IFA 2017 | Acer's Chromebook 15 is a fanless, multimedia-focused, premium Chromebook

Chromebooks might not get the glamour that high-end ultrabooks and gaming flagship laptops do, but they still have been one of the few bright spots in the PC market for the past few quarters. Among the slew of computers outed by Acer this year at IFA is the CB515-1H/1HT Acer Chromebook 15. Promising up to 12 hours of battery life, a 15.6-inch FHD IPS display, Google Play Compatibility, and a fanless aluminum design, Acer is pitching the Chromebook 15 as a more premium multimedia Chromebook.

The Acer Chromebook 15 packs a number of features that differentiate it from competitors. Despite being a larger 15.6-inch laptop powered by Celeron or Pentium CPUs, the CB515 is actually fanless. This is partially due to its use of aluminum, which will allow for better passive cooling than an all-plastic chassis. The fanless design is also a plus for enjoying media without being bothered by the whir of fans in a quiet scene (and its upwards-firing speakers should be plenty sufficient for louder scenarios as well). Acer asserts that it will support Android apps from the Google Play Store on launch, so there should also be a variety of apps available to make use of its 12-hour battery life with.

Beyond its basic functions as a multimedia-focused Chromebook, the CB515-1H/1HT packs two USB 3.1 Gen 1 Type-C ports for power delivery in addition to USB 3.0 and HDMI. It is powered by either dual-core Intel Celeron or quad-core Intel Pentium CPUs, 32 or 64 GB of eMMC storage, and 4 or 8 GB of RAM. The Chromebook 15 will be available from US$399 in October and have both touch and non-touch screen options.