I’m In Love: Acer R13 Chromebook

My new Chromebook is the Acer R13. It is a touchscreen convertible, which means it flips around into a tablet and can also run Android apps. I have owned many Chromebooks, including the Acer R11, and hands down this is the nicest Chromebook, and possibly computer, I have ever used. Note R11 is an 11 inch Chromebook and the R13 is a 13 inch, but the differences do not stop there.

Touchpad

My Chromebook litmus test is the touchpad (mouse). I won’t name names, but a previous Chromebook I had drove me bonkers to the point of almost being unusable due to the touchpad. The Acer R11 had a fantastic touchpad which contributed to it being my favorite Chromebook before I got the R13.

USB C

The R13 uses USB C as the charging port. I love this because it is easy to insert and does not have a direction. My phone also takes a USB C charger, however, the Acer power cord should not be used to charge the phone (and vice versa). The amperage for the laptop is much higher than for the phone.

Battery Life

I used the R13 all day as my primary device, it got down to 72%. 12 hours battery life is the claim on the sticker.

Screen

Seriously I am blown away by the quality of the screen. The resolution is amazing.

Touchscreen

The touchscreen on my R13 is like butter. As always, I had multiple tabs open in Chrome. I used my finger to grab one tab, slide it to the right and had it snap into place. So smooth; it’s incredible.

Convertible

The touchscreen flips around into tablet “pad” mode. I was surprised how much I enjoy using my Chromebook in “pad” mode. The hinge allows you to display it in any angle. Flip over to create a display or prop up into a tent. The hinge is the entire middle bar of the Chromebook; well built. The screen rotation increments any way you wish. Lovely.

Android Apps

Like the R11, the R13 runs Android apps. This gives you the best of both worlds. You can run mobile apps on your R13 Chromebook as well as having a full functioning Chromebook. This means you can run pocket edition Minecraft on this Chromebook! Note: this functionality will be released later this year.

Lightweight

The Acer R13 is lighter than my Macbook Air. I carried the laptop around with me all day at a conference, I never once felt like I wanted to set it down.

Complaints

Uhhh, legitimately having a hard time finding anything to complain about. This is one beautiful computer.