Acer is launching four new Chromebooks for the education and commercial markets with an emphasis on durability thanks to features like mechanically-anchored, spill-resistant keyboards, reinforced ports, and shock-absorbent bumpers. Most of the new Chromebooks also incorporate post-consumer recycled plastics and they all have “OceanGlass” touchpads made from abandoned, ocean-bound plastic waste.
While most of the new models have the usual entry-level 1366 x 768 pixel screens we’ve grown used to on budget Chromebooks, there is one model with a 14 inch full HD display and another with a 12 inch, 1366 x 912 pixel screen, making it one of the first Chromebooks for the education market with a 3:2 aspect ratio display.
The Acer Chromebook 512 (C852/C852T) may have the same number of horizontal pixels as most entry-level Chromebooks, the extra vertical pixels should give students a little extra screen space for viewing website, documents, and web apps.
It’s an IPS LED-backlit display that should also have wide viewing angles, and Acer says there’s optional support for a touch panel. Other features include support for up to an Intel Pentium Silver N6000 processor, up to 8GB of LPDDR4X memory, and up to 64GB of LPDDR4X memory. The laptop also has a “flare-reducing HD webcam with temporal noise reduction technology,” a feature shared by other new Acer Chromebooks with Intel Jasper Lake processors.
Acer’s new Chromebook 511 (C734/C734T) has an 11.6 inch, 1366 x 768 pixel display (touch optional) and otherwise similar specs, but this model tops out at an Intel Celeron N5100 processor.
The Acer Chromebook 314 (C934/C934T) is a 14 inch model with a 1920 x 1080 pixel display (touch optional), up to a Pentium Silver N6000 processor, and up to 128GB of eMMC storage.
And rounding things off is the new Acer Chromebook Spin 311 (R722T/R723T) 11.6 inch HD convertible with a MediaTek MT8183 processor, touchscreen display, 360-degree hinge, anti-microbial Corning Gorilla Glass on the screen, 4GB of LPDDR4X RAM, up to 64GB of eMMC storage, and an HD webcam with an 88-degree wide-angle lens and HDR support.
Here’s an overview of key specs for each of the new Chromebooks:
| Chromebook 512 (C852/C852T) | Chromebook 511 (C734/C734T) | Chromebook 314 (C934/C934T) | Chromebook Spin 311 (R722T/R723T) | |
| Display | 12 inches 1366 x 912 pixels 3:2 aspect ratio IPS LCD Touch optional | 11.6 inches 1366 x 768 16:9 aspect ratio IPS LCD Touch optional | 14 inches 1920 x 1080 16:9 aspect ratio IPS LCD Touch optional | 11.6 inches 1366 x 768 pixels 16:9 aspect ratio IPS LCD Touch standard 360-degree hinge Antimicrobial Corning Gorilla Glass |
| Processor(s) | Intel Celeron N4500 Intel Celeron N5100 Intel Pentium Silver N6000 | Intel Celeron N4500 Intel Celeron N5100 | Intel Celeron N4500 Intel Celeron N5100 Intel Pentium Silver N6000 | MediaTek MT8183 |
| RAM | Up to 8GB LPDDR4X | Up to 8GB LPDDR4X | Up to 8GB LPDDR4X | 4GB LPDDR4X5 |
| Storage | 32GB or 64GB eMMC | 32GB or 64GB eMMC | 32GB / 64GB / 128GB eMMC | 32GB or 64GB eMMC |
| Ports | 2 x USB 3.2 Type-C (full function) 2 x USB 3.2 Type-A MicroSD card reader | 2 x USB 3.2 Type-C (full function) 2 x USB 3.2 Type-A MicroSD card reader | 2 x USB 3.2 Type-C (full function) 2 x USB 3.2 Type-A MicroSD card reader | 1 x USB Type-C 1 x USB 2.0 Type-A |
| Wireless | WiFi 6 Bluetooth 5.1 | WiFi 6 Bluetooth 5.1 | WiFi 6 Bluetooth 5.1 | WiFi 6 / BT 5.2 (R723T) WiFi 5 / BT 4.2 (R722T) |
| Audio | Stereo speakers Dual microphones | Stereo speakers Dual microphones | Stereo speakers DTS Audio Dual microphones | Stereo speakers Dual microphones |
| OceanGlass Touchpad | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Post-consumer recycled plastics | Yes | Yes | No | Yes |
| Keyboard hinge | 180 degrees | 180 degrees | 180 degrees | 360 degrees |
| Mechanically anchored keys | Yes | Yes | No | Yes |
| Dimensions | 11.65″Â x 8.98″ x 0.83″ | 11.65″ x 8.11″ x 0.83″ | 12.85″ x 8.86″ x 0.79″ | 11.65″ x 8.2″ x 0.83″ |
| Weight | 2.87 pounds | 2.87 pounds | 3.2 pounds | 2.87 pounds |
| Starting Price | $350 | $350 | $430 | $400 |
| Availability (North America) | January 2022 | February 2022 | Second half of 2022 | March 2022 |
1366×912 is actually a pretty decent compromise to the cheap panel problem, it’s similar in usability to 1440×900, but I’ll still avoid it completely.
The biggest problem with 1366×768 is the vertical dimension. It’s not tall enough for lots of applications. Lots of developers are starting to design software UI with an expectation of more vertical pixels than that. The CSS design of many websites are also starting to be less accommodating.