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Aimed at unhappy Windows 10 users, $650 Acer Chromebook 13 laptops land in Sept

Acer reveals September availability and pricing for its new Chromebook 13 and Chromebook Spin 13 convertible.
Written by Liam Tung, Contributing Writer

Video: Samsung Chromebook Plus V2 first look.

Acer is releasing the Chromebook 13 and Chromebook Spin 13 convertible this September, aimed at businesses that want to switch from Windows.

The Chromebook 13 will start at $645 while the new Chromebook Spin 13 starts at $750, both coming in an aluminum-body with a 13.5-inch display with 2,256 x 1,504-pixel resolution at a 3:2 aspect ratio.

Acer actually announced the new Chromebooks in May but has now confirmed September availability and pricing.

Both the new Chromebooks will have Gorilla Glass touchpads, while the Spin model will come with 360-degree hinge, a touchscreen display, and a Wacom stylus that slides into its own slot.

SEE: How we learned to talk to computers, and how they learned to answer back (cover story PDF)

The announcement follows this week's new Chromebook ad from Google taking a shot at sluggish performance and security alerts on Macs and Windows PCs compared with Chromebooks, which have "built-in virus protection, a battery that lasts all day, and automatic updates".

The $650 Chromebook 13 is powered by an Intel 8th gen Core i3-8130U CPU, and comes with 8GB LPDDR3 memory, and 32GB eMMC storage.

There's a more expensive model with an Intel Core i5-8250U CPU, with the same memory and storage. This starts at $750.

Meanwhile, the Chromebook Spin 13 has 8th gen Core i3 and Core i5 options, but with 8GB LPDDR3 memory and 64GB eMMC, though there's also a Core i5 model with 16GB LPDDR3 memory and 128GB eMMC storage.

The Spin Core i3 model costs $750, while the Core i5 model costs $100 more, and the larger memory and storage variant costs $900, putting it pretty close to Google's own $999 Pixel Chromebook.

Both Spin models have USB 3.1 Type-C port on each side that can be used to charge the device, transfer data or connect to extra display. Acer says they have a 10-hour battery life.

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The new Acer Chromebook Spin 13s will have Gorilla Glass touchpads.

Image: Acer

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