Acer Chromebook Plus 515 Review — Sometimes Simpler is Better

The Chromebook market has grown in popularity with Google’s laptop OS gaining more fans in recent years, and the tech company’s collaboration with hardware manufacturers has produced some standout options for consumers. Acer’s partnership with Google to build new Chromebooks has been a fruitful one, and the latest entry, the Chromebook Plus 515, is arguably the most well-designed, fairly priced, and adaptable one to date.

Why a Chromebook?

First and foremost, why would you choose a Chromebook? Chromebooks powered by Google’s ChromeOS are (usually) simpler, cheaper, more optimised devices. Compared to Windows-based laptops, Chromebooks tend to be a more affordable option if you’re looking for something to do web-based work, web browsing, streaming, or other more ‘low-stress’ tasks for a PC.

So, what about the Chromebook Plus 515?

Acer was one of the first brands collaborating with Google to make Chromebooks, and while they still haven’t taken over the market, they’re becoming more widely used.

The Acer Chromebook Plus 515 features a large 15.6-inch Full HD display (1920×1080), a 13th Gen Intel i5 processor (there is an i3 and i7 model too), 8GBs of RAM, a 256GB SSD, WiFi 6E as well as Bluetooth 5.1, along with USB C and HDMI ports.

From a hardware perspective, you basically get everything you need from a basic notebook laptop, but where some of the more portable and streamlined notebooks suffer from lacking HDMI ports and the little extras, the Chromebook Plus 515 features those elements like a full-blown laptop, which, it actually is. So, while it’s a more ‘simplified’ version of a laptop, it still has the physical ‘bells and whistles’ (a large HD IPS screen, necessary ports, etc.) without compromise.

And this extends to the design of the laptop itself too, as the 515 meets MIL-STD 810H durability standards, along with an array of usability features such as a 1080p webcam with Temporal Noise Reduction and built-in AI-powered tools for optimum video conferencing. It doesn’t do anything fancy with the shell and casing, and you get a pretty run-of-the-mill build, a decent trackpad, and a more-than-suitable keyboard — and this is all intentional with its emphasis on being simple yet effective approach.

In practical use, the Chromebook Plus 515 is an interesting beast to wrangle, but once you get the hang of it, it becomes second-nature. The Chromebook OS user interface is a little different to what you’d find on a Windows or Macbook laptop, but if you’ve ever used an Android device, it’ll be familiar. It’s got a lot of the same UI and imagery for its apps, toolbar, and settings, and once you get the hang of where things are located, it’s a streamlined experience.

The built-in apps use the browser versions to run (hence taking the strain off of the hardware itself and why the price is achieved), so the speed of your productivity using the 515 will essentially come down to the speed of your internet. Most things will run in the Chrome browser or using the app interface, so you may have to wait a moment or two when the respective applications are launching, but pretty much feels like an interrupted experience with a decent internet connection.

And if you’re concerned about using the device in a non-internet setting, the Chromebook’s File Sync feature ensures that Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides are accessible via the Chromebook Plus File Manager app. So while it is designed to work online, you can still be productive when you find yourself offline.

At the end of the day, if you’re someone who works exclusively on email, spreadsheets, and online, and uses Google Docs and the like, it would be a good option to at least consider a Chromebook when shopping for a new laptop. While different, the Chromebook Plus 515 does highlight that sometimes less is more, and having a streamlined device can actually help boost productivity, save you money, and allow you to experience something new with its own pros.

The Acer Chromebook Plus 515 is priced at R10,999 (RRP)