Quality control issues with Spin 714?

Options
ehclem
ehclem Member Posts: 2 New User
in Chromebooks
Just bought a Spin 714 as an "upgrade" to my Spin 713.  Either I have a lemon or it is very much not that.

Right out of the gate, the trackpad feels super sloppy.  You just touch it and there's this noticeable give to it ,and it makes an annoying sound.  The only review so far on the Best Buy site confirms this.  I was just hoping that person got a lemon.  Even the tracking of the cursor with my finger movements feels somewhat off.  This in comparison to the 713, which has a really nice feeling solid trackpad.

On top of that, the screen on the 714 is noticeably not as nice.  I might go as far as saying it's kind of garbage-y.  I was rocking a Toshiba Chromebook 2 up until a couple months ago, and the screen feels very similar to that.  The 713 next to me looks so crisp, while on the 714 everything looks somewhat muddled.  The settings on my 714 are at default 1536x960.  The settings on my 713 are at default 1410x940.  Just looking at my gmail homepage, the profile picture of my google account, while very small, looks so crisp and nice on my 713 and then I look at the exact same image on my 714 and it's a blurry mess with no defined lines.  The icons in the tabs at the top of my screen are really crisp and defined on my 713 whereas on the 714, again, noisy mess.  On top of that, I have both devices' brightness all the way up and the 713 feels brighter and the colors are much more vibrant.

The speakers being under the 713 have really annoyed me since I got it but I just did a comparison between the two and the 713 with the underside speakers sounds way better.

This is just having it on for the first 30 minutes.  I haven't explored much else yet.  I also have to say I'm not super tech savvy, but the minute I turned it on, I got out the old 713 because I felt something was off.

Has anyone else noticed any of this or do I have a lemon?  I called Tech support and they said they'd have someone call me back tomorrow.

Answers

  • StevenGen
    StevenGen ACE Posts: 9,969 Trailblazer
    Options
    ehclem said:
    Just bought a Spin 714 as an "upgrade" to my Spin 713.  Either I have a lemon or it is very much not that.

    Right out of the gate, the trackpad feels super sloppy.  You just touch it and there's this noticeable give to it ,and it makes an annoying sound.  The only review so far on the Best Buy site confirms this.  I was just hoping that person got a lemon.  Even the tracking of the cursor with my finger movements feels somewhat off.  This in comparison to the 713, which has a really nice feeling solid trackpad.

    On top of that, the screen on the 714 is noticeably not as nice.  I might go as far as saying it's kind of garbage-y.  I was rocking a Toshiba Chromebook 2 up until a couple months ago, and the screen feels very similar to that.  The 713 next to me looks so crisp, while on the 714 everything looks somewhat muddled.  The settings on my 714 are at default 1536x960.  The settings on my 713 are at default 1410x940.  Just looking at my gmail homepage, the profile picture of my google account, while very small, looks so crisp and nice on my 713 and then I look at the exact same image on my 714 and it's a blurry mess with no defined lines.  The icons in the tabs at the top of my screen are really crisp and defined on my 713 whereas on the 714, again, noisy mess.  On top of that, I have both devices' brightness all the way up and the 713 feels brighter and the colors are much more vibrant.

    The speakers being under the 713 have really annoyed me since I got it but I just did a comparison between the two and the 713 with the underside speakers sounds way better.

    This is just having it on for the first 30 minutes.  I haven't explored much else yet.  I also have to say I'm not super tech savvy, but the minute I turned it on, I got out the old 713 because I felt something was off.

    Has anyone else noticed any of this or do I have a lemon?  I called Tech support and they said they'd have someone call me back tomorrow.

    "ehclem" the trackpad can be adjusted for sensitivity and movement speeds, 

    Step 1: In Accessibility, go to Pointer Controls and click the Trackpad Options tab at the bottom of your window.
    Step 2: At the top, move the mouse cursor either left or right – depending on whether you want to speed things up or slow things down. Optimize the sensitivity of the trackpad

    With the screen and these latest Intel Iris Xe Graphics you are at the mercy of "Google Chrome OS" as this Chromebooks that has a screen type; WUXGA LCD LED CineCrystal (Glare) In-plane Switching (IPS) Technology Multi-touch Screen is quite good but and as I've found out with the Intel Iris Xe Graphics on the new Nitro 5's of 144Hz refresher rate, its of low intensity especially with fonts is problematic, yes the graphics intensity is detailed but its not clear and bold as the older types screens. All in all and with Chrome OS's you are not as flexible as Windows with windows in updating anything, so you are at the mercy of whatever updates you get from Chrome OS. Look at the Users Manual first as that is the first thing that any consumer should do with a new laptop irrespective if you have the Spin 713 as the Spin 714 is different. 
  • ehclem
    ehclem Member Posts: 2 New User
    Options
    Thanks. The trackpad is what it is. The speed controls I already messed with but the slop is just how it's built it seems. 

    As for the graphics, especially the font stuff, is that something that might get fixed with a chrome OS update in the future? 

    Also the pure white on the screen is quite yellow. Especially noticable when you compare it to the 713 screen. Is that something they would also be fixed by an update?
  • ChromeAce315
    ChromeAce315 Member Posts: 1 New User
    Options
    ehclem said:
    Just bought a Spin 714 as an "upgrade" to my Spin 713.  Either I have a lemon or it is very much not that.

    Right out of the gate, the trackpad feels super sloppy.  You just touch it and there's this noticeable give to it ,and it makes an annoying sound.  The only review so far on the Best Buy site confirms this.  I was just hoping that person got a lemon.  Even the tracking of the cursor with my finger movements feels somewhat off.  This in comparison to the 713, which has a really nice feeling solid trackpad.

    On top of that, the screen on the 714 is noticeably not as nice.  I might go as far as saying it's kind of garbage-y.  I was rocking a Toshiba Chromebook 2 up until a couple months ago, and the screen feels very similar to that.  The 713 next to me looks so crisp, while on the 714 everything looks somewhat muddled.  The settings on my 714 are at default 1536x960.  The settings on my 713 are at default 1410x940.  Just looking at my gmail homepage, the profile picture of my google account, while very small, looks so crisp and nice on my 713 and then I look at the exact same image on my 714 and it's a blurry mess with no defined lines.  The icons in the tabs at the top of my screen are really crisp and defined on my 713 whereas on the 714, again, noisy mess.  On top of that, I have both devices' brightness all the way up and the 713 feels brighter and the colors are much more vibrant.

    The speakers being under the 713 have really annoyed me since I got it but I just did a comparison between the two and the 713 with the underside speakers sounds way better.

    This is just having it on for the first 30 minutes.  I haven't explored much else yet.  I also have to say I'm not super tech savvy, but the minute I turned it on, I got out the old 713 because I felt something was off.

    Has anyone else noticed any of this or do I have a lemon?  I called Tech support and they said they'd have someone call me back tomorrow.
    So, I was just like you and thought that the singular review on Best Buy was just a lemon. So I went ahead and exchanged my 713 for this 714 Model at Best Buy. When It came in, I noticed all of the things that you and the review pointed out and more. There were also major performance issues with the device. Sometimes after I would open  a few apps and close them, the computer began to spaz out. It would re-open those apps on its own.Also, sometimes the computer would throw itself into tablet mode (even without flipping the screen all the way back) which would randomly render my keyboard and trackpad useless. And to re-itereate, the screen is definitely a downgrade from the Spin 713. That's one of the first things that you notice. This device also gets very warm easily. Not sure what that is about. Finally, there was always some crackling noise emanating from the speakers no matter the volume level you were listening to at the time. Also, there is a little bit more flex to the chassy of the device than the spin 713.
    The biggest deal breaker for me was this: there is a three finger gesture that you can use in chrome that will pull up all of your current open applications. Usually the transition into this display is smooth. For some reason, on this 12th gen i5 processor, when I performed this gesture the screen would animate into the recent apps page. However, while it was doing such, you could see major pixelation on the other open apps. I had never seen that before on a Chromebook of this caliber. Even my Samsung Chromebook Plus has never done that! 

    With all of these things in mind, I thought that I could wait for a simple update to fix these things. I really wanted to have a pleasurable experience with it. It looked great on paper, upon first unboxing it looked fantastic. It's just that, the total experience didn't deliver. So, I took it back to best buy and ordered me another Spin 713 model (because they already sold  the one I brought back, that quickly.) If Acer can find a way to fix these issues, I will gladly purchase the 714 model again. Until then though, I am quite happy with the Spin 713 2021 model. I still consider it to be the best Chromebook on the market right now. 
  • JohnyQuest
    JohnyQuest Member Posts: 1 New User
    Options

    I’m having two concerns with the Spin714 purchased last week. First, I want to say I absolutely love the unit however of the two issues being the slightly lose track pad and the other a single click sound when opening up applications and sometimes opening web sites I can live the slightly lose trackpad and would like to fix the click sound. I did notice that turning the sound off wether in settings or by keyboard eliminates the problem however during regular operation I would like to leave the sound on.

    Does someone know what causes the click sound and can it be fixed with something simple like a setting change or an update.

    I didn’t want to just exchange it because I like the unit and others who have exchanged their unit have said they received another with the same problems

    thanks

  • billsey
    billsey ACE Posts: 31,722 Trailblazer
    Options

    Try Language, keyboard, click settings.

    Click on "Like" if you find my answer useful or click on "Yes" if it answers your question.
  • patrickkelly
    patrickkelly Member Posts: 92 Fixer WiFi Icon
    Options
    https://community.acer.com/en/discussion/668325/quality-control-issues-with-spin-714

    First, I'm 81-years-old and I play no games on my chromebook. Not only am I 81 but so are my eyes and ears. As with some of you, I have a Spin 713 and just wanted to play with the Spin 714. I got my Spin 714 this morning. I had watched, more than once, the review of the Spin 714 by Robby Payne on Chrome Unboxed.

    I have no problem with the trackpad. It is smooth, firm and accurate. I have it set to tap-to-click so I don't press the touchpad often. When I do, it reacts as expected. Since the Spin 714 is a different size the touchpad is a bit smaller top-to-bottom than the Spin 713. It hasn't been a problem but much of the time I'm using a Bluetooth mouse in addition to the trackpad.

    The review said the screen was step down from the 713 but is entirely adequate. I find that to be true. I went and watched some wildlife videos and the screen was fine. I like to edit photos and it's adequate for my needs. I don't create videos.

    My Spin 713 came on with Chrome OS 107 and it wouldn't update. I switched to the beta channel and got Chrome OS 110. I switched back to the stable channel and it was Chrome OS 107 and wouldn't upgrade. I don't know why but Acer seems determined on that. I might just switch to beta and not worry about it.

    So far, I'm happy with the Spin 714. I don't know if it's the size of the trackpad or something else but I have a lot less trouble with accidental touches when I'm typing.

  • billsey
    billsey ACE Posts: 31,722 Trailblazer
    Options

    The OS upgrade is gated by Google, Acer has no say in when it will be pushed to any specific model. That being said, it sounds like your machine certainly should be getting something newer, even if it's not 110 yet. Try doing a manual update to see if that breaks things loose...

    Click on "Like" if you find my answer useful or click on "Yes" if it answers your question.
  • patrickkelly
    patrickkelly Member Posts: 92 Fixer WiFi Icon
    Options
    https://community.acer.com/en/discussion/comment/1179545#Comment_1179545

    For me, I just switched over to beta channel and got OS 110.

Categories