Acer – Chromebook Spin 713 2-in-1 13.5″ 2K VertiView 3:2 Touch – Intel i5-10210U – 8GB Memory – 128GB SSD – Steel Gray

I’ve owned this Chromebook for a little over two weeks now and I’m in love with it! Upgrading from a 2017 Asus C302 with a Intel Core m3/4GB to this with the 10th Gen i5, 8GB and speedier NVMe storage is awesome!
Pros:
– Specs for value: 10th Gen i5, 8GB DDR4L and 128 GB PCIe NVMe SSD, with a 2K 3:2 screen that exceeds 400 nits of brightness with a build like this at $629 makes aluminum/plastic build Windows devices cheap by comparison, and the prettier Samsung Galaxy overspec’d and a bad value. For those who like to tinker, you CAN UPGRADE THE SSD YOURSELF! Remove 9 screws on bottom, VERY CAREFULLY lift a black piece that holds a ribbon in, and then one more screw to swap the SSD. Be sure to grab a NVMe one, as a SATA M.2 2280 SSD will NOT work– Needs to be NVMe, which is the one with one notch near bottom on the connector side. Best Buy sells them in store, so you can checkout at same time and either have Geek Squad do it, or if you’re comfortable, see Reddit. Most important thing is to know it will void warranty I’m sure, and to create a Recovery image before you even open the thing to install once you swap. I ordered the right drive to upgrade it to 500GB, so I will have a i5/8gb/500GB for total cost of $699+ taxes. Unreal value!
– Screen is really bright– Exceeds 400 nits of brightness. COming from the Asus C30 which was 300 nits and 16:9 to this, which is 3:2, for browsing the web or watching fullscreen content, it’s much better here. Keep in mind most YouTube videos and almost every single Netflix movie is 16:9, so there WILL be black bars on top and bottom, but for browsing or being productive in Microsoft Office suite or Google Docs, it is a LOT better!
– Fans are fixed! For those who read this wondering if Acer fixed the fan profiles from the previous Spin this is a modern refresh of, they did! The fans ramp up for one second when you power on, and they are very quiet even under heavy conditions. Attached an image of the overview mode showing a ton of apps open, and the Chrome window has over a dozen tabs, and the fan would be only audible in the quietest room, but even so very light and like other laptops. I owned the previous Acer Spin and returned because the fan was full blast with one single Chrome tab streaming a movie on VUDU. This is by FAR the best fix Acer has done
– Keyboard/Touchpad: Keyboard is another huge upgrade from previous model. Key caps feel smooth but enough grip, not at all mushy and the backlighting is even and bright with multiple stages to adjust to your liking. Touchpad is smooth and ChromeOS gestures feel good with no dragging.
– Ports: You get (1) USB-A, (2) USB-C, which al both full service, meaning you can do charging from either side, video out and data transfer or use a hub; (1) HDMI 1.4 port, a microSD card slot, a headphone/microphone combo port and then your usual power button and volume rocker for tablet mode. I was able to use the Chromebook and two external displays at the same time no issue. As mentioned, the HDMI is 100% 1.4, as it maxes out at 4K 30Hz. The USB-C does the same, but I did not have a 4K60Hz USB-C dock, so jury is still out if it can push that out, and multiple at same time.
– Wifi 6 and Bluetooth 5.0. Any issues I had with connecting bluetooth controllers, mice on ChromeOS before has been a non issue in my short time with this device.
Cons:
– Webcam/microphone are subpar. I attached two images which are just a simple picture of the front facing camera. The darker one is this Acer SPin 713, and the lighter one is the Asus C302 from 2017. Definitely not a great webcam for those who needs to do conferences or work from home.
– Speakers lack bass, and an overall rich sound. Maybe it’s the placement on the bottom, where the HP x360 14c and the Lenovo Flex 5 have them dual front firing, but for Youtube watching the vocals are clear, just doesn’t sound like a full stage.
– 1080p HD playback inside of third party Android apps from the Google Play Store. This issue is a ChromeOS issue and not specific to this Acer; literally EVERY SINGLE CHROMEBOOK EVER MADE has this issue, and I believe it’s the app developers negligence of optimizing their apps for Chrome OS, or Chrome OS has issues verifying the level certificate of Widevine, as the processor has HDCP support, but Netflix identifies it as L3, not the needed L1. What does this mean for you? Stream Netflix through the chrome browser any chance you can for best quality. If you use the Android app for offline playback from Netflix, Amazon Prime or VUDU they will max out at 480p SD.
That’s it. I included these cons to support those who are pointing out the bad camera and speakers aren’t so great, but for me personally, I barely use them, so they’re a non-factor to me personally. The rest I mentioned is a huge upgrade, the fact I can upgrade the SSD by myself for more storage on the cheap is incredible! Chromebook have been known to have everything soldered on board with no way to upgrade, so this switch to NVMe drives is a miracle! I cannot recommend this Chromebook enough!
Word to the wise: I write this review as someone who loves the simplicity of ChromeOS and Chromebooks. As of 7/14/2020, there are “rumors” of Google working with Parallels to get support for full Windows software, and upgrade their version of Linux to be based off Ubuntu to add native out of the box Steam support for gaming as well as you can with an integrated GPU. I emphasize this again: rumors and development. If you read this today asking “is this device right for me?”, look and see what you need from your device. If you can run everything inside of Google Chrome browser on whatever device you work at, or are looking to upgrade from, then the answer is absolutely. If you need to run a program or software made for Windows, or you need to run the FULL suite of Microsoft Office apps and you’re familiar with the limitations the Google Play Store version has by comparison, understand what ChromeOS is and it may not be compatible as of now with everything you need. For 90% of people or everyday users and students, I believe ChromeOS is at a point where it can work completely for them. For business users who need specific software or an in-house VPN whatever, check with your work’s IT for compatibility.
With that out of the way, Chromebooks give you, IMO, better quality and better productivity at a much better price compared to Windows. For this $629 as it is configured here, there is nothing Windows can offer that compares. A Microsoft Surface device is the closest thing in terms of the screen ratio/brightness and flexibility to use as a tablet, but that’s the Surface Book which STARTS at $1599! There is the Intel version of the Acer Spin 3 for those who can dig online, but that is plastic and non-convertible.

Been using for about 2 weeks. Here are my likes and dislikes
Pros:
Screen- its beautiful. It gets bright. Has great colors. Great resolution. And I’m like the 3:2 ratio
Processor- latest 10 gen i5. I mean its a chromebook, it makes everything super snappy
Ram- 8 gb is future proof.
Harddrive- 128gb, more than most chromebooks. NVMe which is quicker than most chromebook ssds
keyboard and touchpad- very nice
Cons
Speakers- all chromebook speakers I have heard are bad. These are at the lower end as well. Besides poor quality they fire down which makes it even worse. In a quiet room no problem. Any real noise and they just don’t get loud enough
Webcam- its not good. But again I havne’t seen many chromebooks that are good. I’m not sure why a chromebook can’t have a decent 1080p webcam.
Screen glitch. I get it about 2 times a day. It last for half a second. Its usually when I change tabs or go to a new app. Its almost like the the display shifts slightly then corrects itself. Its of no bother to me right now since it happens so infrequently and for such a short time. If somehow it begins happening all the time it would def be annoying and change my review
Keyboard deck – its plastic and has some flex. I’ve owned completely plastic chromebooks with more but my last one was a completely metal Dell with zero flex.
Little rubber tabs at the hinge mechanism. They are there for when the screen tilts more then 90 degrees. The bottom of the screen becomes lower then the back of the laptop and puts the keyboard on a slight angle. I was working on my desk the other day and slide the comptuer over a little. The rubber piece came undone and twisted. I was able to put it back in place but now I have to be careful not to slide the laptop in that position. The other plastic tab seems to be holding up fine. If that plastic tab breaks off I’m not sure replacing or fixing it would be easy
The cons while I listed a couple are much less important than the pros. In my opinion processor, screen quality, ram, hard drive are more important than speakers, webcams and some plastic parts.

Awesome computer slash tablet love it looks great works Awesome great graphics and great price recommend to anyone its the best out there top of the line

If you´re reading this review, you´ve probably already read all the good things about this chromebook: the i5 processor, the 128 GB, the bright 400 nit screen. All the things that reviewers have raved about before.
Now, I will share why I´ve decided to return this chromebook.
1) The 3:2 aspect ratio. It has its benefits: browser pages look more zoomed in because the extra white space on the sides is reduced, you can see a few extra lines of text vertically (but only 2-3), and if you´re going to use the CB as a tablet for reading, it´s more like a regular page than a long 16:9 screen. However, it is not for everyone. I, personally, often multitask by placing windows side by side. A widescreen (16:9) is better suited to providing a horizontal real estate in this scenario. Likewise, I stream video content on my CB and a traditional widescreen is better for this purpose, filling up the whole screen. The 3:2 ratio of the Acer 713 makes it so that the widescreen video has to be reduced somewhat to fit on a more square screen and the top and bottom are filled in with a black bar. Also, I simply don´t really care for the shape of the computer with this aspect ratio.
2) The track pad. I found it often unresponsive, making it necessary to tap or click multiple times.
3) The hinges. These are too loose for my liking. If I tap the CB gently on my lap, the screen tips back a little. If I keep tapping, the screen tips back some more each time, until the screen and keyboard are flat. This is only gentle movement, like when you´re shifting your seating position. Because they are so loose and easily moved, I don´t have any faith that these hinges will last for the useful life of the CB until 2028.
4) The camera. The camera is strange. The image is somewhat grainy, but workable, except for the fact that, while my room was extra colorful, no doubt due to software color enhancement, my face was covered in dark patches, so that you couldn´t really see my expression. This persisted even after I shone a light directly at my face, so it wasn´t due to normal shadows.
5) The build. It´s supposed to be mostly aluminum, but it didn´t feel premium to me. It felt a bit flimsy and I can´t believe that it passed some military grade tests.
A lot of people have complained about the sound. While it´s not great, it is also workable. It´s not as low as some people have said it is. This is not one of the reasons that I chose to return it.
I really wanted to like it, since I got it on sale, but I finally decided that it´s not for me. Overall, the CB is future proof in terms of software, but I have my doubts about its durability in terms of hardware.
In the pictures the Acer 713 is on the right and is being compared to another CB that has the 16:9 ratio.