Acer has unveiled its latest Chromebook, the Spin 514, which sees the company drop their usual chip provider Intel in favour of rival AMD for the first time.
The Chromebook Spin 514 is Acer’s first offering to come with AMD Ryzen 3000 C-Series Mobile Processors as well as AMD Radeon graphics.
Apart from new processors, the new Chromebook features a narrow-bezel 14-inch Full HD Corning Gorilla Glass touch display, newly-designed keys for improved typing, Google Assistant, and up to 10 hours of battery life. The device weighs 1.55 kg and comes with up to 16 GB DDR4 DRAM and up to 256 GB storage.
The Spin 514 is also offered in Acer’s Enterprise version which comes with comprehensive security features allowing IT administrators to easily control updates, configure apps, and update policies. Featuring Chrome’s zero-touch enrollment, the device can be drop-shipped to users and automatically enrolled into an enterprise's network as soon as it’s connected to the internet.
Acer’s IT Products Business general manager James Lin said that “the pairing of AMD Ryzen Mobile Processors with a durable design makes the new Acer Chromebook Spin 514 an excellent choice for users that need to get work done at home”.
“Users will be blown away by the new level of responsiveness and performance provided by the Acer Chromebook Spin 514 with AMD Ryzen Mobile Processors. Plus, the Ryzen 7 3700C Processor offers the best graphics available in an AMD-powered Chromebook, so our customers can take advantage of the growing range of apps and extensions to tackle even more challenging projects,” he added.
AMD has experienced phenomenal success since Dr Lisa Su took over as CEO from Rory Read in 2014. At the time, the company’s stock price hovered at around $3 per share, while today, it surpassed $95 per share – the highest it’s ever been.
However, despite its move to AMD, a company spokesperson confirmed to IT Pro that Acer “will continue to use Intel processors” across its range of products.
The Acer Chromebook Spin 514 is expected to become available in North America next month starting at $479.9, and in EMEA in March 2021, starting at EUR529 and £499. The Spin 514’s Enterprise version (CP514-1WH) will launch in March 2021, its prices starting at $749.99, EUR 799 and £599.
