Acer’s Chromebook 515 is made for enterprise on the go

Like most laptop computer producers, Acer has been courting distant employees and college students with lots of its new releases. I’ve spent a while with an early pattern of the Chromebook 515, a brand new line concentrating on distant enterprise customers.

Perhaps most significantly for a lot of work-from-home clients, the 515 seems to be to be a strong video-conferencing software. The audio system, with the assistance of a built-in good amplifier, ship audio that’s surprisingly loud and simply fills a room — it’s louder than the audio of many far more costly Windows laptops I’ve reviewed not too long ago. The webcam has a bodily shutter that’s straightforward to slip forwards and backwards and did job protecting me seen in dim mild (although it delivered a considerably grainy image). There are two built-in microphones as effectively.

The laptop computer additionally has the specs to accommodate a variety of workloads. My unit has a decent Core i3-1115G4 — fashions may also include a Pentium Gold 7505, a Core i5, or a Core i7 (which shall be overkill for many customers). It carried out speedily all through my every day workload of round a dozen Chrome tabs and had no hassle enjoying YouTube movies over high. Acer hasn’t supplied the battery measurement however claims you’ll stand up to 10 hours. And whereas the 15.6-inch show isn’t the brightest, it’s fairly roomy for multitasking and matte sufficient to not relax any intrusive glare.

The predominant draw back of the Chromebook 515 appears to be that it’s a bit ugly. I wouldn’t name it an eyesore, but it surely’s received the look of one thing you would possibly pull off a faculty laptop computer cart — the bezels across the panel are chunky, and there’s vital flex in each the lid and the keyboard deck. It does have a pleasant end, although, which is comfy to carry, and it’s pretty moveable at 3.75 kilos.

There are technically two Chromebook 515 fashions: the common Chromebook 515 and the Chromebook 515 Enterprise. The solely distinction, so far as I can inform, is that the latter ships with Chrome Enterprise, which incorporates additional safety and administration instruments for IT departments. That’s additionally the one mannequin that at present has a US launch date — it’s coming to North America in January 2022, beginning at $649.99, and to Europe, the Middle East, and Africa in October with a beginning worth of €799. The common mannequin is coming to Europe, the Middle East, and Africa in October and can begin at €499.

If you’d desire one thing a bit smaller, the brand new 14-inch Chromebook 514 is powered by a MediaTek Kompanio 828 processor. Acer claims that one will stand up to fifteen hours of battery life. You’ll be capable to purchase it in North America in December, beginning at $399, and in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa in November, beginning at €399. The firm’s Chromebook Spin 514 and Chromebook Spin 314 have additionally been up to date with Eleventh-Gen Intel processors.