop is folded in tablet mode. Still, I find side power buttons easier to accidentally press than power buttons on the keyboard deck. It’s not a deal breaker, but it’s not my preferred placement.
Acer Chromebook Plus Spin 714 (2024): Ports
The Acer Chromebook Plus Spin 714 has a solid array of ports for a Chromebook. On the left edge are two USB Type-C ports, an HDMI port, and the power button. On the right edge, there’s one USB Type-A port, a headphone jack, and a volume button. There are also volume keys on the keyboard deck, but the side volume button is helpful in tablet mode.
Those ports were more than enough for me during my testing. Of course, if you need more ports, you can refer to our guide to the best USB Type-C hubs to expand your setup.
Acer Chromebook Plus Spin 714 (2024): Display
The Acer Chromebook Plus Spin 714 features a 14-inch 1920 x 1200 WUXGA IPS touch display protected by Antimicrobial Corning Gorilla Glass. It’s sharp, colorful, and responsive. It looked good running the apps I tried out on it, but it could have performed better in our tests.
The Chromebook Plus Spin 714 covered 78.7 percent of the DCI-P3 color gamut and had an average brightness of 355 nits. That’s a slightly better color gamut score than the previous Spin 714 (76 percent) but a lower average brightness (389 nits). However, both scores are well above the Chromebook average of 64.8 percent and 435 nits.
| Laptop | DCI-P3 color gamut | Display brightness average |
|---|---|---|
| Acer Chromebook Plus Spin 714 | 78.7% | 355 nits |
| Acer Chromebook Spin 714 (2023) | 76% | 389 nits |
| Acer Chromebook Plus 515 | 43.4% | 270 nits |
| Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5i Chromebook Plus | 46.5% | 306 nits |
While the Chromebook Plus Spin 714 was on par with its 2023 predecessor, it outscored other laptops in the new Chromebook Plus line-up, including the Acer Chromebook Plus 515 and the Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5i Chromebook Plus. Both devices scored far below the Spin 714 on our display tests. So, if you’re looking for the Chromebook Plus with the best display, the Spin 714 is a strong contender.
Acer Chromebook Plus Spin 714 (2024): Keyboard and touchpad
The Acer Chromebook Plus Spin 714 keyboard is very satisfying to type on, but it has its quirks. If you’ve never used a Chromebook, the lack of a caps lock key might put you off. Where it usually would be, there is a search key instead, although you can manually reassign that key to “Caps Lock” in the settings.
The other main difference is the lack of function keys. The top row of keys are all pre-assigned for different functions like back, reload, brightness, and volume. I didn’t mind this change and found the top row of keys convenient. However, if you frequently use an app or website that requires function keys, you might want to stick to a Windows or macOS laptop.
The typing experience on the Spin 714 is smooth and comfortable. On the Monkeytype typing test, I scored 92 wpm with 97 percent accuracy, higher than my desktop average of 84 wpm and 94.35 accuracy.
The touchpad is also comfortable, but had moments of lag now and then during my testing. It’s roomy enough for typical web browsing and word-processing tasks. The texture is smooth and doesn’t pick up fingerprints. It has a soft click when you press on with just the right amount of travel.
Acer Chromebook Plus Spin 714 (2024): Audio
I’m a big fan of top-firing speakers on laptops since they create a loud, surround-sound effect. The Acer Chromebook Plus Spin 714 did not disappoint in this area. The top-firing speakers on the left and right edges of the keyboard deck are loud and clear, perfect for watching movies on the go. They sounded great while I watched an episode of Doctor Who on Disney+ and listened to music on YouTube.
The only downside to top-firing speakers in this case is that they become rear-facing when you flip the Spin 714 into tablet mode. You can always connect a pair of headphones, though.
Acer Chromebook Plus Spin 714: Gaming and graphics
Chromebooks are not ideal for gaming but can handle casual mobile gaming. You’re fairly limited in what you can play since Chromebooks can only natively run games from the Google Play Store.
I tried a handful of games on the Acer Chromebook Plus Spin 714, including Stardew Valley, Alto’s Odyssey, Asphalt 9: Legends, and Oddmar. Some worked better than others, but all were slightly awkward to play on a Chromebook compared to a phone or tablet.
For example, Stardew Valley ran smoothly, but the controls were awkward since I was playing the game's mobile version using a keyboard and mouse. Alto’s Odyssey only worked with touch controls, so I had to flip the Spin 714 into tablet mode. Asphalt 9: Legends stuttered a few times but mostly worked, although only with touch controls or a controller. Oddmar was barely playable since it couldn’t open in a full-size window.
Despite those quirks, most of these games were playable. For instance, Alto’s Odyssey ran great with smooth performance, fantastic audio, and no freezing or crashing. It’s one of our top games for Chromebooks, so it’s no surprise it performed well. Despite the slightly clunky controls, Stardew Valley was also a fairly enjoyable experience.
Gaming on a Chromebook is effectively mobile gaming in a less ideal form factor. Technically, it works. However, an Android phone or tablet will offer a better experience with the same games nine times out of ten. The alternative is to use cloud gaming platforms like Xbox Cloud Gaming or NVIDIA GeForce Now to tap into PC games. However, a Windows laptop will still offer a better gaming experience than a Chromebook.
Acer Chromebook Plus Spin 714 (2024): Performance
If you’re looking for one of the top-performing Chromebooks, the Acer Chromebook Plus Spin 714 should be at the top of your list. It had one of the highest Geekbench 6 scores among the new Chromebook Plus line-up, topping out at 6,335, over 1,000 points higher than the Chromebook average of 5,246. It also outscored the Acer Chromebook Plus 515 (5,052) and the Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5i Chromebook Plus (5,384).
| Laptop | Geekbench 6 | JetStream 2 |
|---|---|---|
| Acer Chromebook Plus Spin 714 | 6,335 | 250.18 |
| Acer Chromebook Plus 515 | 5,052 | 275.37 |
| Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5i Chromebook Plus | 5,384 | 272.91 |
However, the Spin 714 scored lower than the competition on the JetStream 2 benchmark with 250.18. That’s lower than the Acer Chromebook Plus 515 (275.37) and the Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5i Chromebook Plus (272.91) but still above the Chromebook average of 231.1.
The Spin 714 performed well in my hands-on tests, easily running everyday tasks, like web browsing, word processing, and watching videos on Disney+ and YouTube. I was able to keep over ten Chrome tabs open at once without experiencing any lag. The Intel Core Ultra 5 115U processor can handle basic productivity and web browsing tasks, making this a great device for students or many other mainstream users.
The built-in AI features also worked well during my tests. For example, you can use live captions to get text captions for any audio content, even video calls. I tested it out with a YouTube video, and it worked great.
There is also an AI wallpaper generator, Magic Editor, local image search, and a “Help me write” feature for things like social media posts. You can expand the AI capabilities on the Spin 714 with the one-year free trial of Gemini Advanced included with new Chromebook Plus devices, but you don’t need to activate it to use these built-in AI tools. They worked right out of the box for me.
Acer Chromebook Plus Spin 714 (2024): Battery life
The Acer Chromebook Plus Spin 714 might not be breaking our battery life record, but it still scored well with a time of 9 hours and 30 minutes. That's enough to get you through a typical day at work or school, although if you often use resource-intensive apps you may want to bring your charger along.
The Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5i Chromebook Plus outscored the Acer Chromebook Plus Spin 714 by about 15 minutes, but the Acer Chromebook Plus 515 fell behind by over an hour:
| Laptop | Battery life |
|---|---|
| Acer Chromebook Plus Spin 714 | 9:30 |
| Acer Chromebook Plus 515 | 8:21 |
| Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5i Chromebook Plus | 9:43 |
Acer Chromebook Plus Spin 714 (2024): Webcam
The webcam on the Acer Chromebook Plus Spin 714 is pretty good. It’s 1440p, QHD, has a wide viewing angle, handles different light levels well, and delivers a reasonably straightforward, sharp image. It also has a built-in webcam shutter, which is a great privacy feature. The audio quality of the built-in mic could be better, but it’s good enough for video calls and Zoom meetings.
The webcam can also access AI-generated backgrounds, lighting controls, and noise cancellation. All three AI features worked well for the most part in my testing, although blurred backgrounds still blur out the back of my chair and the edges of my headphones. If you need something better, consider one of the best webcams.
Acer Chromebook Plus Spin 714: Heat
During my hands-on testing for the Acer Chromebook Plus Spin 714, I never felt the keyboard deck get uncomfortably warm. Even the highest temperature recorded in our lab, 90.5 degrees, is below our 95-degree comfort threshold. The warmest spot was on the underside of the keyboard deck, about 2 inches in front of the top vent.
The underside of the Spin 714 averaged 84 degrees, and the touchpad topped out at 75.6 degrees. The fans only spun up a few times while I was testing the Spin 714, mainly during gaming. Asphalt 9: Legends pushed it the most, but basic tasks like web browsing did not require the fans.
Acer Chromebook Plus Spin 714 (2024): Software and warranty
The Spin 714 comes pre-loaded with all the standard Google apps, such as Chrome, Gmail, YouTube, Google Drive, and Adobe Express. One of ChromeOS's advantages is the ease of maintenance and the duration of support, with Google offering ten years of automatic updates for any Chromebook released since 2021.
The Acer Chromebook Plus Spin 714 includes a one-year limited warranty covering parts and labor for eligible accidents or damage. You also receive a one-year free trial of Google Gemini Advanced by purchasing any new Chromebook Plus device.
Bottom Line
The Acer Chromebook Plus Spin 714 is an impressive AI upgrade to the classic Spin 714. It combines more powerful processor options with the stylish, comfortable design of previous models. It’s ideal for students or professionals who mainly work through web browsing. The built-in AI features are useful and functional, but you’ll get a smooth user experience regardless of whether you choose to utilize them.
The Spin 714 isn’t ideal for gaming — and Acer didn't design it to be. But it can handle casual mobile games or even cloud gaming. So, you have options if you want to do some light gaming on the side. If you’re looking for something less limited, visit our guide to the best gaming laptops for some top alternatives.
Overall, the Acer Chromebook Plus Spin 714 is an excellent addition to the Chromebook line-up. Thanks to its Intel Core Ultra CPU, it’s one of the highest-performing models in the Chromebook Plus family, boasting strong benchmark and display test results and a decent battery life. If you’re looking for a fast and affordable device for web browsing and word processing with the help of some AI tools, the Acer Chromebook Plus Spin 714 is a top contender.
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