Last month, Acer unveiled their Chromebook 14, a fairly high-end option priced to move. The top-end, low-priced Acer Chromebook 14 family isn’t available for anything but preorder just yet, but a new version of it is already being laid out on the table. As if one could object to a metal body, an Intel Celeron processor in the Braswell family and between 2GB and 4GB of RAM in a range of Chromebooks starting as low as $299, they’ve unveiled a new variant focused on enterprise that packs in tons of additional features and is certified for enterprise use, though the price has yet to be announced.
The internal specs for this newest member of the Chromebook 14 family cranks things up a notch with an Intel Core processor, though which one is used was not touched on. Since the focus will be on battery life and price, it’s likely we’ll see either a Haswell, Broadwell or Skylake processor in the Core i3 or Core i5 family and most likely the lower-powered, dual-core U variant rather than the quad-core desktop-grade variant normally found in gaming laptops. The same 1080p panel as the high-end model of the Chromebook 14 family is set to be on board. The internals aren’t the star of the show, however – this laptop is made to be able to take a licking and keep on ticking. Not only is a spill-proof keyboard a part of the package, the whole show is MIL-STND 810G certified against wind, water, dust and vibration. While this could also mean it can take drops like a champ, that detail was not touched on. Additionally, the back of the laptop’s lid is covered in Corning’s brand new Vibrant Gorilla Glass, the first gadget to feature it.
As an extra consideration, this particular Chromebook has earned itself a certification of compliance with Google’s Chrome for Work program, making it the very first gadget to do so. This means that the laptop can be easily integrated into future work environments built around the standard, as well as having access to some additional software and support from Google on the enterprise front, like I.T. department control and extra security features. The Acer Chromebook 14 family universally features full-sized USB 3.0 ports, an HDMI port and a light and thin design. It’s unclear how the extra cooling requirements of an Intel Core processor and the extra weight of the Vibrant Gorilla Glass backing may affect the design, not to mention if there will be any other physical considerations for enterprise, such as extra ports, a wider touchpad, a touch screen or other build details being made a bit sturdier, like a thicker hinge or internal padding.