Acer ruins Apple's cheap iPad party with its own affordable Chrome OS tablet that includes a stylus

Apple wants to rule classrooms with the iPad, but Google is clearly not going to let that happen.

Ahead of Apple's education-focused event on Tuesday, where it will likely debut a cheaper iPad, Acer has announced its own low-cost tablet, and it's the first one to run Chrome OS.

Acer's Chromebook Tab 10 is clearly a shot aimed directly at Apple. At $329, the tablet offers mostly comparable specs and has one thing Apple's equally priced iPad doesn't: a built-in stylus.

• 9.7-inch (2,048 x 1,536 resolution) IPS display

• 3999 RockChip processor

• 4GB of RAM

• 32GB of storage (expandable via microSD card slot)

• Up to 9 hours of battery life

• 5-megapixel rear camera

• 2-megapixel front-facing camera

• Stereo speakers

Acer is touting the tablet as a perfect learning device for students in K-12 and its ease of deployment for school IT admins.

Running Chrome OS doesn't mean the tablet is lacking apps. It'll also run Android apps via Google Play. Additionally, the Tab 10 supports augmented reality in the classroom such as Google's Expeditions AR.

Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

Stylus support is great, but noticeably missing is any kind of keyboard accessory. One of the main reasons why Chromebooks and cheap Windows 10 laptops are so popular in classrooms is because they come with keyboards — the preferred input for getting real work done.

Time will tell if tablets running Chrome OS will be a hit in classrooms or not. One thing is for sure though: Apple just got even more competition in the education market.