Snapdragon Acer Chromebooks Have Arrived! Here's When You Can Get One

Acer now has no fewer than two new Chromebooks up for grabs that are both Snapdragon-powered. It also has a brand new Chromebox for those who need a more traditional desktop setup.

All three new Chrome OS gadgets were launched alongside a new DTS sound smart speaker at Next@Acer, among other products. But the Chromebooks — dubbed the Acer Chromebook Spin 513 and Acer Chromebook Enterprise Spin 513 — may be the most exciting news of the lot. Especially since, as noted above, these Chromebooks are driven by Snapdragon.

Specifically, that’s Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 7c compute platform. So the chipset is an octa-core 8nm platform — and, in fact, the Kyro 4-series is also found in the Snapdragon 855 and 765 chips. So it should be a powerful and efficient component. Potentially even more so because Chromebooks run Android apps from the Google Play Store. Here, that chipset is paired with an Adreno 618 mid-to-upper-midrange mobile graphics chip.

Backing up the Snapdragon 7c, Acer opted for Dual-channel LPDDR4X SDRAM. Up to 8GB of RAM can be paired with the series-standard 128GB storage.

Here’s what else these Snapdragon Acer Chromebooks have to offer

Aside from a great Snapdragon processor and ample RAM for Android, Linux, Chrome, and Web apps, the new Acer Chromebooks can last a long time on a single charge. Up to 14-hours, according to Acer. They’re also lightweight at below 2.64lbs and approximately the same size as a sheet of paper. Albeit somewhat thicker at 0.61-inches.

In terms of other included technologies, the Chrome OS 2-in-1 laptop ships with its 13.3-inch display on a 360-degree hinge. So the aluminum lid can be flipped back from closed to stand, tent, and tablet mode as needed. The touch-enabled display itself is surrounded by thinner-than-average bezels for a 78% screen-to-body ratio.

Two built-in mics accompany the webcam in this configuration for better audio in interactions. Two stereo speakers are too. And a backlit keyboard is going to be an option as well, for those who need one. In either case, the touchpad is coated in the same Gorilla Glass as the display panel. And ample ports are included.

Acer packs these Chromebooks with two USB Type-C ports for charging and display output as well as another USB 3.2 Type-A port. Bluetooth 5.0 is built-in for connections that aren’t wired or via Wi-Fi 5.

No Snapdragon doesn’t mean that the new Chromebox is any less a competitor

The second Chrome OS gadget launched by Acer today also comes in both Enterprise and non-Enterprise varieties. But as a Chromebox, the Acer Chromebox CXI4 is better prepared to fill the role of a more traditional PC rather than a laptop. According to Acer, that makes the device perfect for schools, shared family computers, work, and even entertainment.

Acer points out that Chromeboxes are also often used to serve up “information and assistance in customer-facing areas” or power digital signage and kiosks, for example. Conversely, this Chromebox with Chrome Enterprise Upgrade provides better business-side management and support.

But regardless of usage, this Chromebox is made to get things done. Not least of all because Acer packed it with up to a 10th-Gen Intel Core i7 processor either. Or because it chose to utilize up to 16GB DDR4 RAM paired with up to a 256GB M.2 2280 PCI-E SSD on the storage side. Additionally, the company engineered this Chromebook to be configurable with up to two-HDMI ports, up to five USB 3.2 Gen 2 ports and a standard USB 3.2 Type-C port.

On networking, it’s going to be among the fastest Chrome OS gadgets too. Thanks not only to the included RJ45 port for wired Ethernet connections. But also because it supports Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.1.

Specs

In terms of pure specifications, there aren’t too many differences between the Enterprise and non-Enterprise devices here. Here are the specs for the new Snapdragon-powered Acer Chromebooks and the new Chromeboxes.

When can you get the Acer Snapdragon Chromebook & new Chromebox?

Of course, the specifics of pricing and specs will vary somewhat from region to region too. But that doesn’t necessarily mean these Chrome OS gadgets will be expensive. The Acer Chromebook Spin 513, for instance, starts out at $399.99 in North America. It’ll cost €429 in EMEA. In the former region, availability starts in February of 2021. Those in the EMEA region will see the device starting sometime in January.

The Acer Chromebook Enterprise Spin 513 will arrive a month later than that. That’s in March in North America starting at $699.99 in North America or at €699 in EMEA from February.

Conversely, the Acer Chromebox CXI4 in both variants will be available in both of those regions in the first quarter of 2021. Prices will start at $259.99 in North America or €409.99 for the Enterprise edition. In EMEA, the Enterprise edition will start out at €639 while the consumer variant will start at just $569.