Acer Chromebook 15 C910 review

It's easy to praise laptops for sexy features. Higher resolution screens, lighter weights, thinner frames – these are the specs you likely look for when making your purchasing decision.

But what your laptop is able to do when you work should be just as important to you as how it looks on a desk. When compared to the best Chromebook on the market, the Google Pixel 2, and the second-largest Chromebook, the HP Chromebook 14, the chunkier Acer Chromebook 15 C910 proves itself to be a worthy adversary.

We liked

If the Chrome operating system is your cup of tea, you won't find many devices that run it better than the C910. Our suite of benchmarks proved that the C910 outperforms a similarly outfitted Pixel 2, a device that costs double the money. Sure, you're not getting a touchscreen, or a fancy USB-C drive, but you're getting speed and power and almost as many hours of battery life.

The diamond matte finish is a really nice touch. If you're as bored by contemporary laptop design as I am, you'll absolutely welcome the C910 into your home. Although the chassis will scratch and stain, it's highly durable, pretty and it isn't the same old magnesium alloy and plastic that you'll find on most other laptops today.

We disliked

This laptop is big. Acer needs to find a way to reduce its weight from 4.85 pounds to something more manageable. If money is no object and you're forced to carry 4.85 pounds, then you might as well buy yourself an enterprise mobile workstation.

I'm not a fan of how the keyboard and screen are arranged. Too much valuable real estate was dedicated to plastic, speakers and a creaky TouchPad. In the next iteration, I'd prefer to see bigger, more spaced-out keys, a wider screen and a smaller TouchPad.

Final verdict

The Acer Chromebook 15 C910 isn't for everybody. In an era when computer manufacturers are racing to build laptops that are lighter and thinner, the C910 is a throwback to a simpler time, back when you expected your mobile computers to be shaped like bricks.

However, if you're a student or a teacher and you're typically working in a classroom, at home and little elsewhere, the C910's bulk shouldn't put you off. The Acer Chromebook 15 C910 looks amazing on a desk, it has a long-lasting battery and its performance outclasses any comparable Chromebook.