A small, convertible Chromebook with a sharp display
Verdict
The Acer Chromebook Spin 312 is small enough for easy portability, if a little heavier than you might expect, which makes tablet use somewhat uncomfortable. Build quality is admirable, though, and its touchscreen capabilities are pretty good. The display is sharp and enjoyable for viewing content, while battery life is impressive, too. Its performance is far from class-leading, but if you’re after a small and well-made device for light work and entertainment, the Chromebook Spin 312 isn’t a bad choice.
Pros
- +Small size
- +Sharp display
- +Pleasant keyboard and touchscreen
Cons
- -More heft than you might expect
- -Can’t handle multitasking that well
- -Imprecise touchpad
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Acer Chromebook Spin 312: Two-minute review
TheAcerChromebook Spin 312 is the smallest device in the brand’s line of 2-in-1 Chromebooks, measuring just 12.2 inches. Despite this, it’s not the sleekest Chromebook around, with its sharp angles and juts spoiling the otherwise elegant design, which is aided by the quality of the materials used in its construction.
It’s quite thick and heavy for its size, so it’s perhaps not ideal for using as a tablet, despite its convertible nature. But thanks to that solid hinge for the lid, it can be propped upside down and used exclusively in touchscreen mode with ease.
It’s not just the hinge mechanism that’s well made – all aspects of the Spin 312 feel as solid and sturdy as any of thebest Chromebooks, including the keys and trackpad, which feel premium to the touch as well.
Port selection is reasonable, too, although I would’ve liked to have seen more than just one USB-C port, and the lack of an SD card slot might be detrimental for some. Thankfully, there are two USB-A ports to improve connectivity options, and the HDMI port and audio jack are further additions I welcome.
The review unit I had came equipped with anIntelN100 processor and 4GB of RAM. Despite these underwhelming specs, the Chromebook Spin 312 performed admirably, handling many typical Chromebook workloads quite well. However, slowdowns can occur when pushed a little too far.
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Such cases include gaming, where the Chromebook Spin 312 struggled to run even fairly modest mobile games on high settings during my testing. However, lowering these did improve matters to the point where games such asAsphalt Legends Unitewere playable to an enjoyable extent.
More pleasing on the performance front is the display. The resolution looks especially sharp on the 12-inch screen, although colors aren’t rendered as vibrantly as they are on some rival Chromebooks. The bezels also encroach quite considerably on the allotted real estate for the screen, and the display can be quite reflective under certain conditions. In most cases, though, it makes for a pleasant viewing experience.
The touch inputs are also quite responsive, tracking well with swipes to make drawing and handwriting a realistic option, although it can be a little grabby at times. You’ll also need to provide your own stylus if you want to make the most of your creative time with the Chromebook Spin 312.
I found the touchpad disappointingly inaccurate by comparison, as it failed to track with what I was expecting from my movements, leading to a lagging and stuttering, which in turn made it imprecise.
Thankfully, I had a better time typing on the Chromebook Spin 312, thanks to the generous spacing of the keys and their satisfying dampening. Their lack of indentations and grip, however, can lead to slipping and mispresses on occasion.
Its battery life is impressive, lasting just over 11 hours in our test. This places it near the higher end of the Chromebook spectrum – theLenovoIdeaPad Flex 3 Chromebook performs significantly better on this front, although admittedly this is somewhat of an outlier.
The Chromebook Spin 312 sits somewhere in the middle of the convertible Chromebook market. Some rivals are better performers, while others have a sleeker design. But, overall, if you won’t be demanding too much from it in terms of performance, the Chromebook Spin 312 is a good 2-in-1 Chromebook for those who prize portability and a sharp image.
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Acer Chromebook Spin 312 review: Price and availability
- Starts from £329.99 (about $450 / AU$690)
- Various CPU, RAM, and storage options
- Middle of the market
The Chromebook Spin 312 starts from £329.99 (about $450 / AU$690). It can be configured with 64GB or 128GB of storage, 4GB or 8GB of RAM, and an Intel Core i3 or Intel N100 CPU.
This places the Chromebook Spin 312 somewhere in the middle of the market considering its spec. It’s considerably cheaper than theSamsung Galaxy Chromebook 2 360, which it bests in terms of performance, although its display isn’t quite as sharp or as vibrant, and lacks its premium design (although it isn’t too far behind in this regard).
However, the Chromebook Spin 312 is more expensive than theLenovo IdeaPad Flex 3 Chromebook, which is one of thebest budget Chromebooksin our view. This lacks the compactness of the Chromebook Spin 312 and the performance isn’t exactly impressive either, but it makes up for these deficiencies with its great build quality and enduring battery life.
- Value: 3.5 / 5
Acer Chromebook Spin 312 review: Specs
These are the specs of the particular Acer Chromebook Spin 312 I reviewed:
| Price | Starting from £329.99 (about $450 / AU$690) |
| CPU | Intel N100 (4 threads, 3.4GHz) |
| Graphics | Integrated, Intel UHD Graphics |
| RAM | 4GB LPDDR5 |
| Screen | 12.2-inch WUXGA (1920 x 1200) IPS LCD, 16:10, 60Hz touchscreen |
| Storage | 64GB eMMC |
| Ports | 2x USB-A, 1x USB-C, 1x HDMI, 1x 3.5mm audio |
| Wireless | Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.2 |
| Camera | 1280 x 720 |
| Weight | 2.84lbs (1.29kg) |
| Dimensions | 11.4 x 8.1 x 0.8in (29 x 20.5 x 2cm) |
Acer Chromebook Spin 312 review: Design
- Bulky for the size
- Solid lid hinge
- Only one USB-C port and no SD card slot
The Chromebook Spin 312 takes a somewhat utilitarian approach to design, with its sharp angles, large vents and lid hinges appearing quite conspicuous. However, it’s still a compact device, and has enough flat sides to help impart some sleekness.
This is further aided by the steely grey colorway and look of the chassis materials, which have a subtle shine to them. What’s more, the quality of these materials seems high, feeling solid and fairly premium to the touch. This extends to the lightly textured keycaps and silky smooth touchpad.
The hinge mechanism is also reassuringly solid. There’s no wobble at any angle, yet it’s smooth and easy to open and adjust. This stability also helps when tenting the Chromebook Spin 312 to use it in touchscreen mode.
However, it can’t compete with the best tablets for usability. Despite its small 12-inch size, the Chromebook Spin 312 is a relatively thick and heavy slab, which can make it awkward to hold in the hand when folded back all the way.
The screen has a large bezel around it, which somewhat compromises the already limited real estate for the display. On a more positive note, it’s made from Corning Gorilla Glass, so it should prove resistant to wear and tear when taking the Chromebook Spin 312 on your travels.
Port selection is reasonable for a Chromebook this small, although it’s a minor shame there’s only one USB-C port and SD card slot, as you’ll find two on many modern Chromebooks. Still, you do at least get two USB-A ports, and I also welcome the inclusion of a dedicated HDMI port and a 3.5mm audio jack.
- Design score: 4 / 5
Acer Chromebook Spin 312 review: Performance
- Capable of light work
- Sharp but reflective display
- Struggles with intensive tasks
Benchmarks
These are the results of our benchmarking tests for the Acer Chromebook Spin 312:
TechRadar Battery Life Test:11 hours and 12 minutes
Jetstream2 Benchmark:179.327
Kraken Benchmark:1309.3ms
Speedometer 3.0:9.52 (±0.52)
The Chromebook Spin 312 offers capable enough performance for everyday tasks, meeting the demands typically placed upon Chromebooks. Apps load fast and light productivity and general browsing are handled well. Despite its somewhat limited 4GB of RAM, it’s even capable of some degree of multitasking, coping well with multiple browser tabs open, for instance.
However, it can come a little unstuck when those tabs are running more complex activities, or when multiple apps are in play. The Chromebook Spin 312 can also generate a fair amount of heat underneath, which is bothersome when on your lap.
Gaming performance isn’t particularly impressive, either. It can handle some mobile titles, but you’ll likely have to play with modest graphics settings. When I playedAsphalt Legends Unite, for instance, high settings caused stutters and considerable slow downs, rendering the game almost unplayable. However, it ran much better on lower settings, if not quite as smooth or as fast as some rivals can manage – and certainly the Chromebook Spin 312 isn’t a match for thebest gaming laptopsin this regard.
When it comes to video playback, the Chromebook Spin 312 can handle streaming content in4K, although it’s not always the smoothest experience. The WUXGA display at least provides a sharp image: the 1920 x 1200 resolution might sound a little low compared to other laptops and some Chromebooks on the market today, but due to its small screen size, it looks sharper than you might imagine.
It’s also quite bright when displaying lighter shades. However, while colors are rendered well enough, they don’t appear quite as vibrant as those on the displays equipped in thebest laptopsorbest MacBooks, looking slightly washed-out by comparison.
The screen is also quite reflective, which, combined with its somewhat lackluster backlighting, makes darker scenes hard to view at times. However, the effect isn’t too troublesome, and compared to many other Chromebooks, the Chromebook Spin 312 is still great for viewing content.
The touchscreen capability is impressive, too. It responds well to all sorts of swipes and gestures, making for smooth doodles and handwriting, even if it’s a little grabby at times. It’s also a shame no stylus is included to unleash the full potential of its functionality.
Unfortunately, the touchpad is less responsive, and I experienced issues with its tracking: many times it felt as if it was either dragging or jumping ahead, lacking the smoothness I was expecting. As a result, I struggled to use it accurately, which can really hamper productivity.
By contrast, typing with the Chromebook Spin 312 is a largely pleasant experience. The keys are satisfyingly damped and are spread surprisingly wide for a Chromebook this small. The keycaps also feel nice under the finger tips thanks to their texture, although they lack grip, which is made worse by the lack of indentation as well. This made the keyboard feel less secure in use, but overall I still found it amenable for typing quickly on.
- Performance score: 3.5 / 5
Acer Chromebook Spin 312 review: Battery life
The battery life of the Chromebook Spin 312 is quite impressive. During our tests, where we ran a movie on a continuous loop, it managed to last over 11 hours. This makes it much better than theSamsungGalaxy Chromebook 2 360, which could only manage six and a half hours. It also beats theAcer Chromebook Spin 314 (2023), one of the best Chromebooks around in our view, which managed over 10 hours.
However, it can’t outlive the Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 3 Chromebook, which, when we tested it, endured for a remarkable 16 hours and 20 minutes. However, this is rather exceptional in the Chromebook world, and the Chromebook Spin 312 can still lay claim to having one of the best battery lives in the market.
- Battery life: 4.5 / 5Buy it if…You want something compact
The 12-inch size makes the Chromebook Spin 312 easy to travel with, and yet it doesn’t feel compromised when typing or getting work done.You want a 2-in-1 device
The 360-degree rotating touchscreen makes the Chromebook Spin 312 versatile, although it’s perhaps not best suited for full-on tablet-style use.Don’t buy it if…You want the fastest Chromebook
Although it’s surprisingly capable, those with more demanding workloads should seek more powerful models.You want the sveltest device
Despite its small size, the Chromebook Spin 312 is fairly bulky and weighty, which impairs its tablet-style credentials.