Wow, I already thought the Acer Chromebook Spin 713 was a solid deal at $629 and I see today that Best Buy is discounting this 2-in-1 by $100.
I don’t know how long the sale will run but you can purchase this high-end Chromebook at a mid-range price of $529 right now.
I recently pointed this device out in my Chromebook buyers guide for every budget; this was a contender in the $600 and up range. And although I haven’t used this particular Chromebook — my review unit is on the way — I have used its predecessor, the Acer Chromebook Spin 13.
In fact, I still use it every day because it’s a fantastic device. My Spin 13 has 16 GB of memory while the discounted 713 has half that.
However, everything that’s good about the Spin 13 is there on the Acer Chromebook 713 and what’s changed has made it better: A newer, 10th-gen Intel Core i5-10210U processor and 128 GB of NVMe storage.
Ironically, I just wrote about some computer tests between eMMC/SSD and NVMe; you can check the results here but rest assured, everything will be faster on a Chromebook with NVMe storage save for any activities that are solely cloud-based.
You’ll also get an antimicrobial 13.5-inch Corning Gorilla glass display with 2256 x 1504 resolution and 3:2 aspect ratio, two USB 3.1 Type-C and one Type-A ports, a full-sized HDMI out and microSD card reader. Wireless upgrades include the newest Wi-Fi6 radios and Bluetooth 5.0 as well.
Essentially, you’re getting a lot of hardware for the cost here and the device will get Chrome OS software updates through June of 2028, so almost eight years of support.
Again, I thought this was a great value at $629 for what you’re getting. At $529, it’s even better as long as you don’t mind that 3:2 display ratio (I actually like it for productivity) and have a budget that can afford it.
Update: This post was originally published on November, 15, 2020. The deal is currently available again)
17 Comments
“However, everything that’s good about the Spin 13 is there on the Acer Chromebook 713 and what’s changed has made it better…”
Not everything… there is no included stylus and no stylus at all since Acer switched from EMR to USI, and USI so far is a big disappointment (no improvements, no availability, no living up to the hype…). One thing good about the Spin 13 is the EMR stylus. It is not there on the 713. And there is no stylus on or for the 713 that is better than the EMR in the Spin 13.
One of the buyers of this device on the Best Buy site said in his review that he was using a capacitive stylus until an Acer USI pen is available. If true, I’m very surprised because I can’t use capacitive with my Spin C436. So I just use HP USI pen. Works great. USI is a standard, so it should.
[My key issue for purchase decision]
Here’s a question for an expert: how does “full screen” scale in the case of the 713 with its 2256×1504 pixels? I’m thinking of standard definition TV at 640 x 480 going to full screen (I see the result on my chromebook for 1920×1080).
One of the buyers of this device on the Best Buy site said in his review that he was using a capacitive stylus until an Acer USI pen is available. If true, I’m very surprised because I can’t use capacitive with my Spin C436. So I just use HP USI pen. Works great. USI is a standard, so it should.
The buyer reviews all seemed to LOVE this device (except for the speakers, microphone, and camera, which they found to be a disappointment).
You’re right. The speakers are weak. That’s the only disappointment for me. The response time on this thing is blazing fast. Always surprises me. Boom. Web pages just appear.
I hope your are right. Meanwhile, none of the companies that were supposed to be selling USI pens are selling them. The only company that has made one available is HP. HP has stopped selling their USI pen. I am not sure whether is just out of stock. HP might have pulled it out of stock. Multiple users and some reviewers report serious problems with the HP USI pen. Could this have anything to do with why all the other companies have not released their USI pens? In addition to Lenovo and Asus, there are all the members of the USI consortium/initiative – with all their pens nowhere to be seen. If you have one and it works for you, that is great. I think there are thousands of people who would like to buy it from you. I sure would.
Thanks, Kevin, for the heads up. I got a price difference refund from Best Buy on the Spin 713 I bought a week ago.
I am heading over to Best Buy after work to pick this baby up!
If you sign up for the student discounts, you can also get some Jabra 65t wireless headphones for $20 as well.
As soon as I saw 8gb ram and 128 GB storage and that 3:2 aspect ratio I was in and placed the order. Only later did I notice it has NVMe storage. I just started setting it up tonight.
Dang I am glad I bought this. I was looking at all the options except Mac. I even considered buying a real Linux computer. That would have been a serious mistake for me. My days of fiddling around are over. I’m just a user now. And not a power user. This machine is perfect for me.
Thanks Kevin and About Chromebooks. I just ordered this Acer 713 for a family member in significant part as a result of what you and About Chromebooks have helped me learn over time. Thank you!
Awesome! Glad to have helped, David!
In case anyone is looking for a USI stylus, HP has them back in stock today. These should work with the HP x360 14c, Acer Spin 713, and Lenovo Duet, for instance. If anyone can report how well or badly this HP pen performs, please leave a comment here about it. Below is a link to the HP USI.
https://store.hp.com/us/en/pdp/hp-rechargable-usi-pen
Question about how my Acer 713 seems to differ from some older Chromebooks. On the older CBs, I have a switch windows icon (just like on the F5 function key) in the lower right corner of the screen while in display and tent modes. On my Acer 713, this switch windows icon is not there (or anywhere on the screen). I know that recent updates to Chrome OS were supposed to improve tablet functionality – such as swiping from the lower screen to bring up the same function as the switch windows key. However, I have found the icon for this function to be very helpful especially when using a stylus in display and tent modes. Is it some kind of fluke that I still have that icon on older Chromebooks? Did Google intentionally remove that icon in recent Chrome OS updates? Is there any way for me to put that icon on my Acer 713 screen when in display and tent modes? I would greatly appreciate any help and/or related info…
I just figured it out. In Settings> Advanced> Accessibility> Mouse and touchpad>, I needed to turn on “Show navigation buttons”. I wish I had done that before messing with flags and powerwash. Another problem that remains unresolved is that the android Netflix app will not open/run on this new Acer 713 (it just hangs at the beginning with a Netflix logo screen), even though other Chromebooks I have connected to the same wifi network run that app without a problem. Any suggestions?
…not sure if anyone else has ran into any issues with the Acer Chromebook Spin 713, so far my first one purchased at Best Buy after thanksgiving in 2020 developed a screen failure with a permanent failed line across the screen horizontally, after an exchange the second one failed to consistently connect to wifi, now on my third I’m seeing the screen flicker randomly, this does not happen connected to an external monitor so I’m sure it’s the laptop screen itself, I’m planning to return this under warranty now and hopefully receive another new one. Either I’m having really bad luck or Acer has a failed quality control process….