Acer Chromebook R 11 Convertible Laptop

Acer Chromebook R 11 Convertible Laptop

Acer Chromebook R 11 Convertible Laptop

The Chromebook That Bends Over Backwards

Pick up the Chromebook R 11, and open it all the way until it becomes a tablet. The 360 degrees rotation lets you configure it for any situation. This super portable Chromebook has enough power to last all day on a single charge and a fast wireless connection delivers smooth web-based media on its brilliant HD touch display.

Laptop Mode

Maximizes productivity with fully functional keyboard.

Display Mode

Bring the screen closer for enjoying any entertainment content.

Tent Mode

Perfect in a narrow space like on an airplane or viewing a recipe in the kitchen.

Tablet Mode

The best way to browse the internet, play games or share information.

OUR VERDICT

The Acer Chromebook R 11 offers a colorful touch screen and a flexible 2-in-1 design, but other systems last longer on a charge.

FOR
Comfortable keyboard; Colorful display
Fairly good performance with 4GB model

AGAINST
Lid flexes
Lower battery life than other Chromebooks
Noisy webcam photos

Laptops that can convert from clamshell mode to tablet mode, dubbed 2-in-1s, are becoming increasingly popular, even on Google's browser-centric Chrome OS. With its 360-degree hinge and 11.6-inch touch screen, the Acer Chromebook R 11 delivers a competent convertible experience, complete with a colorful display, long battery life and a comfy keyboard. However, Chrome OS isn't designed for touch, and that holds this hybrid back.

Editor's Note (1/13/2016): We've updated this review to reflect a new battery test score which is two hours longer than our original run. Accordingly, we have also increased the R11's score from 3 to 3.5 stars.

Design

The Acer Chromebook R 11 is decked out in a clean, elegant white chassis with a diamond pattern on the top and bottom of the casing. However, the build quality could be better. Acer says the lid is made of aluminum, but it flexed when we pressed on it, pushing air out of the machine. The lid opens to reveal black island-style keys (which look great in contrast with the white chassis), the touchpad and a thick black bezel around its 11.6-inch touch screen. We do like the textured bottom of the notebook, which makes it easy to grip.

A pair of 360-degree hinges let the R 11 flip all the way around and into four different modes: laptop, display (screen facing outward), tent and tablet. Both tent mode and display mode are great for media-consumption activities like streaming Netflix or showing off PowerPoint presentations. Chrome OS switched between these modes seamlessly as I ran through the R 11's different orientations.

At 11.6 x 8.03 x 0.76 inches and 2.7 pounds, the R 11 is a small machine that will fit in your bag and go with you anywhere. Acer's hybrid is a little heavier than the Lenovo 100S Chromebook (2.5 pounds) but lighter than the Dell Chromebook 11 with Core i3 (2.8 pounds). The smaller 10-inch Asus Chromebook Flip weighs 1.96 pounds.

Keyboard and Touchpad

The well-spaced keys on the Chromebook R 11 have a generous 1.7 millimeters of key travel (we like a notebook to have at least 1.5 mm) and require a reasonable 55 grams of force to press down. I was able to type just above my average 100 words per minute using the 10fastfingers.com test on the Chromebook R 11.

The 4.1 x 2.4-inch touchpad offers plenty of room, and the scrolling is smooth and responsive. The touchpad doesn't require much force to click and, in fact, felt a little loose in our testing.

Display

The Chromebook R 11's 1366 x 768 touch-screen display is colorful but could be a bit brighter. It has an average brightness of 224 nits, which is dimmer than all of its closest competitors. The similarly priced 13-inch Toshiba Chromebook is much brighter, at 378 nits.

When I watched the trailer for Star Trek Beyond, the red, yellow and blue Starfleet uniforms really popped on the screen during crowd scenes, though planetary landscapes could have been a little sharper.

The display covers 73.2 percent of the sRGB spectrum (100 percent is excellent) and beats the Asus Chromebook Flip, the Dell Chromebook 11 and the Lenovo 100S Chromebook. Only the Toshiba Chromebook 2 (109.8 percent) scored higher.

MORE: The Best Laptops for Business and Productivity

The R 11's Delta-E score of 0.6 (the closer to zero, the better) far outscored the 100S Chromebook (4.6 percent) and the Acer Aspire Cloudbook (3.9 percent). Viewing angles were clear until about 45 degrees, where colors started to wash out and the screen became dim.

Audio
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Music playback on the Chromebook R 11 was generally good, with clear vocals, mids and highs; the bass was about average for a laptop this size. The R 11 also gets nice and loud; I took it into one of our conference rooms and blasted The Weeknd's "Can't Feel My Face," and when I emerged, the people sitting outside told me they could hear the audio faintly.

The audio becomes muffled in two situations: if it's on your lap or folded into the tablet position. This is because the speakers are placed on the bottom of the notebook and are thus covered when used in those scenarios.

Heat

After 15 minutes of streaming HD video, the R 11 was still cool to the touch. The touchpad was 79 degrees Fahrenheit, the spot between the G and H keys was 82.5 degrees and the bottom of the case was 85 degrees -- all of which are lower than our 95-degree comfort threshold. The hottest spot was actually the display itself, at 88 degrees.

Ports and Webcam

This Chromebook has the ports you need for light use and work. The left side has the DC-in jack for power, an HDMI port, a USB 3.0 port and an SD card slot. The right side is home to the headphone/mic jack, a USB 2.0 port, a lock slot and the power button.

The 720p webcam took noisy photos that lacked detail. The plaid pattern on my shirt looked muddled, and the dark orange of the wall behind me was washed out. If you're just using it for the occasional Google Hangout, though, it will suffice.

Performance

Our configuration of the Acer Chromebook R 11 features an Intel Celeron N3150 processor and 4GB of RAM. The machine switched between tasks quickly, depending on how many tabs I had open. With 11 tabs open, including some streaming video and a game of Bejeweled, I started to notice a little bit of lag.

Acer's laptop returned reasonable but unimpressive scores on synthetic tests. The R 11 notched an 8,040 in Google's Octane 2.0, which measures JavaScript performance. The Lenovo 100S Chromebook scored 8,117, and the HP Chromebook 11 G4 scored 8,523.

In the Browsermark test, which provides a score based on a number of browser actions -- including loading pages, running JavaScript and resizing the screen -- the R 11's score of 2,350 fell just short of the HP Chromebook 11 G4 (2,362) and lost out to the 100S (2,393).

The WebGL Aquarium determines Web graphics performance by displaying fish in a tank and tracking frame rates. The R 11 stayed at 60 frames per second until we placed 1,000 fish in the tank, when it dropped to 50 fps. The Chromebook 11 G4 never got over 57 fps with just 50 fish, and the 100S never got above 46 at 50 fish.

Chrome OS

Chrome OS will feel instantly accessible to anyone who uses Google's Chrome browser. The browser makes up most of the interface and will pull in all of your existing Chrome preferences when you log in with your Google account.
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There is a taskbar, similar to that in Windows 10, that Google calls the "shelf." It's where you'll find pinned apps, a clock, Wi-Fi status, battery life, the profile switcher and a button to take you to the home menu.

The home menu features the search bar prominently, as well as your apps and Google Now. I was able to get sports scores, news, stock information and maps to and from work with just a swipe.

Touch Experience

Though the Acer Chromebook R 11 has a touch screen, Chrome OS isn't really built for touch. Some games and apps work with touch. I was able to use my finger to play Cut the Rope, just as I would on a tablet or phone. When I used the browser, I was able to pinch to zoom reliably, but my attempts to use two fingers to move back a page worked only sporadically.

When you switch your Chromebook into pad, tent or display modes, a little tab icon appears in the bottom-right corner of the screen for easy tab switching. There is also an on-screen keyboard similar to those you would find in Windows, but without the handwriting recognition.

Those are the only major interface changes that help with touch. In fact, when the 2-in-1 is not in laptop mode, you lose some options, like moving your windows around the screen. The maximize button in the browser disappears, forcing you to use apps in full screen and preventing you from moving them around.

It wasn't particularly helpful to navigate around the UI using my finger. Chrome's icons don't get any larger for touch, and it was often a chore to poke at them with my average-size man hands.
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Acer Chromebook R 11 Convertible Laptop

Battery Life

Chromebooks are meant to be portable, and the Acer Chromebook R 11 will last all day. On the Laptop Mag Battery Test, which simulates Web browsing at 100 nits of brightness until the battery dies. The R 11 lasted 9 hours and 38 minutes, which is longer than the ultraportable category average of 8:20 as well as the times put up by its closest competitors.

The Dell Chromebook 11 with Core i3 ran for 10:17, and the Lenovo 100S Chromebook lasted a strong 11:19 on a single charge. The 13-inch Toshiba Chromebook 2 lasted 8:30. The Asus Chromebook Flip lasted 9:19 on the same test and also has a touch screen, but it has a smaller 10-inch display.

Software and Warranty

Because its operating system is mostly browser-based, the Chromebook R 11 comes with no bloatware at all.

Chrome OS' software is limited to extensions in the Chrome Web Store, so you won't have any specialized productivity programs or intensive games that you can find on Windows or OS X. There's plenty to get you up to speed, including Google Docs, games like Bejeweled and Cut the Rope, Spotify for music streaming and even a Web app for Dropbox.

Note that Chrome OS relies on an Internet connection for almost everything. You'll need an Internet connection to browse the Web, sync data or stream multimedia. There are games, like 2048, that don't require an Internet connection, as well as some text editors. There's even Gmail Offline, which will sync again once you're back on the grid.

The Chromebook is eligible for the Google Goodies program, which means your Google account will be eligible for 100GB of Google Drive space and 60 days of Google Play Music All Access.

Bottom Line

The Acer Chromebook R 11 is light and offers a colorful display, a comfy keyboard, decent performance and good battery life. We do worry about the machine's build quality due to the flexing lid. Chrome OS just isn't ready for touchscreens, so we can't call the functionality a plus. If you're just looking for an affordable laptop for Web browsing and don't need touch, we recommend the 11-inch Lenovo 100S Chromebook for its low price and 11+ hours of battery life, or the 13-inch Toshiba Chromebook 2 for its sharper, full-HD display and sturdier chassis.

The Acer Chromebook R 11 is a 2-in-1 device that works as both a laptop and tablet, and it’s actually pretty comfortable to use in both modes. It hits the right marks in terms of both design and performance, although it is a bit heavy to use exclusively as a tablet for long periods of time. Since the budget Chromebook market is flooded with so many choices, and choosing the right one can be so tough, we took an Acer R11 and put it through the wringer both around the office and at home.
Design: Attractive styling choices in a 2-in-1

Most inexpensive Chromebooks hew to a handful of safe design choices, including colors like basic black and gray, which sets the design of the Acer R11 apart from most of the competition. This Chromebook is still largely made of plastic, which is common for devices in this class, but it includes a textured metal insert on the lid that gives it a unique look.

The body of the R11 is entirely white, with a pleasantly textured plastic bottom case to match the metal inlay on the lid. It also has a slightly more angular look than a lot of other Chromebooks without appearing boxy. The unit is held together by two beefy hinges that allow the screen to fold all the way around, converting the Chromebook into a tablet mode.

The R11 actually chalked up better Wi-Fi download speeds than a much more powerful desktop tested at the same time.

When folded into a tablet, the lid and case fit together well without any unsightly gaps. The hinges are also stiff enough to hold the screen at any angle, allowing you to use it in a tent mode as well, but they’re smooth enough that it doesn’t take much effort to switch between modes.

As a tablet, the R11 is more ungainly than devices that function solely as tablets. However, in comparison to other 2-in-1 devices, the R11 is very usable in both modes. It’s a bit heavy to use as a tablet all day, but it’s light enough, and comfortable enough to hold, that occasional use as a tablet is unlikely to present any trouble.

The R11 includes a full-sized HDMI port, a USB 3.1 port, and a full-sized SD card reader on one side, with a USB 2.0 port and an audio jack placed on the other side. Aside from those ports, and the speakers, the case has no other openings or vents. This is enabled due to the fact that the R11 uses a passively-cooled, fanless design, that results in both silent operation and less power consumption.
Setup Process: Make sure you know your Wi-Fi password

Since the Asus R11 is a Chromebook, the setup process is just about as painless as it could possibly be. In fact, it’s almost ready to go the moment you take it out of the box. Setting the R11 up involves turning it on, waiting for it to boot, and then connecting to your Wi-Fi network. Once you’re connected to your Wi-Fi network, all you have to do is log into your Google account. The device is then ready to use.

Lifewire / Jeremy Laukkonen

With two-factor authentication enabled, it still took us less than two minutes to go from turning the R11 on for the very first time, to arriving at the desktop. At that point, the device is ready to use. However, you will have to download an install a system update the first time you shut the device down, and you’ll also have to download and install any apps you need beyond the basics like Google Docs.
Display: Beautiful IPS screen with great viewing angles

The Acer Chromebook R11 has an 11.6-inch IPS touchscreen display that features a native resolution of 1366x768. That’s a little low in terms of resolution (1920x1080 is sharper), but it’s also very common for Chromebooks of this size. While the screen can feel cramped at times, the small size means that the pixel density is still high enough to look very nice.

Since it uses an IPS display, the viewing angles and color depth are both great. The screen looks really nice in both laptop and tablet mode when used indoors in all kinds of light levels, although the brightness is low enough that it becomes a little more difficult to see when subjected to bright natural light. The display really suffers when you take it outside, not because of any lack of brightness, but due to the reflectivity of the screen. The screen is so glossy that it’s almost impossible to use outdoors, in full sun, without reflections completely blocking everything.
Performance: Decent performance compared to the competition

The R11 achieved a score of 5578 in the PCMark Work 2.0 benchmark test, which was the highest result we saw out of a slate of Chromebooks with similar hardware. Work 2.0 is a benchmark that tests how well a computer is able to handle a variety of basic tasks like word processing, video editing, data entry, and more.

We also subjected the R11 to a couple of GFXBench graphic benchmarks, even though it isn’t really designed for games. It wasn’t able to run the standard Car Chase 2.0 benchmark, so we subjected it to the OpenGL Aztec Ruins test. It only achieved 10.9 FPS in that test, which isn’t surprising given that it uses the same Intel HD Graphics 400 (Braswell) chip found in a lot of lower end Chromebooks.

In our hands-on testing, we found that the R11 is snappy and responsive when performing most tasks, including word processing and streaming video.

The next benchmark we ran was the GFXBench OpenGL T-Rex test, which it handled a whole lot better. The R11 managed an acceptable 36.6 FPS in this test, which was on the higher end of results that we’ve seen from similar hardware.

In our hands-on testing, we found that the R11 is snappy and responsive when performing most tasks, including word processing and streaming video. It tends to bog down when a large number of tabs are open in the web browser, typically around 10-15 tabs, but it remains usable.
Productivity: Comfortable enough to use all day

Since the Acer R11 is a Chromebook, it’s designed primarily around tasks that can be accomplished through a web browser. For basic productivity tasks like word processing and data entry through Google Docs, web browsing, and streaming video, it’s great. If you need any specialized programs, your productivity may suffer.

The keyboard is great, with nicely spaced keys that don’t feel mushy or overly shallow, so typing for long periods of time is no problem. The touchpad feels a bit loose, but it’s usable, and you always have the touchscreen as a backup.

If any part of your daily workflow benefits from switching into tablet mode, they’re both highly usable as well. The transformation is seamless both mechanically and in terms of Chrome OS flipping the display, and great viewing angles mean that you can easily share information with others.The R11 isn’t a direct laptop or tablet replacement, but it won’t get in the way of getting the job done.
Audio: Decent stereo sound gets muffled by some surfaces

The Acer R11 features stereo sound, and the speakers are located toward the front, and at the bottom, of the case. The sound is decent enough for a Chromebook of this size, and in this price range, to the point where you can actually listen to music and stream videos without plugging in headphones. Vocals come through clearly when listening to music, and the bass response is about as good as you can expect from such small speakers. The audio does get muffled if you set the laptop on a soft surface, like a couch or your lap, because the speakers fire down instead of up or to the side.
Network: Great wireless connectivity capable of handling high-speed connections

There’s no ethernet port, so you’ll need a Wi-Fi network or a USB-to-ethernet adapter to connect to the internet. The good thing is that it has great Wi-Fi connectivity. The R11 actually chalked up better Wi-Fi download speeds than a much more powerful desktop tested at the same time, and it exhibited no dropped connections or other issues during our testing.

Lifewire / Jeremy Laukkonen

The R11 managed blazing fast download speeds of 335 Mbps, and upload speeds of 60 Mbps, when tested in close proximity to our router. By way of comparison, a desktop tested in the same location, with the same Wi-Fi network, managed 212 Mbps down and 64 Mbps up. The same desktop, when connected via ethernet, achieved download speeds of 400 Mbps.

When moved away from the router, the R11 held steady in terms of download speeds with its Wi-Fi signal at about 80 percent. Further away, with the signal dropped to about 50 percent, we saw a significant drop off in transfer speeds to just 80 Mbps down.
Camera: Noisy images, but still easy to make out

The R11 has a front-facing 720p webcam that’s sufficient for personal video chat, but may not be up to snuff if you need something for professional video conferencing. The color reproduction is fine, but there’s a lot of visual noise, and pictures taken with the camera come out noisy.
Battery: Decent battery life, but others are better

Battery life is a weak point for the R11, but it’s still decent enough for most purposes.

To test the battery, we ran the R11 through PCMark’s Work 2.0 battery test, which performs a continuous series of productivity tasks, like web browsing and video streaming. This is a lot more intense than most normal usage, so it gives you a good idea of a worst case scenario. During this test, we found that the R11 battery lasts about seven hours.

The screen looks really nice in both laptop and tablet mode when used indoors in all kinds of light levels.

We also used the R11 as a normal laptop, performing regular tasks like word processing, listening to music, and watching online videos, to see how it fared in real use. We found that in those conditions, the battery lasts about nine hours before needing a charge. That’s shorter than a lot of ultraportable Chromebooks, but it’s still long enough for a full day of work or school.
Software: Chrome OS and Android apps

The R11 is a Chromebook, which means it uses the Chrome operating system. This is a lightweight operating system that lacks a lot of the capabilities found in Windows and MacOS. You can dual boot a Chromebook with the Linux distribution of your choice, but that requires some technical customization that not all users will be comfortable with.

Lifewire / Jeremy Laukkonen

Chrome OS is kind of like the Chrome web browser with some extras to make it functional as an operating system. Out of the box, you’re limited to Google’s suite of web-based apps, like Google Docs. Other tasks, like editing images, can be achieved through web apps like Pixlr.

The R11 is also compatible with Android apps, which you can download through the Chrome Web Store. Some apps aren’t 100 percent compatible, but the availability of Android apps does help bring the functionality of the R11 closer to that of a Windows or MacOS device.
Price: Good price for what you get

The Acer Chromebook R11 has an MSRP , which is a decent price for what you get. It has a more attractive design than a lot of laptops and 2-in-1 Chromebooks in that price category, and the performance is also in line with competing models that cost a similar amount.

If you don’t need the tablet functionality, you can save some money by going with a Chromebook laptop. You can also spend a significantly larger amount of money to bump up to a premium Chromebook, but you won’t find a much nicer device at this price.
Competition: Looks nicer, and runs better, but suffers in battery life

The R11 is one of the nicer looking Chromebooks you’ll find in its price range, and it also stacks up favorably in terms of performance. For example, the Dell Chromebook 11 3181, in its most powerful configuration, has a similar price. The R11 beats it both in performance and style, but the 3181 is a little bit more durable due to the addition of rubber edges.

Lifewire / Jeremy Laukkonen

Another competitor, the Samsung Chromebook 3, is also in the same price range. It looks more professional than Dell 3181, but it has a very basic design that doesn’t work as well in tablet form. It also lacks the full-sized SD card reader that the R11 features.

Check out our other top picks for the best laptops for kids available today.

Final Verdict

One of the better looking—and performing—Chromebooks in its class.

If you’re looking for a small Chromebook in this price range, and you think you’d get some utility out of the tablet modes, the Acer R11 is an excellent choice. The battery life is lower than some of the competition, and it’s a little heavy to use as a tablet all day, but it looks and works great.

Specs
Product NameChromebook R 11
Product BrandAcer
Release DateJune 2016
Weight2.76 lbs.
Product Dimensions8 x 0.8 x 11.6 in.
Warranty1 year
CompatibilityChrome OS, Android
PlatformChrome OS
ProcessorCeleron N3160 2.3 GHz
GPUIntel HD Graphics 400 (Braswell)
RAM4 GB
Storage32 GB eMMC (24 GB available)
Display11.7” 1366x768 IPS
CameraFront-facing 760p
Battery Capacity3490 mAh, 3-cell, integrated
Ports1x USB 3.0, 1x USB 2.0, HDMI
WaterproofNo