The Chromebook Spin 11 uses a Celeron N3350 CPU, a low-end dual-core processor that runs at a base clock of 1.1GHz and tops out at 2.4GHz. Sound quality is fine for a quick YouTube video, but you’ll want to pull out some headphones for music, movies, and TV. The audio was equally underwhelming, with just enough volume but some distortion and a muddied experience when things are turned all the way up. Ultimately, this is what you’re going to get at this price point, as the very similar display on the Asus Flip C101 demonstrates. And the extremely large bezels mean that the display seems even smaller than it is. That means you’ll see some pixels in text and graphics won’t be the sharpest, and you won’t be able to enjoy Netflix at Full HD quality. The Chromebook Spin 11 gets its name from the 11.6-inch IPS panel that runs at a native resolution of 1,366 x 768, or 135 PPI. The touchscreen display is responsive and provides a satisfying experience when running Android apps, which are now available to download on all new Chromebooks. Notably, there’s no biometric login support, and so you’ll be relegated to typing in your Google account password. The display was fine for basic productivity, but its multimedia performance disappoints. Also, performance in Chrome OS apps was fine, but there was some lag when inking in Android apps like Microsoft’s OneNote. It’s not quite as complete an experience as you’ll find with Windows 10 Ink, but it’s nevertheless a nice value-add. Next, there’s an included Wacom EMR stylus that allows for taking notes, creating sketches, and generally doing all of the inking that Chrome OS supports. General cursor control was just fine, with Chrome OS gesture support and good control over the platform’s most important environment, the Chrome browser. The touchpad is large relative to the available space on the small keyboard deck, and it provides a smooth and precise feel. It’s typical for the class of machine, with the slightly more expensive Asus Chromebook Flip C302C offering a similar feel. The key mechanism offers plenty of travel with a soft bottoming action, but there’s less tactile feedback than we like resulting in a bit of a spongy feel. The Chromebook Spin 11 serves up the typical island keyboard with black keys and white lettering, and as mentioned earlier it’s spill-proof and so can withstand the occasional splash of water. There’s also a micro-SD card reader and 3.5mm combo audio jack to go with the 2X2 MU-MIMO 802.11ac Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.2 radios. Two USB-C 3.1 ports supporting data, DisplayPort, and charging provide for some future-proofing, while two USB-A 3.0 ports provide for legacy support. In terms of connectivity, there’s plenty to go around. The newest version has a silver cross-hairline pattern on the lid that gives it a slightly more premium texture and appearance, but otherwise, this is a simple silver-gray design that’s rather mundane. Regarding its aesthetics, the Chromebook Spin 11 isn’t going to win any awards, but neither is it an embarrassment. Comparing the Spin 11’s performance to other Chromebooks left us decidedly unimpressed.
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