Now that Chromebooks are starting to adopt hybrid designs, it is a pity that the Acer Chromebook 15 adheres to the fundamentals. There's a lot to enjoy here, however a convertible design or stylus support and also a little more power might have left this king of the Chromebook hill.

However, the Acer Chromebook 15 is a gorgeous, quiet Chromebook using a gorgeous 1080p display, fanless design and aluminum frame. The 15.6-inch display is the largest on a Chromebook, and it is offered in touch and non-touch versions. And, because it is not a 2-in-1 laptop, such as the Google Pixelbook or the Samsung Chromebook Pro, acquiring a touch display is more of a luxury than a necessity.

Where the Acer actually sets itself above the competition is both cost and battery lifetime. The Samsung and Pixelbook are equally 2-in-1 laptops, together with the Samsung being a hybrid Android/Chrome OS device, but both are significantly more expensive. While they have all-day battery life, they can not even come near the shocking strength of the Acer.

Price and availability

The high-end version of the Acer Chromebook 15, a Best Buy exclusive in the United States, is $399 (£279, about AU$560). Comparing that to the $499 (about £360, AU$630) Samsung along with the $999 (£999, about AU$1,259) Pixelbook, makes it a lot easier to focus on which it offers rather than what it is lacking.

For that money, there are a few definite trade-offs in performance. However, where it drops behind in electricity, the Chromebook 15 makes its worth in its battery and gorgeous, giant HD screen.

This isn't the first Chromebook to feature a 15.6-inch, FHD display, but it looks absolutely delightful nonetheless. If you are only after a lot of display space, then there are more affordable, less effective 15-inch Chromebooks accessible with comparable screens with no touch functionality.

The Samsung Chromebook Pro as well as the Google Pixelbook are more powerful, and the Acer Chromebook 15 is not a 2-in-1 laptop. But they're much more costly, plus they have other trade-offs, particularly in battery lifetime, which makes the Acer Chromebook 15 a good worth laptop.

Design

This is not some chintzy, disposable vinyl Chromebook. This really is a sharp, business-ready machine that occupies a great deal of its design cues from the MacBook along with other high-end business laptops. The gorgeous aluminum casing is milled on the borders, letting them intensify light reflecting off the milled edges. It practically glows with light.

The chiclet-style keyboard is brightly colored and feels excellent. Its keys are reactive, and the 15-inch design allows for excellent spacing between the keys. It is not a full-sized keyboard, but that could have been overly crowded, particularly given the upward-facing speakers on either side of the keys.

The exact same milled-metal influence on the border of the computer follows the border of the trackpad, that's the only portion of the Chromebook 15 that feels off. It lacks the good feeling of the remainder of the computer, feeling loose and clunky. Clicking the trackpad feels mushy and imprecise, and only touching it's disagreeable, moving marginally against the mere weight of a finger resting on it.

At 4.2 lbs (1.95kg), Acer's Chromebook 15 is significantly heavier than either the Samsung or Pixelbook, each of which are only 2.4 lbs. It feels heavy regardless of the. All that screen seems to spread the weight around. It is thin, also, easily slipping into a laptop bag.

Performance

If it comes to energy, the Chromebook 15 is totally adequate. Chrome OS is intentionally lightweight, cloud-based computing designed specifically to permit these type of cheap computers to exist.

The absence of electricity compared to its rivalry never came to play with the Acer, despite multiple tabs open.

At no stage did the Chromebook feel clearly slow or underpowered, but in addition, it lacks the cool stylus features and UHD displays of its rivals.

On paper, with the exclusion of battery lifetime, the Acer drops far behind its competitors, setting up numbers less than half as powerful as both the Pixelbook along with the Samsung.

The Kraken evaluation takes close to 3 times provided that the Acer as it will on the Pixelbook, but the tradeoff is the Acer's battery life is completely absurd.

Battery life

In reality, it's so absurd that we really had to run the battery test double with this laptop, because it became apparent our first effort started too late in the day. Together with the screen and quantity set to 50%, and also a local backup of Guardians of the Galaxy running loop, the Acer refused to die.

The next battery evaluation effort started at 6:47 am, with all the Acer eventually giving up the ghost at 11:33 pm -- that's astounding. The maker claims 12 hours of battery life, and it is uncommon to see real numbers come near producer claims, much less surpass them from such a huge margin.

The trade-off between electricity and durability is well worth it, particularly as soon as the battery lifetime is indeed incredible. The Acer doesn't have fans to empty the battery also, with less rocky hardware compared to either the Samsung or even Pixelbook, and it never felt hot.

General assessment

Chromebooks are a terrific way to get things done online at a reasonable price. To that end, the Acer Chromebook 15 is more of an attractive instrument than anything else, a way to get the work done and look good doing this.

Additionally, it benefits massively in the sharp, vibrant 15.6-inch touch display. Films and online video look good with this screen, and text is crisp and clean. Employing the Acer to operate online is a cure, with eye pressure reduced by the ample screen and its own excellent text producing abilities.

The toughest factor in creating a judgement call about the Acer Chromebook 15 is because of its comparatively low power contrary to its battery life -- it is simply incredible. Working on the train or watching films without fear of a dead battery is enormous, and using this a gigantic reservoir of electrons from which to draw, the battery more than makes up for almost any sluggishness it may have running a dozen or more tabs.

Finally, the Acer Chromebook 15 can not compete against the Samsung and Pixelbook in terms of electricity and functionality. However, its cost, coupled with a sharp display, handsome outside and totally jaw-dropping battery, compensate for its own shortcomings.