ACER SPIN 713

You can get cheaper Chromebooks than Acer’s Spin 713 – but when it comes to something that won’t embarrass you during Freshers’ Week, it’s hard to see past this 13.5in workhorse.

For the uninitiated, Chromebooks are almost entirely browser-based, so you’ll have to rely on web apps, but with Google’s Docs et al (or Microsoft’s equivalents) for work, Spotify for music and Snapseed for tarting up photos, there’s little day-to-day stuff you can’t do on one these days. And if you’ve got an Android phone, everything integrates very nicely too.

Cores and effect

Powered by a 10th-gen Intel processor (options vary from a dual-core Pentium Gold to a quad-core i7) and 4 or 8GB of RAM, the Spin 713 has that little bit more oomph than Chromebooks that cost less, which means it’ll be able to cope with having more tabs open at once, plus it’s better-specified all round. Unless you opt for the most expensive model you’ll only get 64 or 128GB of storage – but as we’ve already said, almost everything you do with a Chromebook is web-based, so storage isn’t really a factor.

The brushed aluminium finish gives it a classy feel, the touchscreen swivels to turn it into a rudimentary tablet or streaming

TV, and there’s an HDMI port for hooking it up to a bigger monitor if you need more screen space. The 2256x1504 display itself is more than adequate, though: bright, vivid and pin-sharp, with a 3:2 aspect ratio to fit more of the good stuff in.

KEY SPECS

● 13.5in 2256x1504 IPS touchscreen

● Intel Pentium Gold/i3/i5/i7 ● 4/8GB RAM ● 64/128/256GB ● Chrome OS ● HDMI, USB 3, 2x USB-C ● Up to 10hrs ● 301x235x16.8mm, 1.45kg