SEPTEMBER 2020 PCWorld 49included four mics, this one has two. I was still
able to calmly ask Cortana for the local forecast
with the laptop across the room, while my
home’s central A/C ran in the background.
That technology also suppresses keyboard
noise, handy in video meetings where you
might be typing as you talk.
OH, NO: BLOATWARE
Some budget laptops come overburdened
with bloatware, and the Spin 3 is no
exception. Some are welcome: The Spin 3’s
taskbar includes the Firefox browser as well as
Dropbox, which offers 25GB of cloud storage
as part of an Acer promotion. Acer
preinstalled Norton Security Ultra from
Norton LifeLock, and
customers will receive a
30-day subscription. (While
we believe that the built-in
Windows Defender offers
satisfactory antimalware
protection (go.pcworld.
com/amlw), the service
comes bundled with a
password vault, backup,
and other services.) Acer
(and Microsoft) preloaded
the various Office apps,
though you’ll have to
provide your own
subscription.
Acer also provides a
collection of its own apps,
which really deserve to be integrated into a
single overarching utility. The only ones
worth your time are the Acer Care Center,
which allows you to request hardware
updates manually, tune the system via
defragmentation and other services, and so
on. Quick Access provides a couple more
features: the ability to manage charging via
the USB ports, and a superior blue-light
management control, with four gradations
that go far beyond Windows’ own settings.
Otherwise, the bloatware approaches
horrifying levels: separate applications for
registering the unit; another, Acer Collection
S, that collects curated apps (like Facebook
and Netflix, which is already installedHere’s the Spin 3’s in-box 65W barrel charger. You can charge the
laptop via the Thunderbolt port if you own a USB-C charger. While
fast charging doesn’t appear to be supported, a 25-percent charge in
about 20 minutes isn’t bad.