Acer Chromebook Plus 516 GE review: worth the upgrade? [VIDEO]

The Acer Chromebook 516 GE has been one of my favorite Chromebooks over the past couple years without a doubt. And in every way, the new Acer Chromebook Plus 516 GE continues that legacy: even if it does so by being a bit too much like its predecessor. Is it a worthy upgrade? Let’s dive in and see.

An iterative approach

At first glance, you might not be able to tell these two Chromebooks apart. Acer has taken a very iterative approach with the Chromebook Plus 516 GE, retaining the exact same chassis, port selection, and even the overall design. The main difference is the new version’s all-black color scheme, which admittedly looks a bit more sleek even if it is far more prone to fingerprints. Don’t worry, they come off quite easily.

The 516 GE does come with a few improvements, though they are minor. The backlighting on the keyboard is now brighter, making the RGB colors more visible in more lighting scenarios. The camera, while still not amazing, seems to be a step up from the original in terms of overall sharpness. And the speakers also sound a tiny bit louder and fuller, but the difference is very slight.

One of the more significant upgrades for future needs is the processor. The Chromebook Plus 516 GE boasts a Core Ultra 5-120U, which has dedicated cores for AI tasks. While this doesn’t make a huge difference in day-to-day Chromebook usage right now, it could prove to be an asset down the road as AI features become more prevalent in ChromeOS. In the meantime, performance is slightly better than the 12th-gen Core i5-1240P in the original 516 GE, but not by much.

Which one should you buy?

If you can still find the original 516 GE, especially at a clearance price, it’s definitely the better buy. You’ll get the same great performance and features for less money. However, if you can only find the Plus version 516 GE, don’t worry. It’s still a fantastic Chromebook that you’ll enjoy using and the $649.99 MSRP has always been a very fair deal on both of these versions of this incredible Chromebook. At some point in the near future, only the new model will be available, so if you are seeing this when both are available, definitely choose the more affordable option at the time.