Don’t miss the upgraded Acer Chromebook Plus 515 for $180 off

Right in the midst of a very sleepy Q1 for Chromebooks, Acer injected a bit of life into the market with a surprise refresh of the already-solid Acer Chromebook Plus 515 a couple weeks ago. Not only did they add some sorely-missing bells and whistles; Acer is rolling this device out on sale for the second time already in just a few weeks.

If I’m being honest, the original 515 wasn’t exactly my favorite. It was a solid 15.6-inch machine, but it lacked some of the features that really make a Chromebook Plus shine. This new iteration, however, addresses many of those shortcomings in a way that makes me really want to give this newer version another go.

First up, you get double the storage on this model, with a move from UFS to NVMe. That equates to much snappier performance, and that speed boost should pair quite nicely with twice as much room to keep things on your Chromebook. While the original model shipped with 128GB of storage, this new version gets bumped up to 256GB.

Then there’s the added touchscreen. Whether you’re navigating web pages, editing documents, or simply enjoying multimedia content, a touchscreen makes everything feel more intuitive. Having it on board this time around is a big step up for users for sure.

Finally, Acer’s added in a proper backlit keyboard. It might seem like a small detail, but it’s one of those features that you don’t realize you miss until it’s gone. Typing in dimly lit environments is so much simpler with a bit of light under your keys, and it adds a touch of premium feel to the device, too.

The price did get bumped up from $399 to $499 to accommodate the upgrades (still strangely $449 on Acer’s website), but we’ve already had it drop to just $319 for a second time since arriving. That means you’re getting a 15.6-inch Chromebook with a fast NVMe SSD, double the storage,a touchscreen, and a backlit keyboard for just $319; and that’s a combination that’s hard to beat at this price point.

And, for a little while longer, Best Buy is offering another $50 off when you trade any busted, old laptop for recycling. So that would knock the Acer down to $269 if you have an outdated laptop lying around and collecting dust somewhere you’d like to turn in. But this deal and the trade-in offer won’t last forever, so don’t miss out on it!