Acer Chromebook R11 Review – A classy Chromebook that supports Android apps

Stepping ahead of the technology trend, Acer Chromebook R11 is one of the first touchscreen convertible Chromebook featuring Chrome OS that supports Android apps. It is currently available in the market, and we are lucky to get our hands on it. With its Android apps support, it means we can use it to play games!

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What is in the box

The Acer Chromebook R11 package comes with a simple paper box, which consisting some basic items – charger, quick guide and the Chromebook R11 itself.

The Acer Chromebook R11 uses a standard Acer-style of design, making up by a thin plastic chassis and a matte finish. Its lid however features a textured metal panel which gives out some grip while being carried around. An 11.6-inch HD touchscreen lies on the other side of the panel, while the base sits a typical laptop-style keyboard and a relatively wide trackpad.

One of its biggest advantages is its compact size and light weight. With a thickness of only 19.2mm and approximately 1.3 kg in weight, you could bring it around all day without issue.

Chromebook R11 Specifications:

Display	11.6″ HD (1366 x 768) resolution multi-touch IPS technology
Processor	Intel® Celeron®## N3160 1.6 GHz; Quad-core
Memory	DDR3L 4 GB (standard)
Storage	32 GB flash drive
Connectivity	802.11ac wireless LAN
Ports	1x USB 3.0 1x USB 2.0 HDMI Output
Battery	3-cell 3490 mAh Li-ion
Charger	45W
Camera	1280 x 720 webcam
Sound	Stereo speakers microphone
Dimensions	294 mm x 204 mm x 19.20 mm
Weight	1.3 kg (approximately)

Display, Keyboard and Trackpad

Although its display is only having a 1366 x 768 resolution, it is acceptable because you don’t need an overly big screen for a touchscreen display.

The keyboard is solid, having some good travel and proper spring without those annoying side-to-side movement. Unfortunately there is no backlighting, but it is actually doing quite good considering its price.

Talking about the trackpad, it is somewhat lacking sensitivity. You might feel frustrated on certain controls but there is no problem with large movement (eg: scrolling the cursor across the screen). Using a mouse will definitely solve the problem.

Performance and Battery Life

Chromebook R11 equips a combination of Intel Celeron N3160 processor and 4GB of RAM, which in result able to keep things fluidly even with a high-demanding game running and a few Youtube videos streaming in the background. But of course, it will be noticeably slowing down when you give it too much to do.

With a 3490 mAh battery, you can expect more than 9 hours battery life on regular use. Well, if you use it to play games the battery life is definitely shorter. If you are looking for something that can last all day, Chromebook R11 should be the one in your consideration list.

Gaming experience

You can download Android Apps (and of course, games) to Chromebook R11 easily just by clicking into the Google Chrome. However, it is actually nothing to get too excited about because there are still plenty of Android apps that are not compatible with the device (eg: Torchlight Mobile). The available apps would run and display just fine, but since they are not designed to be used on a Chromebook device, you might feel uncomfortable using some of them.

Taking a few games that we tested on the device as an example:

Mobile Legends – You can use the keyboard (WASD) to control the character movement and execute spells (J,U,I,O), but you can’t buy items or use battle spells with it (you will still need to touch screen). This is pretty hard to get used to since you need to alternate your hand between the keyboard to the screen to control, upgrade spells and buying items.

Temple Run 2 – The game runs perfectly in portrait mode (tablet form), but since you are holding a folded Chromebook, it is thick and heavy (for a tablet-sized device).

Conclusion

Its Android apps experience greatly depends on the apps, certain apps perform well while certain apps are not even compatible with the device. The biggest selling point of Chromebook R11 will be its flexibility, you can bend it as you want, you can use it as a laptop or tablet as you like. Especially if you are searching for a decent priced Chromebook with long-lasting battery life and good performance, Chromebook R11 is a solid choice.

Acer Chromebook R11 is currently priced at MYR 1, 499.00 (around 348.99 in USD). For more information, you can check out their official website.