The new Acer Chromebook 514 brings high-end features to the mid-range with a metallic chassis, backlit keyboard, Gorilla Glass touchpad, and a 14-inch FHD touchscreen display.
Acer continues the market trend towards higher-end Chromebooks with the Acer Chromebook 514, a device that looks positioned directly against the MacBook Air with premium features wrapped up in a thin, light, and most importantly, cheap(ish) package. The Chromebook 514 is aimed at professionals and students with a 14-inch screen and office-ready features.
Specifications
- Aluminum chassis
- 14-inch FHD (1080×1920) IPS display with optional touchscreen
- Backlit keyboard
- Corning Gorilla Glass touchpad
- 12-hour battery
- USB Type-C charging
- Pricing starts at €349 or $349
The crown jewel for the Acer 514 is evidently its Gorilla Glass touchpad— a feature that rarely makes it to any laptop, let alone Chromebooks. The last Chromebook to feature a glass trackpad was the Dell Chromebook 13 7310.
Acer gave no word on further specifications like RAM, CPU, dimensions, or weight. There isn’t a specified release-period yet either, but given that the Acer Chromebook 514 is targeted squarely at college students, we can probably expect this before the holiday period and around the start of the school year.
Gone are the days of a big gap between ultra-budget and premium Chromebooks. The Acer Chromebook 14 continues the trend of OEMs filling this gap. At IFA this year we’ve also seen the Dell Inspiron 14 Chromebook join the mid-range segment. Evidently, Google believes that Chrome OS is now ready for higher-education and beyond.
All things considered, this looks to be a well-balanced Chromebook that ticks plenty of boxes on paper. Stay tuned for a review.
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