Acer Chromebook Plus Spin 514 ZDNET's key takeaways Acer's 14-inch Chromebook Plus Spin 514 is available now for $649.
Its marathon battery, snappy performance, and affordable price point make it punch above its weight.
Its physical build won't appeal to everyone, it has some hardware limitations, and its speakers are very basic. View now at Best Buy
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Ready to branch out from Windows? If you're looking for a thin and light laptop for work, school, or everyday use, and you're interested in divesting your reliance on Microsoft, you may want to consider a Chromebook.
There has been no shortage of snappy, easy-to-use Chromebooks in 2025. For example, one of my favorites, the Lenovo Chromebook Plus, has become my go-to travel device for its portability, marathon battery, and satisfying physical design.
Also: This Lenovo Chromebook easily replaced my Windows laptop for work - and I can't go back
But the latest Chromebook Plus I've been testing is Acer's Chromebook Plus Spin 514, a very similar 14-inch device but exchanging the OLED display for a 2-in-1 form factor and a stylus for a slightly lower price.
I can't help but compare the two laptops, as they're nearly identical under the hood. Both feature the battery-efficient, octa-core MediaTek Kompanio Ultra 910 CPU, an ARM-compatible chip that excels at powering lightweight devices. Both models feature 16GB of LPDDR5X RAM and 256GB of UFS storage, boasting stellar battery life that lasts up to 17 hours.
Also: Why the most capable Lenovo laptop on the market is not the model you're thinking of
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