How To Clean Acer R13 Chromebook Screen

acerchromebookr13review The Acer Chromebook R13 is the first device I've reviewed that, at one time, but existed in my head equally a codename. Y'all can see in older posts all the things we dug up about 'Elm' before it officially became known every bit the R13, but none of that matters now.

What matters now is the Acer Chromebook R13 is here, available, and ready to exist your next Chromebook. With great features and great build, this Chromebook could exist the one for many of you.

Allow'south have a deeper look and see what makes this a device worth owning.

Design

Make no error, the Acer Chromebook R13's design feels inspired. Made of all aluminum front to back, this device feels style more than premium than it'due south $399 price tag would advise. A squarish, cartel I say 'Pixel-esque' design doesn't look similar anything else Acer makes.

And that is a good thing.

That's not to say Acer makes ugly devices. It simply means OEM'due south are really starting to have Chromebooks seriously and giving them original blueprint flares instead of regurgitated aesthetics.

Information technology's not all perfect here, but Acer has done a overnice job building a device I similar having in front of a client. It is solid, smooth, and without any sharp or oddly cut edges. Information technology's comfortable to handle, thin enough to feel modern, and low-cal plenty to throw in a bag without whatsoever worries.

Ports

Port option is fair, giving the user admission to a unmarried USB-C and USB-A port, full size SD menu slot and full size HDMI. The latter is an interesting selection as information technology could accept easily been replaced with another USB-C and given the Chromebook a bit more flexibility.

Nosotros likewise have a headphone/mic jack along with a Kensington lock port. Downward/Side firing speakers look and sound quite good, giving a really proficient, total sound in any orientation.

Screen

Speaking of orientations, this device (like many Chromebooks coming out in the side by side few months) is a 360-degree convertible. The hinge allows for all the customary modes: laptop, stand up, tent, and tablet. Acer has been at this for some time and actually nails the hinge part of the R11. The R13 I tested had a slightly wobbly swivel.

As I don't touch the screen all that much when the device is in laptop way, this didn't business me that much. Additionally, this could take been a atypical issue that isn't present in all devices. It wasn't unusable. Information technology but had a flake more than play than I similar to run across in these hinges.

Given how well the R11's hinge operates, I'thousand inclined to think this may but bear on my device.

The screen itself is quite expert. Though not incredibly vivid, the colors and viewing angles are very good for a device in this cost range. It is a glossy display with total touch capability, so be prepared to clean information technology regularly equally it will pick up fingerprints. Outdoor viewing is possible, but non optimal. I'd keep this guy indoors for the best experience.

Things stay abrupt, if a bit small, on the screen at it'south native resolution of 1920×1080. For me, I'd rather have a 1600×900 (or 3200×1800 similar the HP xiii G1) display on a screen this size as 1080p fits best on xv.half-dozen″ screens, just I'll discuss that farther in another post another day.

Additionally, a 13″ 16:ix brandish makes for an awkward tablet fashion. I'd argue that the iPad Pro is roughly the same diagonal size, but being more square in its dimensions, the iPad feels more natural in both portrait and landscape modes. This is non unique to Acer. There are many other 16:9 devices that don't practice the tablet thing well. It's something I hope to see modify down the road.

I'd also love to see Chromebooks showtime getting the bezel sized down a bit. For convertibles, we demand to go on some bezel, sure. But they are all the same quite large for now.

Overall, though, the screen performed well and wasn't really an issue at all.

Buy The Acer Chromebook R13 On Amazon

Keyboard/Trackpad

Acer has always made decent keyboards. I have yet to type on an Acer and get the 'wow' factor I get from Lenovo, but that'due south OK. I'1000 non particularly hard on keyboards and non very picky, so virtually Chromebook keyboards are fine past me. I can appreciate a great keyboard, merely it's rare I discover a keyboard I actually hate. This 1 performed keen for me. Decent travel and click with enough spacing to feel very comfortable the whole time.

The trackpad was quite good besides. Again, I had a little play in the trackpad (similar, but nowhere near every bit bad every bit the first HP xiii G1 I had) that is a lilliputian tough to explicate. It feels a bit like the trackpad is hovering a fraction of a millimeter above the actual click element, then when you go to click, in that location is a slight depression before you really click the button. Information technology made the click feel a bit mushy and made it feel equally if some clicks were really double-clicks.

I've seen this before in isolated situations, so again I'thousand inclined to think this would likely not be an issue for most users.

On the other manus, the surface of the trackpad is very good. Not drinking glass, the trackpad still slides effectually very well later hours of use, delivering gestures and arrow tracking like a champ. It is one of the improve trackpads I've navigated with on a Chromebook.

Aside from the foreign click mechanics, I really enjoyed this trackpad.

Internals

Inside, we are met with a unique ARM processor in the MediaTek MT8173. This processor makes its Chromebook debut in the R13 and actually holds its own.

ARM devices are swell at power consumption and thermal control. This device does very well in both areas, never running hot and keeping battery consumption to a minimum. Acer claims 12 hours per accuse, and if you keep your screen brightness around fifty-60%, that is achievable. With 75% brightness I was hands getting viii-9 hours out of the R13.

Equipped with 32GB of internal storage (with some 64GB models arriving before long), I had no issues with space. The 4GB of RAM were enough when I had multiple tabs, music, Hangouts and Gravit (SVG graphics editor) all running together.

I even spent a few sessions using my ASUS USB-C monitor and the device performed similar a champ with two 1080p screens pulling at information technology. All-in-all, I was satisfied with the performance.

Information technology wasn't perfect across the lath. There were a few times when I had a stumble here and there, but they were minimal and exceptional. Chrome OS is simply getting ameliorate at running well on less and less. Anybody benefits from this. A 10K score on Octane isn't annihilation to write habitation virtually, but it gets the job done and functioning wasn't really an issue.

And that'south the goal with these devices, isn't it? If we find ourselves doing what nosotros practise with our Chromebook and not stopping to think "I wish I had a faster processor," then we've acheived the goal. Performance just needs to exceed the user's needs by the slightest margin for spec comparisons to truly stop mattering.

Where's The Play Store?

Allow'south tackle what we'll call the temporary elephant in the room. This device is congenital and marketed with Android App support in listen and is the first of a new wave of Chromebooks aimed at this same goal. The exclusion of the Play Shop at launch was likely not on Acer. While Android App support is coming and may already be available when yous read this mail or buy your own R13, at launch it is missing.

That doesn't really change a hardware review that much. Nosotros'd love to tout the R13'south power to play Cut The Rope or run Microsoft Role apps. Alas, nosotros can't merely withal.

App back up is coming, make no error. Just its delay could hurt sales of this device for the adjacent few weeks until that support arrives. But none of this changes the fact that the Acer R13 is a well-built Chromebook that can yet do all the stuff Chromebooks have been doing actually well for years.

Wrap Up

At the cease of the twenty-four hours, the question always becomes "Should I buy this?"

Because of the time we find ourselves in, that question is way harder than information technology has been in the past. The combination of current and upcoming devices make this a difficult time to zero in on which device is all-time for you.

Would you lot be happy with your purchase if you bought one? I can confidently say yep to that. The R13 is a beautiful, well-built machine for a very practiced toll. The overall look is style beyond its pricetag and its operation is enough for almost users. A corking screen, keyboard and trackpad round out a very solid offer from Acer. I suspect as Android shows up soon on this device, it will be another top seller in Acer'due south growing catalog of Chromebooks.

Buy The Acer Chromebook R13 On Amazon