Acer Chromebook Plus Spin 514 gets NPU: hands on and first impressions

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Acer is developing one of the premium convertible Chromebooks with a lot of AI capabilities. Announced Wednesday at IFA 2025 in Berlin, the Acer Chromebook Plus spin 514 (CP514-5hh

The spin 514 is the only Chromebook Plus with an NPU besides the Lenovo Chromebook Plus 14, which has the same processor. Like its counterpart, the spin 514 comes with a free Google Ai Pro trial that unlocks 12 months of access to advanced AI tools like VEO 3 immediately. It’s an ai smorgasbord.

“With powerful performance, AI tools, and premium and premium construction, the acer chromebook plus spin 514 will improve anywhere,” the General Manager of the notebook at Acer, said the press release.

A single configuration of the spin 514 is now available on the ACER website for $799.99; Some will hit the best buy shelves later this month for $100 less, and I was one of the first people to try it before its launch. I only spent an afternoon with it, so I haven’t given it an official rating yet (according to our laptop testing method), but my first impressions of it are healthy. Splashy AI features aside, it’s a great budget 2-in-1-1.

Acer Chromebook Plus spin 514 specs and availability

Acer has shipped the spin 514 (Model Number Cp514-1hn-k6dy) with the following specs:

• Mediatek company Ultra 910 processor

• ARM LAITISIS-G925 MC11 Integrated Graphics

• 12GB RAM

• 256GB UFS storage

• 14-inch 1920 x 1200 IPS IPS TOUCKSEN TEST with 120hz refresh rate, 16:10 Aspect Ratio, and stylus support (sold separately)

• 1080P for web (see below)

• WiFi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4

• A non-retractable keyboard

• Two USB-C ports and a headphone jack on the left; two USB ports – ports and a Kensington Lock slot on the right side

While my review unit was equipped with a 1080p webcam, the last version you can buy right away and the best buy will have a better 5MP webcam. It retails for $699.99 and is set to launch sometime later this month.

Acer began selling another configuration on its website for $799.99 on September 4 (Model Number Cp514-5hh-K4ZE). It comes with 16GB of RAM, a Fingerprint reader, and a backlit keyboard, and its display has a high resolution of 2.8k but a low rate of 60hz.

Acer Chromebook Plus Spin 514 Design

Credit: Haley Henschel / Mashable

The 2025 spin 514 measures 1214 at 12.32 x 9.13 x 0.61 inches and weighs three pounds, making it slightly bulkier than the M4 MacBook. (Apple’s 13-inch model weighs 2.7 pounds and measures 0.44 inches

The spin 514 is on the price side of a Chromebook, but its design feels completely premium, and I was impressed with its build quality. There is zero Give its cover when I press down on its center. Its hinge falls a little when I adjust or pull its screen, but it holds up very well and doesn’t wobble when I put the display around in tent mode. The spin cover 514 can rotate a full 360 degrees to lay down in tablet mode, too.

Credit: Haley Henschel / Mashable

Spin 514 is mil-grade-std810h for STD810H, which means it has been tested for extreme durability. Acer says it can survive four-foot drops and open/open cycles, to which I say: Let’s get YouTube technology – this time.

Aesthetically, the spin 514 is an attractive laptop that is just plain enough for my taste. It has an aluminum exterior with bright metal hardware on its hinges and the outer edges of its top cover, which features the “acer” logo in the middle of the cover. Platinum silver ends up picking up fingers easily, though.

The keyboard cover of the spin 514 is made of matte plastic, but it doesn’t feel cheap and matches all the chassis with a sharp look. I had to hold it until my eyeballs realized it was something different.

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Credit: Haley Henschel / Mashable

The high spin 514 bezels on the top and bottom are a little off, but the touchscreen itself is nice and responsive. My review unit didn’t come with a stylus, so I did all my flipping and tapping with a finger. The big one comes down to the fact that it has a refresh rate of 120hz, which makes a A fork Compare and contrast several fast-moving scenes in YouTube videos that look smooth. .

The text and small details that cannot be seen are blurry on my spin 514, so without trying other configurations, I did not spend an additional $ 100 for a high-refreshing display. It is possible Consider upgrading if you really need four gigs of RAM, but 12GB is already a Chromebook (and so is $700).

The screen on my spin 514 is rated at 300 nits of brightness, so I used to use it all the way up to max. The display of the pricier model offers 340 Nits, which is a negligible difference.

Keyboard and TouchPad

Credit: Haley Henschel / Mashable

The Spin 514’s keyboard is fine, for the most part – snappy, comfortable, and well-retracted – but it’s well-reduced by a few points of Space and reduces the background and fingerprint reader. Also, both are available in PRISIER configuration.

A special note, there are dedicated keys for the Launcher (First search menu) and the “Quick Installation” tool. The latter shares space with caps Lock.

The touchpad is made of Acer’s “Oceglass”. Sea-bound plastic is sea-bound, but they feel like glass: soft and smooth like velvet. Acer says that it prevents moisture resistance, so the danger of coffee may not be a cause of panic.

Speakers

Credit: Haley Henschel / Mashable

The spin 514 has speakers that go up and down both sides of its keyboard. They’re small, but they’re not the loudest laptop speakers I’ve tried (and there are some absolute stinkers out there). I’ve been listening to Fleetwood Mac’s 1997 live performance of “silver springs” almost every day for the past few hours for the past few weeks while taking piano lessons; At spin 514, the sound loses some bass and depth but is otherwise clear. The placement of the speakers prevents them from sounding invaded.

Acer Chromebook Plus Spin 514 Performance

The spin 514 has a fan, unlike Lenovo’s chromebook and 14, but I couldn’t get it to open during a quick stress test with 20 Chrome tabs open and two apps running). It was quiet and almost completely cool; The fan vent on the bottom side of the machine is warm.

In the Android version of Primate Labs’ Geekbench 6 CU Benchmark, another of our performance tests for Chromebooks, the spin 514 scored a high of 7,187. That makes it the second-fastest model we tested behind the heftier Acer Chromebook Plus 516 ge, which clocked in at 7,660. It beat eight other models we tested over the past two years, including the $819 HP Chromebook X360 14C (4,318) and the $699 Acer Chromebook Plus Spin 714 (5,223).

Google AI features

Chromebook Plus models support a suite of AI features that you won’t find on standard Chromebooks. The spin 514 NPU adds an extra boost to the mix I briefly tried both.

To test smart groups, I dragged five tabs with the same topic (horse riding around me) and three unrelated tabs into a single Chrome window. When I pressed the F4 key, a bubble appeared in the lower left corner, prompting me to edit a topic called “Chicago Horse Riding Information” in the “Desk”. ” Clicking this button pulled all the horse-related tabs into a separate workspace while keeping the other tabs on my desktop. I tend to be a tab minimalist, but I can see how this will be very helpful for multitaskers who keep a mishmash of websites and windows open at the same time.

Left:
Before and after Smart-grouping my tabs.
Credit: Haley Henschel / Mashable

Right:
Credit: Haley Henschel / Mashable

The gallery app photo editor includes tools that can enlarge and remove photo backgrounds, remove parts of the scene, and create stickers. I played around with them using a photo of a hot dog I took at a Cub game last month, and most of the results were pretty cool.

My first photo of the beautiful chicago dawg.
Credit: Haley Henschel / Mashable

The background image is “enhanced” using AI.
Credit: Haley Henschel / Mashable

The background image has been removed. (Make the “Sticker” tool produce the same effect.)
Credit: Haley Henschel / Mashable

I tried to clear the cucumber this time.
Credit: Haley Henschel / Mashable

Smart Grouding and the gallery app’s photo editor are both still “experimental” (in Beta) and may improve over time.

Battery life

I haven’t run an official battery life test on the spin 514 yet, but the acer is rated at 17 hours of Web browsing per charge. If it stays at that number, that will put it well over the nine hours we expect to clock in Chromebooks.

Who should get the Acer Chromebook Plus Spin 514?

Credit: Haley Henschel / Mashable

Based on my few hours with the spin 514 so far, I think it’s an excellent pick for AI Adometers, but also for anyone looking for a solid 2-in-1 laptop with a premium design and the right amount of power for the price. Its main competitor is obviously the Lenovo Chromebook Plus 14, which offers a bright (non-touch) display, quad speakers with Dolby Atmos, and a backlit keyboard for $649.99, or $50 cheaper. However, it starts with a storage compartment and cannot double as a tablet.

The battery life of the Spin 514 will be a big deciding factor in my final review, so stay tuned.

Update: Nov. 6, 2025, 5:10 PM EDT The Acer Chromebook Plus Spin 514 lasted 18 hours and 11 minutes in our battery life test, making it the longest-lasting Chromebook we’ve tested. A spot on our list of Chromebooks has been secured.

Update: Sep 4, 2025, 1:05 PM EDT Acer Chromebook Plus spin 514 (CP514-5hhn) listings are now live. Acer listed the upgraded model at $749.99, but it’s actually discounted to $799.99 on its website. We have updated this story accordingly.