Key points of ZDNET
- The Acer Chromebook Plus 516 GE Available now starting at $649.
- Its bright, high-refresh-rate display works well with its solid processor, making it fast, responsive, and optimized for cloud gaming.
- Despite being a gaming Chromebook, the keyboard isn’t great and its overall design holds it down for its price.
After a relatively quiet year for Chromebooks, Google has announced the release of six new products Chromebook Plus devices and all eyes are on new models from Acer, HP and Asus. I was so lucky to get my hands on it Acer Chromebook Plus 516 GEan enhanced refresh of the previous cloud gaming model and one of two Chromebook Plus laptops that Acer has released.
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Chromebook Plus refers to devices that are almost identical to “regular” Chromebooks (light, flexible, run on ChromeOS, and designed for the cloud) but with more powerful hardware and leverage Google’s Gemini for a wide range of AI functions.
AI functionality in the new Chromebook Plus devices ranges from flashy features like generalized AI wallpapers to photo editing tools in the Google Photos app and Google Chrome Help Me Write application. More notable, however, is that they come with Gemini on every device right out of the box.
However, it’s the hardware that’s impressive. In fact, the Acer Chromebook Plus 516 GE is equipped with Intel Core Ultra 5 (or Ultra 7), a powerful processor commonly found in much more expensive laptops. This, along with a sharp-looking 16-inch WQXGA display with a 120Hz refresh rate, RBG keyboard, and good speakers, makes this device look more like a solid gaming laptop than a Chromebook.
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Acer’s Chromebook Plus 516 GE is designed for cloud gaming, not for playing games from its local drive. It can come with up to 2TB of PCIe NVMe SSD storage, but starts at 256GB with 8GB of RAM. That’s not much, but it’s fine for a device designed to operate almost entirely out of the cloud.
Accordingly, the laptop has a 2.5G Gigabit Ethernet LAN port along with Wi-Fi 6E for multiple connectivity options. Other ports on this device include an HDMI port, one USB-A port, two USB-C ports, a 3.5mm headphone jack, and a Kensington lock slot. It charges via USB-C.
During testing of the 516 GE, I fired up GeForce NOW, one of the largest hubs for cloud gaming and has launched a number of different titles. Performance is quite good across the board. After connecting to my Steam account, I ran Diablo IV and Manor Lords among other things. Everything is up and running within seconds with impressive performance.
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That was actually one of the first things I noticed. The device’s boot time is fast and app launching is just as quick. Switching between apps is also responsive. Even when I launch the game, Chrome stays open with several tabs, the YouTube app running in the background, and several other apps running, ChromeOS navigation feels light and responsive, with little lag. than I expected.
I wouldn’t say this is the best gaming laptop I’ve ever used, but for what it’s designed for, its performance is impressive, and cloud gamers will absolutely appreciate it. Its high price great feeling.
The upgraded hardware in the new Chromebook Plus line allows the devices to perform multitasking and productivity in a way that, let’s face it, is a bit of a hit on previous models. Google advertises nearly double the processing power, double the memory, and double the storage on the Plus models, allowing you to run industry-standard creator apps like Adobe Photoshop or Lumafusion.
With the integration of AI, Google says all of these functions will be further improved. Having access to Gemini on desktop essentially decouples Google search from the browser, while AI optimizations deliver improvements to device battery life. In testing the Acer Chromebook Plus 516 GE, I found battery life to be really solid. Battery usage drops to a trickle when not in use, and even with heavy, continuous use, the battery can still last up to 10 hours.
Also: Chrome now has a new AI writing tool to help you write almost anything online
In terms of the laptop’s appearance, the display is definitely the best part. The 16-inch matte display is quite bright and has a 100% sRGB color gamut. If you’ve read any of my previous reviews, you’ll have noticed that I can’t stand matte screens, and this one doesn’t disappoint. Plus, even though there’s no dedicated graphics card, images still look sharp and smooth.
The rest of the laptop is quite unrecognizable. The keyboard is made of black plastic with white edges that simulate backlighting, but in my opinion doesn’t do much to portray a sleek design. The glossy black finish on the body is a fingerprint magnet, and the plastic edges around the display are what you’d expect from a laptop at this price.
Normally, I would say the lack of a full-size keyboard on a 16-inch laptop would hinder that, but in this case the extra space spans the Ctrl, Shift, and Alt keys, keys commonly used in gaming. While this is a nice touch, the overall keyboard is still quite “mushy” and lacks the elasticity of a proper gaming keyboard.
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The W, A, S and D keys are highlighted in white to stand out, but unfortunately there isn’t any tactile distinction. Additionally, the arrow keys are small, a bit confusing, and the lack of labels on the top row of keys (which serve as function keys) isn’t convenient for gamers who use them as key combinations.
ZDNET Buying Tips
If you’re a gamer who primarily streams in the cloud and are looking for a portable, capable device, then Acer Chromebook Plus 516 GE is a great choice, especially for the price. It doesn’t have a high-end video card or a lot of RAM, but the monitor’s fast refresh rate and powerful processor make it well-suited for streaming games and multimedia.
While it’s near the top of the gaming Chromebook lineup, the Acer Chromebook Plus 516 GE will also be a solid device to work with, with strong battery life and a good processor.
To entice people to join the Chromebook Plus bandwagon, Google is offering it Google One AI Premium Plan Free for one year for new users. Not only does this give you upgraded storage, but it also lets you use Gemini Advanced, including in Docs and Gmail.
