Acer Chromebook Plus 516 GE review: A bit weird, but still great

After a few years of modest Chromebook updates, Google is reviving the ChromeOS platform with a new generation that leans on Google’s AI. The Acer Chromebook Plus 516 GE stands out as a potential leader in this field, as it boasts both a powerful processor and a 120Hz display that’s perfect for cloud gaming. There’s just one problem: it’s not better than its predecessor. 

Looking for more options? Check out PCWorld’s roundup of the best Chromebooks available right now.

Acer Chromebook Plus 516 GE: Specs and features

The new Acer Chromebook Plus 516 GE is very similar to the older Acer Chromebook 516 GE. It updates to Intel’s Core 5 120U, but this is arguably a downgrade, as the new processor has two fewer cores than the Intel Core i5-1240P that was found in the prior model. However, the Core 5 120U bumps up the Turbo Boost clock speed from 4.4 to 5 GHz. 

• CPU: Intel Core 5 120U
• Memory: 8GB LPDDR4x 
• Graphics/GPU: Intel Integrated
• Display: 16-inch 2,560 x 1,600 120Hz LED, 350 nits
• Storage: 256GB 
• Webcam: 1080p
• Connectivity: 2x USB-C 3.2 Gen 2 with DisplayPort and Power Delivery, 1x USB-A, 1x HDMI, 1x Ethernet, 1x 3.5mm combo audio
• Networking: Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.2
• Biometrics: None
• Battery capacity: 65 watt-hours
• Dimensions: 14.0 x 9.8 x .84 inches
• Weight: 3.81 pounds
• MSRP: $699.99 (typically $649.99 on sale)

The specifications are otherwise similar to the previous 516 GE, but capable for a Chromebook. 8GB of memory should be plenty for Chrome and 256GB of local storage feels roomy when the largest locally installed apps are just a few hundred megabytes. The 120Hz display is excellent, too, and gives the laptop an edge if you’d plan to play games on a cloud gaming service that supports high refresh rates like Nvidia’s GeForce Now.

Acer says upgraded models will be available with up to an Intel Core 7 processor, 16GB of RAM, and up to 2TB of storage. Pricing remains to be announced, however, and these models weren’t available online at the time of this review.

Acer Chromebook Plus 516 GE: Design and build quality

IDG / Matthew Smith

IDG / Matthew Smith

IDG / Matthew Smith

The Acer Chromebook 516 GE might be running Chrome OS but it’s definitely not a thin and light system. In fact, it feels rather old school with a thick profile that measures up to 0.84 inches and a large 16-inch display. It’s fairly light at 3.81 pounds, however.

None of this is necessarily bad, but it defines the laptop’s character. This isn’t an ultra-portable system that you pick up to throw in a small bag for quick journeys, but instead a straight-up alternative to full-sized Windows laptops.

There are perks to this design. The 516 GE looks and feels solid, and though it isn’t going to turn heads at your local coffee shop, the display lid has a handsome two-tone look. It’s a rigid laptop, as well, with surprisingly little flex in the display lid and lower chassis even when handled roughly.

Acer Chromebook Plus 516 GE: Keyboard, trackpad

IDG / Matthew Smith

IDG / Matthew Smith

IDG / Matthew Smith

The Acer Chromebook 516 GE has a comfortable and spacious keyboard that lacks a numpad. There’s enough space to add a numpad, but ditching it keeps the keyboard aligned with the center of the laptop and above the touchpad. It also provides space on each side of the keyboard for upward-firing speakers. I think ditching the numpad was the right choice (though at least one Google Sheets aficionado is shaking their fist at this paragraph, I’m sure).

I found the 516 GE’s keyboard enjoyable, which surprised me, as I wasn’t a fan of the keyboard on the previous model. It looks identical to its predecessor, so I’m not sure if Acer made a change or if I’m simply in a more charitable mood. But compared to what I wrote about the prior model, this keyboard has a better tactile feel and more audible feedback. It’s not amazing, but I did find it pleasing to use for hours at a stretch.

The touchpad, on the other hand, is still mediocre. It measures about 5 inches wide and 3 inches deep and provides enough room to use Chrome OS multitouch gestures. However, it’s not a large touchpad for a modern 16-inch laptop, and I found it a tad too responsive at its default sensitivity. 

Acer Chromebook Plus 516 GE: Display, audio

IDG / Matthew Smith

IDG / Matthew Smith

IDG / Matthew Smith

Every Acer Chromebook Plus 516 GE has a 16-inch IPS display with a resolution of 2560×1600 and a maximum refresh rate of 120 Hz. 1600p resolution might not sound incredible on paper, but it’s better than most competitively priced laptops and looks sharp in person. I also like that the 16-inch display has a matte surface, which maximizes the usefulness of the display’s listed brightness of up to 350 nits.

Motion clarity, fluidity, and responsiveness are perks thanks to the 120Hz refresh rate. This is most noticeable when playing a game over a cloud service that supports frame rates up to 120 frames-per-second, such as Nvidia GeForce Now. But I’ve also come to appreciate the responsiveness a 120Hz display can provide in simple everyday tasks like scrolling down a web page.

Image quality is a mixed bag. The IPS display panel provides accurate and realistic colors that often look alluring, especially when viewing colorful content like Overwatch 2 or the latest Pixar movie. 

Contrast is limited, however, especially when compared to the new and increasingly inexpensive OLED displays available on some slightly more expensive laptops. The lack of contrast is most noticeable in movies and games with a darker palette like Diablo 4.

The upward-firing speakers on either side of the keyboard sound decent at lower volumes, but they have limits. The highs of a vocalist’s voice can begin to sound metallic and shrill at high volume, while the bass thump of a dance track or action movie lacks impact. It’s fine for listening to music while working, but you’ll want headphones or external speakers when playing games or watching Netflix.

Acer Chromebook Plus 516 GE: Webcam, microphone, biometrics

A 1080p webcam is nestled in the Acer Chromebook Plus 516 GE’s upper display bezel. While it looks decent on paper, it doesn’t live up to expectations. Both photos and video appear soft and grainy: at times, it looks as bad or worse than some 720p webcams. It’s acceptable for a Zoom call, but only just.

The microphone array is another problem. It captured my voice with decent clarity and volume but allowed a lot of background noise to creep in. Even typing on the keyboard resulted in a serious amount of clunking and clacking picked up by the microphones. This was true on the prior 516 GE, but it feels even more notable for the Chromebook Plus iteration, which is supposed to prioritize AI features like noise cancellation.

Biometric login isn’t available on the 516 GE, which is expected given its price. Few laptops sold around $600 have a fingerprint reader or support facial recognition.

Acer Chromebook Plus 516 GE: Connectivity

IDG / Matthew Smith

IDG / Matthew Smith

IDG / Matthew Smith

The Acer Chromebook 516 GE offers plenty of ports. It boasts two USB-C 3.2 Gen 2 ports, both of which support USB Power Delivery for charging and DisplayPort for connecting an external monitor. Acer splits the USB-C ports across the right and left flanks instead of placing both on the same side.

Acer also provides USB-A, HDMI, Ethernet, and a 3.5mm combo audio jack. You can connect a wired keyboard, mouse, monitor, headset, and Ethernet simultaneously, all without needing an adapter. That’s something many $2,000 laptops can’t claim. 

Wireless connectivity spans Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.2. I’d prefer to see Wi-Fi 7, but it’s not usually available in this price range. Wi-Fi 6E is more than adequate for smooth cloud gaming when used with a robust router.

Acer Chromebook Plus 516 GE: Performance

Acer updates the Chromebook Plus 516 GE from the Intel Core i5-1240P found in the prior 516 GE to the newer Core 5 120U. That seems fine at a glance, but it’s arguably a downgrade. 

Intel’s Core i5-1240P is a 12-core processor with four performance cores and eight efficient cores, while the Core 5 120U is a 10-core processor with only two performance cores and eight efficient cores. As a result, the new processor is at times slower than its predecessor. 

• CrXPRT 2: 214
• Speedometer 2.0: 260
• Speedometer 3.0: 14.2
• Basemark Web 3.0: 1319.96
• Kraken: 411.5
• Jetstream 2: 302.864

Our slate of Chromebook benchmarks turned in scores that, although strong, were often not as high as the prior 516GE. The new Chromebook Plus 516 GE fell behind in CrXPRT 2, Basemark Web 3.0, and the Speedometer tests. However, it scored wins in Kraken in Jetstream 2.

While disappointing, I don’t think the Intel Core 5 120U’s lower core count is a big problem in practice. Most web apps place minimal load on local hardware resources, so it’s hard to imagine scenarios where extra cores are an advantage. 

The Intel Core 5 120U also lacks an neural processing unit (NPU), which might seem like a problem given the many AI features found on Chromebook Plus laptops. However, I didn’t notice any performance issues. Many AI features are handled in the cloud, and those which aren’t don’t seem to use enough local hardware resources to drag down performance.

What about games? Titles available through cloud gaming services, like Nvidia GeForce Now and Xbox Cloud Gaming, perform beautifully. The 516 GE’s performance is more than enough to handle streaming video and the laptop’s Wi-Fi 6E adapter offered a reliable and stable connection. The main performance bottleneck will be the quality of your Internet connection, not the speed of the 516 GE’s processor or integrated graphics. 

Acer Chromebook Plus 516 GE: Battery life

Every Acer Chromebook Plus 516 GE ships with a 65 watt-hour battery (which is the same capacity as the prior 516 GE). It’s not large for a 16-inch laptop, but ChromeOS maximizes the power available. 

The CrXPRT 2 battery benchmark, which loops a series of synthetic tests that emulate web browsing and web apps, drained a full charge in 13 hours and 12 minutes. That’s about an hour less than the prior 516 GE, but three hours more than the 10 hours promised by Acer’s spec sheet.

Most Chromebooks achieve similar battery life, so the 516 GE’s result isn’t remarkable. Still, it’s more than enough for a full work day away from a power socket or a flight across the Atlantic. 

The 516 GE’s real-world battery life seemed to dip lower than the benchmark, but still put me on track for at least 10 hours in most situations. Cloud gaming drains the battery more quickly than web browsing, but the laptop can still hold out for six or seven hours before it needs a charge.

Acer Chromebook Plus 516 GE: Chromebook Plus… now with AI!

The Acer Chromebook Plus 516 GE is one of several Chromebooks to launch with Google’s new suite of AI features, which includes Google Gemini, AI enhancements for video calls, AI photo editing, AI generated wallpapers, and more. These features are not exclusive to the new laptops and will also arrive on older Chromebooks.

None of the AI features feel essential. Gemini, for instance, failed to appear on my Chromebook Plus even after the feature launched into public availability. Even if it was available, I’m not sure why I’d prefer to use Gemini in an app instead of the browser, as the app still requires Internet connectivity. The AI-powered Magic Editor in Google Photos is handy for moving or resizing a person in a photo, but similar features are available in competing apps. The AI-generated wallpapers are a miss, as the feature only supports generating wallpapers with a slim range of preset prompts. 

Google has promised a number of more useful features, including AI summaries for PDFs and hands-free ChromeOS navigation through gesture tracking, but it’s unclear when these features will launch.

While the new AI features are so-so, one important perk is immediately available: shoppers who buy qualifying Chromebook Plus models (which includes the Acer Chromebook Plus 516 GE) receive 12 months of Google’s One AI Premium plan, which provides access to Google Gemini Advanced and 2TB of Google Drive storage. That adds a lot of value, and it might tip shoppers who plan to use a lot of cloud storage towards a Chromebook instead of a Windows machine.

Acer Chromebook Plus 516 GE: Conclusion

Acer’s Chromebook Plus 516 GE is a strong pick for shoppers who want a ChromeOS laptop with good performance, lots of storage, and a big screen. The $650 price tag is a bit high for a Chromebook, but the 516 GE offers a lot of value for the money, and it’s sure to appeal to ChromeOS loyalists. It’s also a solid platform for cloud gaming, as the 120Hz display offers good motion fluidity. 

However, the updated Core 5 120U processor puts the new 516 GE in an odd spot. It has two fewer cores than the Core i5-1240P in the outgoing model and, as a result, delivered slightly lower performance overall. I still recommend the 516 GE, but the new model feels more like a marketing maneuver than a useful update.