I was checking something on the Chromium Developer Information page this morning when I noticed a new Acer Chromebook in the list. Well, it’s a newly updated model, to be more precise.
The page shows that another Acer Chromebook 314 is arriving on May 1; that’s not an official announcement, of course, so the date could be a moving target.
If you recall, Acer announced several Chromebooks at the IFA event last September. At the time, the Chromebook 314 was one of them but has only been available in a Celeron version as Acer said these would be configured “…with the latest dual-core Intel Celeron N4000 or quad-core Intel Celeron N4100 processors.”
The company also said the Chromebook 314 could be ordered with a 1920 x 1080 display, 8 GB of memory and 64 GB of storage, but I haven’t seen that model.
It turns out that Intel launched its Pentium Silver N5030 chip in the final quarter of 2019 and that’s what’s powering this updated Acer Chromebook 314 per the link on the Chromium Developer Information page.
This model also has the 14-inch 1080p touchscreen, the 8 GB of RAM and 64 GB of storage, per the Acer store. I’ve clicked the “buy now” button but Acer says there are no sellers yet. The MSRP is $429.99.
However, this clamshell is appearing at retailers such as Colamco ($395.08), ShopBLT ($413.79), and NextWarehouse ($416.33), so there could be some discounts available at launch. None of these online retailers have any stock yet.
Here are the full specs, per Acer:
CPU | Quad-core, Intel Pentium Silver N5030 1.1 GHz base rate, 3.1 GHz turbo rate |
GPU | Intel UHD Graphics 605 |
Display | 14-inch, IPS, 1920 x 1080 resolution touchscreen |
Memory | 8 GB LPDDR4 RAM |
Storage | 64 GB eMMC storage, microSD expansion slot |
Connectivity | WiFi 5, Bluetooth (no version specified |
Input | Keyboard, multi-touch trackpad |
Ports | 2 USB Type-C, 2 USB Type-A, front-facing webcam |
Battery | Up to 12.5 hours claimed run-time |
Weight | 3.31 pounds |
Software | Chrome OS automatic update software support through: TBD (should be around 8 years) |
I don’t believe the Acer Chromebook 314 will have a backlit keyboard but aside from that nit, a quad-core Pentium Silver with double the memory and storage of most devices in this class isn’t a bad deal at around $400. The 14-inch IPS 1080p display is another compelling factor.
Stay tuned for what I expect will be an official announcement from Acer in the coming few weeks: If you’ve been holding off on a Chromebook purchase and have $400 or so to spend, this might be worth the wait.
5 Comments
I was on the verge of ordering the Acer Spin 13, i5 with 16GB of RAM. With this new release of the 314, do you think the Spin 13 is also about to get a refresh?
Hard to say, Mike. I don’t have any direct knowledge of an update in the works for the Spin 13. It’s possible, of course, so that Acer can better compete against the Galaxy Chromebook and Asus CB Flip 436, especially since compared to those two devices, the current Spin 13 is a bit of a chunky monkey. If there is one in the works, my guess would be no availability until fall at the earliest. BTW: Sounds like you’re thinking of buying the same model Spin 13 I have. I’m personally thrilled with it; aside from being a little thick it’s meeting my needs superbly!
thanks for replying, and i really like your articles.
I am glad you commented that you have that same device. That makes me feel like it is the right choice. I was considering the Acer Spin 13 or the Lenovo Yoga Chromebook 4K edition. Do you have any thoughts on the Yoga?
Thanks Mike! I considered the Yoga but I don’t need a 4K laptop. And the RAM topped out at 8GB. That’s enough most of the time but I’d take 16 GB of memory over a 4K display for my needs.
I’m more than happy to recommend chromebooks to most people. And the Acer Chromebook 14 is absoutely great, paid 360€ for it which is almost $400 (we Europeans get ripped off hard compared to Americans in tech). I initially thought that it was quite a lot of money especially when I had the 2014 Toshiba Chromebook 2 available for 260€. I’m glad to say that after only a day with it I have zero regrets, great performance for it’s value, great aluminium build, great 1080p screen… I’m sold! And when Android apps finally land, it’s value will be much better. Knowing what I know today, I’d shell out the 360€ without a second thought. More money buys you better products, but at this price point I’m amazed. Jonathan from https://redbytesite.com/