Is a $699 Chromebook Worth It? Acer Spin 713 Review (feat. @SomeGadgetGuy)

In this video, we take a look at premium Chromebooks, and try to figure out what's the most money you should pay for one. The Acer Spin 613, for instance, is a great, premium option. But who can really justify $699 for a device many consider to be little more than a web browser? Find out if it's worth it for you.

Follow Juan Bagnell on social - @SomeGadgetGuy

••••••••••••••••••

0:00 Introduction
1:32 Design & Features
2:51 The Offerings
5:00 Performance
6:44 Battery Life
7:39 Chrome OS
9:16 Worth It?
11:09 Conclusion

••••••••••••••••••

See all the best and most current deals by visiting the Slickdeals Frontpage!

[slickdeals]

0:00 Introduction
1:32 Design & Features
2:51 The Offerings
5:00 Performance
6:44 Battery Life
7:39 Chrome OS
9:16 Worth It?
11:09 Conclusion

[funkijote]

This can be found for under $300 now in 2024, and at that price it's a pretty good value proposition, much more so than Snapdragon 8cx Gen 1 and 2 Windows machines ever were. Basically, this machine/SOC is very good at everything Chromebooks can do in general, with category-leading battery life and well-optimized software. The i3-1115G4 chip available in Acer's intel version of this same product offers a bit more raw CPU performance, but that doesn't make a big difference in the tasks Chromebooks are good for, while offering half the battery life.

[thelastdruidofscotland]

got it sitting right here, an amazing device, build quality is excellent, as is performance, the jaw dropper is the screen, I use mines as a digital audio workstation, and its great for that, the touch is buttery smooth. i give it a 9/10

[AustinNooe]

My favorite was the Samsung Chromebook Plus. I always felt it was ahead of it's time though. It came out in 2017, was a 2-in-1, had dual usb-c ports, a pen, a 2400x1600 4x3 ips screen that was gorgeous and was only $450 (though I got mine on a deal for $250). I think the biggest thing on here is I'm not sure I'm a fan of the fans ;)

[LarryAsberryJr]

I'm interested in that storage type breakdown. Absolutely do that video.

[newtonchutney]

At ~700$ you can get an HP Envy x360 Windows 2-in-1..
I bought the first gen Envy convertible.. The hinge gave in after 3 yrs.. But while it lasted.. It was an amazing laptop/tablet.. And there's another catch.. The pen didn't always work.. Even though it is of the newer MPP 2.0 variety..

[toronadoxp]

I didnt know you were on Slickdeals too. Great Job and shirt!

[SRTK]

I just watched this video with this Chromebook, The performance is still phenomenal!! got it a couple days ago from the market place for $120 😂

[justintardif]

I have a Samsung Galaxy Chromebook the first one and love it! 4k touch display, 2 in . I also have a Helios 300 and the chromebook is my go to..

[travkatz]

I just bought my second Spin 713. This device is the best computer in the world even now. I hate Windows computers. The aspect ratio is amazing at 3:2. I love this computer.

[michaelcorcoran]

You can definitely find this heavily discounted at times especially if you're willing to go on the resale market.

[christscorner]

I will give u a few good reasons not to get one.. All chromebooks are shit.. Because all apps in the app store are for the most part made for touchscreen phones or tablets.. I litterally spent a whole 2week trying to figure out how to use the built in keyboard to scroll to view webpages.. When you purchase one nobody ever tells u how to scroll with the touch pad.. As if im supposed to know that i have to use twofingers at the same time and swipe..
Did i forget to mention that track pad doesnt have a right click button!! .
Meanwhile on the keyboard Side the arrow buttons kept highlighting the hyperlinks instead of smooth scrolling.. I thought that was a job for the tab key.. and space bar which usually is a scroll down feature on macs and pc acted like i hit enter or clicked to go to that highlighted hyperlink.. Apparently there is this secret feature in chrome browser called chrome://flags where you can sort of fix this and Asus didnt even bother to mention this either and this chromebook didnt come with a touchscreen mind you..
I also decided to unlock and tried their linux command interface which was easier then getting the keyboard to scroll but this also lacked certain linux commands and features.. I managed to install a full version linux Firefox and other programs but then i had a hard time finding what i installed even from the command line.. Not to mention if your downloading files from the linux side you have to assign a separate folder to swap between the linux and android side.. It was just a mess..
I was planning on converting the thing to just a linux based computer but i looked at how the keyboard functions where painted on the keyboard and saw that i would have to retrain myself on how to use keyboard shortcuts.. I decided that I coulldnt keep this thing and i personally own two Android tablets.
Chromebooks are probably made for Android developers and thats that.. Not user friendly at all.. Especially if yours dont come with a touchscreen.
If your still planning on getting one get cheap chromebook from ebay to practice navigating on it before staying with something your gonna regret..

"a bunch of tabs": showing tabs that are still full width

[getsunova]

I can just buy a gaming laptop with 120-144hz screen for that price.

[rotaryphoton]

It's not really premium especially if you can't put another operating system on it. The premium Chromebooks have absolutely no place in the market if they want to charge more than mac and more than a Windows PC, since there is no cost for the OS. And oh yeah you have to put a special bios on it just to be able to actually use the hardware for anything other than an OS that will expire in one year and receive no updates. That's right all Chromebooks expire after one or two years and they basically become a paperweight with locked down bios that doesn't support anything. And all that at the same price point as something that does let you do all of the things I just mentioned.

[LukeM]

As an IT person. I can without a doubt not recommend a Chromebook. It never wants to reconnect automatically on our network.