Acer Chromebook 314-H
By no means a terribl terrible option, but we suggestsugges you pay more for faster speedssp and a better screen
PRICE £192 (£230 inc VAT) from argos.co.uk
The Acer Chromebook 314-H 314 H promises a lot of Chromebook for under £250, stepping up from the 11.6in screens of the ultrabudget models to a more expansive 14in display, and all encased in a slim-and-light plastic chassis that, if you squint, you might almost mistake for aluminium. It looks considerably more expensive than it is. Beyond the flexible lid, it doesn’t even feel that cheap.
However, switch it on and the illusion starts to dissipate, mainly because of the screen. It’s nice to have the 14in screen size, but a 1,366 x 768 resolution that looks crisp on an 11.6in Chromebook looks pixellated spread across 14in. Worse, it’s really dim, not even getting above 200cd/m2 in our tests. sRGB gamut coverage is poor at just 55%, and there’s a noticeable blue cast across the screen. Acer sells a step-up model with a Full HD screen for around £50 more and we’d definitely recommend making the jump.
It’s not all bad news, though. t The keyboard is fine, with a spacious layout and a sho short but crisp typing action. It’s It definitely easier to work on than the keyboard on the lower-end 11.6in devices devices. The touchpad is also pretty decent, with a good, smooth surface and a squarer shape that makes it easier to move vertically around the screen. You also get more physical connectivity than on the smaller Chromebooks, with two USB-A 3.1 and two USB-C 3.1 ports, along with a microSD card slot and the audio jack. It also supports 2x2 MU-MIMO 802.11ac Wi-Fi for higher connection speeds.
Meanwhile, the battery life is extraordinary. We set the benchmark running in the early morning and it was still going nearly 13 hours later – long past the stated ten.
Sadly, if you were expecting any step up in terms of performance from the cheapest Chromebooks then prepare for disappointment. We’re back with our old friend from 2017, the Celeron N4000, and even with 4GB of RAM you won’t get great results. As with any Chromebook, this isn’t necessarily disastrous. You can run a browser with five or six tabs open or run Google Docs and Google Sheets side-by-side -by-side on the same screen and nd you’re really not going to experience erience much slowdown. However, wever, anything more demanding emanding could push the Acer past its limits, and it definitely feels less than snappy. It’s not a bad Chromebook, romebook, but it needs more oomph. ph.