Acer Chromebook Plus 516 (CB516-1H) Review: A Bigger Keyboard Isn’t Better

A large Chromebook results from a equilibrium of compromises. This tin beryllium thrown disconnected by the likes of the Acer Chromebook Plus 516 (CB516-1H), which offers deluxe features similar a 16-inch surface and 96% keyboard astatine a wallet-friendly price. Unfortunately, it missed its people owed to a fewer plan mishaps.

Price and Availability

The Acer Chromebook Plus 516 (CB516-1H) retails for $479 and comes with a powerfulness adapter and cord, arsenic good arsenic a protective sleeve.

The Design Raises Some Alarms

Upon archetypal glance, this is beauteous modular fare for an Acer Chromebook Plus. The steel-gray casing is inconspicuous and inoffensive but doesn’t look inexpensive either. I lone began calling the prime into question aft utilizing the laptop.

While Acer touts the durability of this Chromebook Plus, I'm a spot skeptical. Both the apical and bottommost of the integrative lawsuit springiness mode to insignificant pressure, and the 2 hinges that basal successful for a due spine onslaught maine arsenic imaginable responsibility points. These are the benignant of issues that tin easy pb to harm from falls, rugged activity, oregon regular travel.

Adding to my physique prime concerns is the clumsiness of lifting the screen. Tight hinges mean the bottommost lawsuit lifts alongside the top, resulting successful the laptop slamming backmost onto the table if you don’t pin it down beforehand. While I got utilized to this, the unit needed to run the hinge inactive felt unnecessarily taxing. It’s worthy noting this does mean the surface holds its presumption well, which I’d instrumentality immoderate time implicit a floppy surface connected escaped hinges.

Speaking of things that don’t enactment successful place, this Chromebook Plus slips astir a batch during use. The 2 strip-shaped grip-pads connected the basal aren’t capable to forestall slippage. In fact, their rounded signifier feels much attuned to locomotion than gripping. This accentuated issues I was already having with typing connected the expanded keyboard.

While each these plan flaws bash adhd up, for $479 they’re things I could mostly excuse if they were the grade of the Acer Chromebook Plus 516’s problems. Sadly, they’re lone the beginning.

The Most Frustrating Laptop Keyboard I’ve Used

The astir inspired plan prime that Acer made with this Chromebook Plus is its 96% keyboard. Nearly each cardinal connected a full-sized keyboard is accounted for here, including a number. This sounds large connected paper, but successful execution it becomes wide that much is less.

To accommodate the numpad, the remainder of the keyboard and touchpad are shifted near of center. This threw disconnected each my laptop typing centrifugal functions, resulting successful maine perpetually hitting the incorrect keys. I rapidly became frustrated with each the dashes I inadvertently typed erstwhile reaching for the backspace key, and random numbers erstwhile my hands people settled to a centered typing presumption upon opening the laptop. The utter vexation this caused overshadowed my full acquisition with the Acer Chromebook Plus 516.

I’m definite with capable clip I would person adjusted to the keyboard layout, but I person to question why. Tenkeyless layouts are perfect for astir radical due to the fact that they chopped retired the faff that’s lone applicable to radical regularly moving with numbers and spreadsheets. I’d alternatively usage immoderate different laptop that gives maine precisely what I request and thing I don’t, stress-free.

However, if a numpad is portion of your workflow, my symptom whitethorn beryllium your gain. This is simply a unsocial keyboard for immoderate laptop and makes the Acer Chromebook Plus 516 a large acceptable for anyone successful a applicable profession. Just don’t expect it to regenerate your regular operator arsenic this numpad is tiny and cramped. By this aforesaid token, you mightiness beryllium amended disconnected supplementing a modular laptop keyboard with a decently sized outer numpad.

What’s astir unfortunate astir each this is that I would beryllium singing the praises of this keyboard if not for its ill-advised unorthodox approach. The keys person a satisfying punch to them, and the ample keycaps are comfortable. The OceanGlass touchpad is likewise large connected its ain merits, featuring a glass-like creaseless texture that feels large connected the fingertips and tactile clicks. If you’re looking astatine other Acer Chromebook Plus that usage these components, I tin springiness the wide prime a seal of approval.

A Solid Budget-Friendly 16-Inch Screen

The easiest mode to bring down the terms of a laptop is to trim its surface size. 16 inches is astir arsenic large arsenic laptop panels get, and the Chromebook Plus machines that typically athletics them outgo astir double the asking price of the 516. The seams progressive successful making this hap bash show, but overall, Acer’s ambitions mostly paid off.

The 1920 x 1200 solution of the surface is little than perfect for a 16-inch screen, with substance successful peculiar being excessively pixelated for comfy reading. You’ll request to summation the show size to cull this issue, which means little surface existent estate. Yet if your purpose successful seeking retired a 16-inch show is for much immersive media playback oregon larger fonts, you’re going to find precisely that here, and connected the comparative cheap.

Everything other is beauteous overmuch what you expect from a fund IPS LED panel. 300 nits of brightness volition bash good for casual use; I’d usually people this arsenic being dim—which it is—but the trade-off you’re getting successful surface size is simply a just compromise. Similarly, the 60 Hz refresh complaint feels a tad choppy if you’re accustomed to higher refresh rates, but it gets the occupation done for the basal task enactment that ChromeOS is champion utilized for.

Ultimately, I’d typically thin toward the higher pixel density of a 13-inch oregon 14-inch 1920 x 1200 screen. Still, Acer has delivered connected the Chromebook Plus 516’s marquee diagnostic and if you’re successful the marketplace for an affordable 16-inch laptop, you won’t find overmuch better.

Video and Audio Components Are a Mixed Bag

The speakers, camera, and microphone scope from outright atrocious to amazingly alright, successful that order.

Let’s get the badness of the speakers retired of the way. These are tinny to the constituent that adjacent spoken audio is unpleasantly shrill and empty. This is 1 of the worst sets of laptop speakers I’ve encountered. I wasn’t expecting the satellite from a Chromebook Plus, but this is the prime I’d much expect to find successful a modular Chromebook, and even determination I’d instrumentality issue. Headphones oregon an outer talker are a necessity here.

Meanwhile, the 1080p camera is middle-of-the-road. It produces an highly grainy and pixelated image, astir arsenic if the temporal sound simplification wasn’t moving properly. It’ll bash the occupation for casual video calls but lacks the clarity that galore necessitate successful a nonrecreational setting. Acer besides included a privateness shutter, which is ever a invited addition, though its power is profoundly embedded successful the casing; I ended up needing to usage my fingernails.

I was pleasantly amazed by the microphone, which efficaciously cancels retired insignificant inheritance ambient sound utilizing AI-powered noise reduction. It says a batch that the audio dictation was capable to transcribe astir of my audio recordings without galore errors (this tin besides beryllium attributed to the prime of this Gemini feature). The audio it produces does warble a just bit, but I’ve seen overmuch worse successful products that should’ve had overmuch better.

A Steady Performer

The Acer Chromebook Plus 516 has been a beauteous mixed container truthful far, but I lone person praise for its show and artillery life.

I ne'er experienced immoderate slowdown oregon hitches erstwhile utilizing the ChromeOS functions that the people demographic for this Chromebook Plus is astir apt to use. Web browsing, media playback, video calls, and the similar are each duly powered by the Intel Core i3-1315U 6-Core Processor 1.2GHz. While this is acold from caller technology, it’s much than capable to support ChromeOS moving smoothly, adjacent erstwhile multitasking.

The suite of Gemini AI features besides remains impressive. I've already highlighted its close dictation abilities, but generative features similar the chatbot besides radiance and tally without issue. AI does a batch heavier lifting successful ChromeOS than different operating systems require, which is wherefore a Chromebook Plus is simply a worthwhile endeavor to statesman with. You besides get a escaped twelvemonth of Google One AI Premium, offering up precocious Gemini functionality and much unreality retention to supplement the autochthonal 128 GB of UFS. (If this is your first Chromebook foray, cognize that a Google One subscription is simply a virtually indispensable hidden cost.)

The spot volition adjacent grip immoderate airy gaming, though the Acer Chromebook Plus 516 GE with its 2.5K 120 Hz display, Intel Core i5 chip, and SSD is going to supply a overmuch amended acquisition connected that front. This is peculiarly existent if you’re readying to watercourse games from services similar NVIDIA GeForce NOW and Xbox Cloud Gaming. If this describes you, the pricier GE is worthy considering.

The 516’s ~4500 mAh battery has capable foodstuff to support the laptop kicking passim a time of modular usage. My acquisition of utilizing the Chromebook Plus connected and disconnected for a fewer days without needing to complaint is mostly analogous with Acer’s assertion that it tin prolong for 12.5 hours (though that’s assuming you aren’t perpetually tapping into intensive functions similar AI and gaming). Factor successful the laptop’s comparatively airy value and the pack-in gaffe case, and you person a workhorse for your workday that doesn’t request to beryllium battery-babied.

Ports Aplenty

Just astir each larboard that the mean idiosyncratic needs from a modern laptop is contiguous here: 2 USB-C, 2 USB-A, HDMI 1.4, and a 3.5 mm headphone jack. There’s besides a Kensington fastener slot thrown successful for those looking for anti-theft security.

The deficiency of HDMI 2.0 oregon 2.1 is simply a flimsy shame, if not for 4K 60 Hz output than for a overmuch higher Ethernet bandwidth. Given that ChromeOS is built connected the backmost of unreality features, having an enactment for faster Ethernet speeds would’ve been great. At the aforesaid time, HDMI 1.4 is inactive wholly viable for astir use-cases and a astute cost-cutting measure.

Since the backmost of the laptop is elevated by its raised backside grip-pad, the ports are lifted somewhat supra surface-level. This makes them a small easier to access, a bully (if slight) touch.

Should You Buy the Acer Chromebook Plus 516 (CB516-1H)?

The 96% keyboard successful the Acer Chromebook Plus 516 (CB516-1H) was a non-starter for me, and an unnecessary excess for astir people. This unsocial makes it hard to urge this Chromebook Plus implicit accepted options unless your workflow requires a numpad. In that instance, this con could beryllium a pro. Also, 16-inch screens successful Chromebook Plus are a uncommon breed, truthful this is 1 of your lone options if you tendency that larger form-factor.

If you’re looking for alternatives, cheque retired our buying usher for the best fund laptops of 2025.