AMD has announced new Ryzen 5000 C-Series processors for Chromebooks, and one of the first companies to make use of the improved performance on offer is Acer with its 2022 Chromebook Spin 514 2-in-1 convertible.
Often much cheaper than full-tilt laptops, Chromebooks have been a student favorite for years but can suffer in the performance department. That's not been too much of an issue though, since most users will spend much of their work and play time online so the devices don't necessarily need multi-core processors, top-of-the-line GPUs or lots of RAM.
The latest Chromebook Spin 514 is a different beast though, being built around AMD's new high-performance Zen 3 architecture to meet more demanding multitasking and productivity applications.
"AMD is raising the performance bar for modern Chromebooks," said AMD's Saeid Moshkelani. "With up to eight cores, the Ryzen 5000 C-Series processors give Chromebook users the flexibility to stay unplugged all day without sacrificing performance and productivity."
The Ryzen 5000 C-Series processors come in four distinct flavors, running from dual-core up to octa-core variants, and it's not clear which models the 2022 Spin 514 will be available with but users can look forward to enhanced integrated Radeon graphics reported to offer performance improvements of up to 85 percent and up to 67 percent more responsiveness compared to the previous generation.
Acer's Chromebook sports a 14-inch Full HD touch display which supports 100 percent of the sRGB color gamut, features thin 6.1-mm (0.24-in) side bezels and is topped in Corning Gorilla Glass for durability.
Indeed, the 2-in-1 is constructed to MIL-STD 810H rugged standards so should survive the odd bump or two. It boasts stylish aluminum top and bottom covers and benefits from a 360-degree hinge that allows it to adopt four different display modes, including tent and tablet.
Elsewhere, there's Wi-Fi 6 for connection reliability, a Full HD webcam with flare-reducing tech and a privacy shutter, dual microphones, two upfiring speakers, and a pair of USB-C ports for plugging in peripherals. A HDMI port can be optioned in too, and a backlit keyboard is also available as an option. Per-charge battery life is reported to be 10 hours for the promise of all-day working.
The Chromebook Spin 514 will be available from the third quarter for a starting price of US$579.99, while an Enterprise edition will come in at $899.99.
Product page: Spin 514