The excellent news is that the keyboard and trackpad are fairly good right here. The Chromebook CM14 presents a snug typing expertise, and the trackpad is spacious, although the fabric Asus makes use of has a little bit extra drag than I’d like. They’re backed up by a stable base to the laptop computer with none flex throughout regular use.
You get a full 1,920 x 1,080-pixel decision on the 14-inch display, although Asus has show scaling set out of the field so it appears extra like a 1,536 x 864-pixel display. You possibly can alter the scaling again all the way down to native decision and it appears suitably crisp. Nonetheless, I can’t say the identical concerning the washed-out colours, dim max brightness, and poor viewing angles of the TN show.
{Photograph}: Daniel Thorp-Lancaster
If there’s one superpower the MediaTek platform brings to the CM14, it’s effectivity. I used to be impressed with the battery life I might eke out of this laptop computer, clocking in round 10 to 11 hours of combined use all through a standard workday. Asus claims you’ll be able to stand up to fifteen hours of battery life, so that you could possibly squeeze out much more relying on how you employ it.
The webcam isn’t something particular, supplying you with a 720p shooter that appears OK on video calls. You get a bodily change to dam it for further privateness, which is a pleasant contact. Ports are additionally comparatively good for the worth. There are two USB-C ports, one USB-A port, a 3.5-mm headphone jack, and one microSD card slot. The microSD slot is helpful if you’d like further storage, because the 64 GB of built-in storage is certain to change into restrictive.
Hunt for Gross sales
So do you have to purchase the Asus Chromebook CM14? Possibly. If you dip into the finances vary, there are at all times trade-offs, and so they’re evident within the poor show and efficiency struggles. Nonetheless, vivid spots like nice battery life, a stable construct, and keyboard make the CM14 a Chromebook price contemplating if you will get by with probably the most fundamental of fundamentals.
What makes this a troublesome resolution is the aggressive pricing I’ve seen on extra succesful Chromebook Plus laptops, which begin at $399 however are ceaselessly on sale for a lot much less. On the Chromebook CM14’s full $299 worth, it’s price contemplating whether or not you’ll be able to decide up a extra highly effective possibility, just like the Acer Chromebook Plus 514, by spending a little bit further when it’s on sale. That mentioned, I’ve seen the CM14 dip to $180 when it’s on sale, and it’s completely an ideal purchase at that worth.
