The good news is that the keyboard and touchpad are both pretty good. The Chromebook CM14 offers a comfortable typing experience and the touchpad is spacious, though the material Asus uses has a bit more resistance than I’d like. They’re supported by a solid base that doesn’t flex during normal use.
The 14-inch display offers a total resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels, though Asus has display scaling set out of the box to make it look more like a 1536 x 864 pixel display. You can adjust the scaling to the native resolution, and it looks suitably sharp. However, I can’t say the same about the TN display’s washed-out colors, dim maximum brightness, and poor viewing angles.
Photography: Daniel Thorp-Lancaster
If there’s one superpower that the MediaTek platform brings to the CM14, it’s efficiency. I was impressed with the battery life I was able to get out of this laptop, with mixed usage getting between 10 and 11 hours during a normal workday. Asus claims you can get up to 15 hours of battery life, so you might be able to squeeze even more out of it depending on how you use it.
The webcam is nothing to write home about, offering a 720p resolution that looks good on video calls. There’s a physical switch to lock it for added privacy, which is a nice touch. The ports are also relatively good for the price. There are two USB-C ports, one USB-A port, a 3.5mm headphone jack, and a microSD card slot. The microSD slot is handy if you want extra storage, as the 64GB of built-in storage is bound to become restrictive.
Sales hunting
So should you buy the Asus Chromebook CM14? Maybe. When you venture into the price range, there are always downsides, and they’re evident in the poor display and performance issues. However, positives like great battery life, a solid build, and a good keyboard make the CM14 a Chromebook worth considering if you can get by with the most basic of basics.
What makes this a tough call is the aggressive pricing I’ve seen on the more capable Chromebook Plus laptops, which start at $399 but are frequently on sale for much less. At the CM14 Chromebook’s full $299 price, it’s worth considering whether you can pick up a more powerful option, like the Acer Chromebook Plus 514, by spending a bit more when it’s on sale. That said, I’ve seen the CM14 drop as low as $180 when it’s on sale, and it’s absolutely a great buy at that price.