Acer’s New Chromebook Plus is just $399

Acer today announced the Chromebook Plus 514, an Intel-powered 14-inch Chromebook Plus laptop that costs just $399.

“The new Acer Chromebook Plus 514 delivers the sought-after combination of a portable design, 14-inch Full HD display, and performance-minded technology that lets users get the most out of the exciting capabilities offered with Chromebook Plus,” Acer general manager James Lin said. “Students, businesses, families, and individuals need to be more productive, connected and empowered than ever, and can achieve this using Acer Chromebook Plus devices.”

Google announced the Chromebook Plus brand in October 2023, expanding its web-based personal computing platform into premium PC territory with better specifications than the typical Chromebook. To qualify for this label, a Chromebook must offer at least a 13th Gen Intel Core i3/AMD Ryzen 3 7000 series CPU or better, 8 GB of RAM, 128 GB of storage, a Full HD IPS display panel, and a 1080p webcam.

Acer’s Chromebook Plus 514 meets those minimums, and in an interesting way, at least with the processor. It comes with an Intel Core i3-N305 and not a more traditional Core i3 series chip. I had to look this up—you could make a career out of understanding Intel’s ever-changing and growing processor lineups—but the Core N-series chips replaced the Pentium and Celeron chips last year and are aimed at the education market. As we see elsewhere in Intel’s processor families, the N series is tiered, and the i3-N305 is a higher-end 15-watt model with 8 processor cores and integrated Intel UHD graphics.

The other specs are familiar: The 514 provides 8 GB of LPDDR5 RAM, up to 512 GB of storage, a 14-inch Full HD display with wide viewing angles that outputs 300 nits of brightness, and a 1080p webcam. But there are some additional perks, too: The display can be configured with a multitouch panel if desired, the device supports modern Wi-Fi 6E connectivity and DTS audio, and the webcam provides Temporal Noise Reduction (TNR) capabilities, auto exposure, and strong low-light performance. There are two USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-C ports, one on each side, dual USB 3.2 Gen1 Type-A port, one on each side, and a microSD card reader. Acer claims 11 hours of battery life.

The Chromebook Plus 515 weighs 3.15 pounds and is U.S. MIL-STD 810H compliant for durability. Interestingly, Acer is essentially selling three versions of the product, one for consumers, one that comes with a Chrome Education Upgrade for seamless device management in schools, and a Chromebook Plus Enterprise 514 version that supports zero-touch enrollment for businesses.

The Chromebook Plus 515 will be available in the U.S. in May and in the EMEA in June, where prices will start at €479. You can learn more on the Acer website.