Pros
- 💾 2-in-1compact design
- 💾 Touchscreen display
- 💾 Chrome OS with no more Windows updates
- 💾 Exceptional battery life
- 💾 Solid build quality
Cons
- 💾 HD resolution instead of Full HD
- 💾 Stylus Pen not included
Designed to handle everyday assignments and schoolwork, Acer's Spin 311 lineup features the best of both worlds – extremely lightweight and versatile laptops with enough power and battery life to run most light tasks without as much as breaking a sweat.
Sure, these aren't top-of-the-line notebooks but they're not pretending to be as much either. These are Chromebooks that go beyond the extremely affordable entry-level Chromebooks and dive into the mid-range, offering users a budget laptop that will make their Windows days seem like long-gone nightmares.
With that in mind today we tackle the review of the Acer Spin 311 2H. One of the most popular models within the Spin 311 lineup. A model that has managed to conquer Amazon thanks to its low-consumption MedaTek CPU, intuitive and adjustable touchscreen, long-lasting battery life, and much more.
But is it the right Chromebook for you? The fact that it managed to become one of the most highly-praised models doesn't necessarily mean it will fit your needs. Today we're setting out to explore everything there is to know about this Chromebook to help you figure out if this is the notebook you've been hoping for.
Table of contents
Tech Specs of the Acer Spin 311 3H
| Tech Specs | |
| Brand/Model | Acer Spin 311 2H |
| Dimensions | 11.42 x 8.11 x 0.74 inches |
| Weight | 2 pounds |
| Display | IPS | Touchscreen | 11.6'' |
| Resolution | HD (1366 x 768 pixels) |
| Processor | Octa-Core MediaTek MT8183 |
| RAM | 4 GB (LPDDR4x) |
| Integrated GPU | ARM Mali-G72 MP3 |
| Storage | 64 GB (eMMC) |
| Battery Life | 36 Wh | 2-cell | Li-ion |
| Operating System | Chrome OS |
| Connectivity | Wi-Fi 5 Bluetooth 4.2 1x USB-A 2.0 1x USB-C 3.2 | DisplayPort | Power Delivery 1x 3.5 mm combo audio jack HD webcam |
Design, Display, and Keyboard
Although it's made entirely out of plastic, the Acer Spin 311 2H wears an elegant silver chassis that feels very lightweight in the hands. Specifically, weighing a measly 2 pounds and boasting a profile of 0.74 inches, you'll be able to take it anywhere without making a fuss.
As you would expect on a convertible, the Spin 311 2H packs a sturdy 360° hinge which means that you can flip the screen around to use it as a tablet. As you'd expect on a lightweight ultrabook, there's no fan within this laptop, making it that much quieter to use.
Furthermore, the 11.6-inch IPS screen delivers an acceptable quality picture with decent pixel density as it's limited to an HD resolution (1366 x 768 pixels).
The bezels are thick - unfortunately -, the color accuracy is acceptable, and the viewing angles are good enough to stream movies without issues.
Bear in mind that this is an extremely affordable laptop and that's going to mean that you get a budget display. Don't expect a full sRGB spectrum nor a 400 nits brightness on a display of this price point because you'll be setting yourself up for disappointment.
As stated by the users who already bought it, its touchscreen feature is very handy, so this will be helpful not only for productivity tasks but for web browsing and multimedia entertainment. However, it's important to highlight that the Stylus Pen is sold separately.
If you prefer a convertible with better screen resolution, you can check out the ASUS VivoBook Flip 14 TM420UA-DS52T as it comes with a stunning 14-inch Full HD with touchscreen capabilities as well. However, it's a Windows 11 convertible, not a Chromebook like the model at hand.
Coming back to the Acer Spin, the keyboard is alright but again, it's nothing to write home about.
The Acer Spin 311 2H is powered by the low-consumption CPU, MediaTek MT8183 with eight cores and eight threads, running at a clock speed of 2.00 GHz. It also comes with a non-upgradeable 4 GB RAM whose LPDDR4x offers reduced power consumption when compared to DDR4 memories.
On paper, this device is intended for non-demanding workloads such as word processing, checking e-mail and social media, making video calls, web surfing, streaming movies, listening to music, and working on a few tabs at a time.
However, don't expect this convertible to be able to handle dozens of tabs and programs working simultaneously. It's more of a consumption device than a productivity machine in that regard.
Moreover, as you'd expect, it packs an integrated GPU (ARM Mali-G72 MP3). This is not a GPU aimed at gaming, It's a GPU that will get the job done in the same way that your phone's GPU gets the job done.
Unlike the recently covered Asus VivoBook Flip 14 TP470EA-AS34T, which packed a fast solid-state drive (SSD), this model comes with a 64 GB eMMC flash memory limited to storing small files, apps, and multimedia content.
Generally, at this point in the review, we would point to the possibility of using the SD card slot as a permanent external storage unit of sorts. However, in this case, there's no SD card slot so that's not really an option.
The battery life of the Acer Spin 311 2H is no doubt one of its most appealing features as it boasts a 36 Wh Li-Ion battery which provides up to 16 hours of light productivity tasks such as web browsing and text editing, as well as nearly 13 hours of local video playback.
This is substantially more than we're used to, even for a tablet. Apple's iPad, for example, delivers a 10-hour battery life with mixed usage and roughly 6-7 hours through WiFi video playback - in my experience -. The fact that Acer's Chromebook almost doubles that number is nothing to scoff at and means being able to effectively take the laptop everywhere you go without thinking twice about the battery life.
Connectivity and Extras
Connectivity-wise, the Acer Spin 311 2H's port selection is restricted to a single USB-A 2.0 input, a USB-C 3.2 port with DisplayPort, and Power Delivery support to connect an external monitor and charge the battery as well.
Moreover, it has a headphone 3.5 mm audio jack, and a decent HD webcam for video calling. As for wireless connections, it comes with Bluetooth 4.2 and Wi-Fi 5 technologies.
This is considerably less than what we are used to. However, this is a lightweight convertible, an element that inevitably changes the paradigm when it comes to what is an acceptable connectivity suite.
Ultimately, to make for a compact, lightweight design, Acer had to make some sacrifices. That said, it wouldn't have killed them to include a microSD card reader.
Verdict: Should you buy it?
This is a hard question to answer and as always the answer will be: it depends. If you're a student, a blogger, a lightweight user, or a senior citizen then chances are this is a great option for you.
Its simplified OS, touchscreen capabilities, extensive battery life, and 2-in-1 form factor mean that this tablet is well suited to meet the needs of all these collectives without breaking a sweat.
However, if you're looking for a device to store your multimedia collection, a device to work on multiples programs at a time, and one that delivers a crisp high-quality picture in the process then you should definitely consider more upscale alternatives such as the high-end Asus Chromebook Flip CX5 CX5400FMA-DN388T-S we covered yesterday.
If this isn't your case, your budget is tight and you really want the Chromebook experience then the Acer Spin 311 2H reviewed today is easily one of the best sub-300 dollar Chromebooks you can get at this time.