The awesome Acer Chromebook Plus 516 GE is $230 off again

There’s been a lot of buzz around the new MediaTek Kompanio Ultra this week, and for good reason: that SoC is going to be impressive. And as much as I’m looking forward to Chromebooks with that chip inside, I also don’t want to turn a cold shoulder to devices on the market right now that also offer amazing performance, great construction, and deliver superb overall Chromebook experiences.

Once such device that just so happens to also be $230 off right now is the Acer Chromebook Plus 516 GE. This newest version and the predecessor that came before it in the fall of 2022 are a couple of my favorite Chromebooks of all time. So, when the price dips this drastically, I have to get that info in front of as many people as possible.

The superlatives list is so long for the Acer Chromebook Plus 516 GE and the downsides are so few that I’d consider this current $419.99 price tag a must-buy situation. And it all starts with the size and quality of the screen on this monster. At 16-inches, the QHD+ (2560×1600) 16:10 display is bright (350 nits) and ultra smooth, thanks to it’s 120Hz refresh rate.

But it doesn’t stop there. The larger-than-most chassis is rigid while still being relatively light at just 3.75 pounds. The upward-firing speakers are loud and full, the giant OceanGlass trackpad is set perfectly and ultra smooth, and the RGB keyboard adds a bit of flare as well while being fantastic to type on.

Port selection is vast, the internals are fast (Intel Core 5-120U, 8GB of RAM, 256GB NVMe storage), and when you put it all together, this is a Chromebook that looks great, is crazy fast, doesn’t weigh you down, and gives you a vast canvas to work from while on the go. Sure, it doesn’t have a touchscreen, but that is truly one of the only “flaws” of this device, and at $230, I think you need to give it a look. Rarely has anyone bought this Chromebook and been let down. It’s just that good.