Acer TravelMate Spin P6 review

As the name suggests, the Acer TravelMate Spin P6 ($1,399 to start) is an ultralight convertible built for travel — and as the slim but unassuming black finish suggests, it’s targeted at professionals that want a capable and versatile device that isn’t garishly stylized.

There’s a lot to like in this well-rounded laptop, including long battery life and solid power, plus a slide-out stylus that feels intuitive and responsive. But a fuzzy finish on the screen and heat spikes don’t do the TravelMate Spin P6 any favors, nor does the fact that you can get better performance from rival laptops around the same price. It’s a close contender for our list of the best 2-in-1 laptops you can buy, but it can’t quite hang with the competition. 

Acer TravelMate Spin P6 review: Price and configurations

• The base model with an Intel Core i5 chip is priced at $1,399.
• We tested a model with a Core i7 chip that currently sells for $60 more.

The base model of the Acer TravelMate Spin P6 is priced at $1,399 and is equipped with an 11th-gen Intel Core i5-1135G7 processor, 16GB RAM, a 512GB SSD, and a 14-inch 1,200 x 1,920 touch display. The version that we tested (model TMP614RN-52-77DL) swaps in a more powerful Intel Core i7-1165G7 chip, and sells for $1,459 at Best Buy.

Acer TravelMate Spin P6 review: Design

• This lightweight convertible doesn’t have a lot of visual punch
• It includes a slide-out stylus that charges while docked

With professional users in mind, the Acer TravelMate Spin P6 opts for a decidedly minimal aesthetic, with an all-black aluminum-magnesium alloy body that packs no major flourishes and only has a barely-noticeable Acer logo on the lid.

Whether the understated allure is a good thing or bad thing depends on the user, but it’s hard to argue with the TravelMate Spin P6’s slim and lightweight build. It weighs in at a svelte 2.43 pounds and the convertible 2-in-1 build closes up to a very portable 12.3 x 8.9 x 0.66 inches. It’s a bit larger than the MacBook Air in terms of dimensions, yet surprisingly lighter.

Even as a lightweight laptop, Acer’s 2-in-1 feels solidly sturdy, and the strong hinges ensure that the screen stays locked in place no matter how you position it. The matte black finish is a bit of a fingerprint magnet, however.

You’ll find plenty of ports packed in, including a pair of USB-C/Thunderbolt 4 inputs and a single USB-A port on the left side, along with an HDMI port. On the right side, meanwhile, are the microSD card slot and headphone port.

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The Spin P6’s slide-out active stylus is also located on the right side, and charges when docked. Acer says that a mere 15-second charge provides 90 minutes of use, so you won’t have to wait long at all if the stylus runs out of juice.

It’s a very skinny stylus, which makes sense given the laptop’s own slim frame, but a slightly thicker build would’ve felt more comfortable.

Acer TravelMate Spin P6 review: Display

• There’s a fuzzy finish on the screen that’s super distracting
• The active stylus works well on the touch display, though

On paper, the 14-inch LCD display sounds plenty capable, with a solidly crisp 1,200 x 1,920 resolution at a 16:10 aspect ratio, plus multi-touch support.

But in use, the screen gives mixed results. It’s a bit dim for a professional laptop at an average brightness setting of 332 nits, making it tough to use outdoors and less-than-ideal sometimes even when indoors in strong lighting.

Even more frustrating is a finish on the screen that adds a fuzzy filter to everything, which I found incredibly distracting. It’s solidly crisp at that 1200p resolution, but the matte finish muddles the end result. It’s almost like having a layer of ultrafine specks all over the display, and it really diminished the overall experience for me.

That’s especially frustrating because the screen put up strong marks for color accuracy, registering about 130% of the sRGB color gamut and about 92% of the DCI-P3 color space. These marks are comparable to the great Acer Swift 5, and it beats the HP Spectre x360 13.5 and Apple MacBook Pro M2 on both counts. But it’s hard to enjoy looking at this display.

At least the touch support is plenty responsive, with the active stylus providing 4,096 levels of pressure sensitivity via Wacom AES 1.0 support. It’s precise and useful, but truth be told, I’d rather have a clearer screen than Wacom touch support.

Acer TravelMate Spin P6 review: Performance

• It’s capable enough for an array of daily needs….
• …But there are laptops with more powerful chips in this price range

With a powerful Intel Core i7 chip and 16GB RAM alongside, the Acer TravelMate Spin P6 is a well-rounded and capable Windows 11 Pro device designed for productivity. It’s well suited for a range of work needs, whether it’s word processing, web surfing, sketching with the stylus, developing presentations, and more. Getting around Windows consistently felt smooth and responsive, and Chrome didn’t buckle when juggling loads of tabs.

That said, the 11th-gen Intel chips in the TravelMate Spin P6 are starting to feel a bit dated given that much faster 12th-gen versions have been in other devices for some time. I didn’t feel limited at all in typical day-to-day use, but benchmark tests show a notable gulf between the processor here and the newer chips in some other laptops.

In the Geekbench 5 test, the TravelMate Spin P6 put up a multi-core score of 5,326 alongside a single-core result of 1,492. That’s pretty much in line with other laptops we’ve tested with 11th-gen Core i7 chips, but there are better options out there.

Compare that to the latest Samsung Galaxy Book2 Pro 360 model, which put up a 9,043 multi-core score, or the 8,919 score we got from the latest MacBook Air with Apple’s own M2 chip onboard. And the Acer Swift 5 jumped up to 9,859 on the multi-core test thanks to its own 12th-gen Intel Core i7 chip. With those devices, you know there’s a little extra juice in the tank for more demanding computing needs. But you can also see it in other tests.

For example, the TravelMate Spin P6 transcoded a 4K video into 1080p in our Handbrake test in 17:10 — but the Galaxy Book2 Pro 360 did the same in 9:34, while the MacBook Air M2 did it in less than half the Spin P6’s time at 7:52. The MacBook Pro M2 went even lower at 6:51. Those minutes could really add up. This isn’t the most ideal device for video needs.

Like most laptops without a dedicated video card, it’s also not primed for serious gaming. Casual games, classic titles, and other lower-impact experiences might run just fine here, but Fortnite was choppy even with most of the graphics settings cranked down low. Meanwhile, Sid Meier’s Civilization VI: Gathering Storm put up about 19 frames per second (fps) at 1080p resolution or about 21fps at the native 1,920 x 1,200 resolution. Neither is very smooth.

Acer TravelMate Spin P6 review: Audio

• Strong, vibrant audio playback that could use a little more bass
• The dual-microphone array works well for video calls

The TravelMate Spin P6 thankfully impresses with stellar audio playback, with upward-firing speakers between the keyboard and screen that get plenty loud and deliver clear, vibrant playback. The bass is lacking, which is typical for many laptops, but I was still happily cranking electronic tunes and hip-hop on Spotify and watching Netflix shows.

Meanwhile, the microphone had me sounding clear during video calls, even with some distracting background noise. Acer points to AI-driven noise-minimizing tech that helps with that.

Acer TravelMate Spin P6 review: Keyboard and touchpad

• It’s a great keyboard: tactile and responsive
• The large touchpad works well, but I registered some unintentional clicks

Typing on the Acer TravelMate Spin P6 is a breeze thanks to a responsive keyboard that gives a nicely springy, tactile response. The inputs are reasonably shallow, but my fingers flew across the keys as I cranked out 100+ word-per-minute results via the 10FastFingers typing test.

There’s a fingerprint sensor in the power button, which is located in the upper right corner of the keyboard layout, which works quickly and accurately to log you into Windows.

Meanwhile, the large, 3.1 x 5.0-inch Gorilla Glass touchpad is smooth and responsive, and provides plenty of space for multi-finger gestures and comfortable scrolling. That said, I did run into some stray touchpad clicks while typing — it’s a little too easy to unintentionally depress the upper corners with my palm.

Acer TravelMate Spin P6 review: Webcam

• The 1080p cam grabs quality video, but still photos are pretty mediocre.

The 1080p webcam captures strong video footage that’s crisp and clear, and better than typical in lower-light situations. Still shots are underwhelming, topping out at 2.1 megapixels and lacking detail even in strong lighting, but video quality is likely to be the larger consideration for professionals trying to serve up a clear view for conference calls. It works well for logging into the device via Windows Hello, too.

And it’s not obvious, but there’s a physical shutter built in to let you cover up the camera when not in use. It’s just a tiny plastic slider right above the camera, but it’s very easy to miss.

Acer TravelMate Spin P6 review: Battery life and heat

• It can get you a full day of use with a bit of brightness management.
• Unfortunately, the laptop can get very hot on the bottom.

For a slim convertible laptop, the Acer TravelMate Spin P6 can really go the distance. In our standard battery life test, in which the device is set to browse the web continuously with the screen brightness set to 150 nits, the Spin P6 kept going for 13:08.

That’s better than the HP Spectre x360 13.5, which put up just over 10 hours in the same test, or the 11:25 we registered on the Acer Swift 5. But Apple’s latest laptops both fly past the Spin P6, with 14:06 on the MacBook Air and a whopping 18:20 on the M2 MacBook Pro.

In my own daily use, with the brightness cranked to maximum (on this relatively dim screen) and performing a mix of tasks including web browsing and YouTube streaming, the TravelMate Spin P6 typically lasted about six or seven hours before powering down. You can probably find a happy medium in settings that gives you a full day of productive use.

But the Acer TravelMate Spin P6 runs a bit too hot. In lab testing, we measured a peak temperature of nearly 105 degrees Fahrenheit on the left side underneath. I quickly noted the surprising heat there when using the notebook on my own lap. It’s uncomfortable and well above the 95-degree threshold that we consider a reasonable temperature for laptops.

Acer TravelMate Spin P6 review: Verdict

• It’s a versatile, powerful, and long-lasting professional laptop.
• But it has a couple big shortcomings and there’s even stronger competition.

The Acer TravelMate Spin P6 gets a lot right between its versatile, slim, and lightweight design, strong battery life, and capable performance. But there are a couple of notable issues too, namely the fuzzy finish on the screen and uncomfortable heat spikes. On top of that, you can get even better performance from other laptops in the same size and price range.

In other words, it’s a mostly strong option for professionals seeking a powerful all-around laptop. But there are even better options out there — such as the Samsung Galaxy Book2 Pro 360 or HP Spectre x360 13.5 if you’re keen on a 2-in-1, or the Acer Swift 5 or Apple MacBook Air M2 if you just want a light, powerful laptop.