Acer Announces 8th Generation Chromebook Models

Ron Perillo / 7 years ago

8th Generation Chromebook

Acer is announcing three new 8th generation Chrome OS devices early in the new year. This includes two new Chromebook models and a compact Chromebox. All are running Intel’s highly efficient recent generation Celeron or Pentium processors.

Acer Chromebox CXI3

The new Acer Chromebox CXI3 features a slim profile which vertically stands via an included holder. It can also lay flat if the user wishes it to be or mounted behind a display. In terms of connectivity, it has three USB ports at the rear with two at the front. Plus, a USB-C connector at the rear IO as well. Display output comes via a lone HDMI port and there is also a Gigabit Ethernet port available.

Acer Chromebook 11 C732

The new Chromebook 11 C732 features IP41 dust and water resistance, with MIL-STD 810G compliance against drops up to four feet. It also has a spill-resistant keyboard with a drainage system for liquids. In combination with a 12-hour battery life, it is perfect for students. Inside it runs an Intel Celeron dual-core N3350 or quad-core N3450 Apollo Lake processor, with 16, 32, or 64GB storage options. It even has dual USB-C and dual USB 3.0 ports, as well as a microSD card slot.

How Much Will It Cost?

This model also now comes with 4G LTE connectivity option, along with Bluetooth 4.2 and 2×2 MIMO 802.11ac Wi-Fi. The base model starts at $279, but touch models start at $299 when it launches on March.

Acer Chromebook Spin 11

The Chromebook Spin 11 is a notch higher than the C732 and its a consumer-oriented notebook. It can be configured with either Apollo Lake Celeron N3350 and N3450, or quad-core Pentium N4200. In terms of RAM a 4 or 8GB LPDDR4 option is available. Storage configuration comes in 32 or 64GB eMMC. What makes this notebook standout is its use of Wacom’s Electro-Magnetic resonance technology for the stylus experience. This allows users to use a stylus on the screen like a pen to paper. The screen even flips away and has four configuration modes: tablet, theatre, tent and traditional.