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Acer Aspire Vero Review Rating
Generalize
This is usually a general-purpose but well-performing 15-inch laptop. However, Acer Aspire Vero stands out due to its environmentally friendly and easy-to-maintain design. For me, the main advantage is the easily replaceable components, and I will inevitably break something.
advantage
- Brand new Intel CPU
- Environmentally friendly design
- Easy to maintain and upgrade
shortcoming
- No USB-C PD charging
- Even at 15 inches, it is a laptop.
For some time, Acer has been trying to improve its environmental certification. Recent notebook computers have used environmentally friendly packaging. Even the inks used are specially selected.
The new Apire Vero may become part of the Aspire 5 series, it goes one step further, taking an environmentally friendly approach to the entire notebook. This includes:
This includes:
- Environmentally friendly packaging
- Large quantities of PCR (post-consumer recycling) plastics are used for chassis and keyboards
- Repairable design using standard screws and easy-to-access components
Specification
- 15.6-inch IPS display, 1920 x 1080, LED backlit TFT LCD
- Intel Core i7-1195G7, 12MB smart cache, 2.9GHz, Turbo Boost Max up to 5.0GHz, Iris Xe graphics card
- 16GB DDR4 RAM
- 512GB PCIe Gen 3, 8GB/s, NVMe
- One USB Type-C (USB 3.2 Gen 1 up to 5GBPS), two USB 3.2 Gen 1 (one supports power-off USB charging), one USB 2.0, one HDMI 2.0 supporting HDCP, one 3.5 mm headphone/speaker jack, one DC input, one Ethernet (RJ-45)
- Windows Hello fingerprint reader
- 1.8 kg, 363.4 x 238.5 x 17.9 mm
Design/Environmental Material
In terms of packaging, they used 85% recycled paper packaging boxes, 100% recycled plastics for laptop bags and keyboard boards, and paper sleeves for cables.
They have also taken environmental protection measures on the structure of the laptop. Obviously, the components used in the laptop do not meet these standards, but Acer has done its best.
The body of the laptop is made of recycled plastic. Specifically, its chassis uses 30% post-consumer recycled (PCR) plastic, which can save about 21% of carbon dioxide emissions.
The chassis of the laptop is paint-free, so you have this original recycled plastic aesthetic. It looks impressive, with a grainy/spotted matte finish, and it feels very durable.
It is worth noting that many other brands use recycled materials in their laptops. Vero seems to be better than most, but it is not entirely unique in its use of recycled materials.
Maintainability-How easy is it to upgrade or repair?
Although many laptops have become thinner and lighter, they have adopted more old-fashioned 15-inch form factors
Initially, I thought this felt much larger than other 15-inch laptops, but it was not bad. The weight of many competing products has been reduced by about 100 grams, and the width and depth have been reduced by 10 mm.
There are several reasons for this, partly because it is very affordable and Acer designed it to be repairable.
Most laptops have some kind of repairability and upgradeability, but this uses standard screws and is easier to use.
It is very common for some laptops to be difficult to upgrade. Unless I want to remove the entire motherboard, I cannot upgrade my Huawei Matebook 13 WiFi module.
Opening this laptop requires me to remove 11 screws, and the rear panel is clamped in place, so I won’t say that this is the easiest laptop to open.
However, once you enter, you will see a very durable laptop. Every component I can think of is easy to access. As far as I know, for most parts, it’s just disconnection, unscrewing and replacement.
The motherboard itself will be your hardest job, but it is true for any laptop.
For anyone with basic skills, upgrading RAM, WiFi, and storage should be easy. The battery looks like it can be replaced quickly, but in this case, you may rely on Acer to provide you with parts. Check it online, you can buy Acer AP20A7N batteries for about £50.
exhibit
The 15.6-inch resolution is 1920 x 1080 and 60Hz, the frame is moderate, and the webcam is located in the standard top frame. The color accuracy is quite good, but the overall brightness may be a bit low.
port
The one thing I immediately disliked about this laptop is the use of a pin-type DC power plug instead of USB-C. The included PSU has a rated power of 65W, which can be easily achieved by using a power plug.
We also see laptops like Razer that allow users to use one of them, and high-power bricks can drive the laptop at full power to play games. Personally, I think this should be the standard configuration and applicable to the entire environment method of this laptop.
In addition, the port selection is good. This includes the increasingly rare Ethernet port.
For USB, you have:
- 1x USB-C 3.2 Gen 1 up to 5GBPS
- 2 USB 3.2 Gen 1
- 1 USB 2
You also have HDMI 2.0 with HDCP and 3.5 mm headphone jack
Keyboard and trackpad
The keycaps also use 50% PCR plastic. Unlike the chassis, you can’t tell that they use recycled plastic, and they feel the same as ordinary keycaps.
Typing is a relatively standard experience. I am rarely impressed with the keyboard of a laptop. Only the Samsung Book Go has recently come to the fore.
Because of its size, you have a full keyboard that extends to the small keyboard.
The touchpad is also standard, nothing bad, nothing special. It does include a Windows Hello fingerprint scanner, which seems to be more accurate than some I have used recently. The new Windows 11 fingerprint registration is now more like Android. It requires multiple scans and guides you to different locations, so I suspect that Windows has improved.
Performance
It uses Intel Core i7-1195G7, which is a quad-core CPU running at 2.9 GHz / 5.0 GHz with Iris Xe graphics. It will only be launched in the second quarter of 2021, so it is as good as a laptop at this price point.
Iris Xe graphics means this is not a gaming laptop. The benchmark test is lower than the Acer Swift 3X I reviewed earlier this year. It uses Intel Iris Xe Max + Intel Core i7-1165G7. You can do some relaxing games, but don’t be too harsh.
For normal productivity work, this has high performance.
- 3DMark Time Spy:
- Acer Aspire Vero: 1607 (CPU: 4493 GPU: 1444)
- Acer Swift 3X: 1890 (CPU: 4408 GPU: 1717)
- Matebook 13: 1276 (CPU: 2673 GPU: 1169)
- Computer logo:
- Acer Aspire Vero: 5030 (Basic Elements: 9279 Productivity: 6812 Number: 5466)
- Acer Swift 3X: 5014 (Basic Elements: 9468 Productivity: 6846 Numbers: 5279)
- Matebook 13: 3970 (Basic Elements: 8759 Productivity: 7224 Number: 2684)
- Far Cry 5:
- Acer Aspire Vero (720P/low): minimum 30fps, average 36fps, maximum 46fps
- Acer Swift 3X (720P/low): minimum 31fps, average 40fps, maximum 49fps
- Acer Swift 3X (1366×768/normal): minimum 30fps, average 35fps, maximum 43fps
- Matebook: minimum 32fps, average 35fps, maximum 44fps
Battery
Looking around the various websites, there seems to be a major difference in the battery reported by this laptop.
Currys said it lasted 9.5 hours. Acer America says 7.5 hours. Acer UK said 7 hours.
Amazon states 48 watt-hours, as do some other reviews of laptops.
Unless I misunderstood something, the battery in my Acer is obviously 53 Wh (typical) or 51.47Wh.
At 53Wh, this is about 11% smaller than the Huawei Matebook 14S, but significantly larger than the 42WHr of the ASUS Vivobook K553 or the 40WHr of the Inspiron 14 2-in-1.
Ignoring the specifications, the actual performance is enough for me. I do not have any license for battery benchmarking software, so it is difficult to provide specific numbers.
However, I can easily deal with it most of the day without having to worry too much about whether I am responsible for it.
Fan noise
The fan noise is very good, and for light use, there is almost no sound when the laptop turns on the TV in the background. Even when benchmarking in 3DMark, the reaction from fans will not be too bad.
I just heard them rotate very high in the 3Dmark CPU test, subjectively similar to the volume level of most other laptops of this size.
I suspect that the spacious internal structure of this laptop allows it to get better heat dissipation, thereby reducing fan speed and overall noise.
Prices and alternatives
Like Acer, I received a sample that is difficult to find online. In the UK, there seem to be two options:
- ACER Aspire Vero AV15-51-i5-1135G7, 8GB RAM, 512GB NVMe, priced at £649
- ACER Aspire Vero AV15-51 – i7-1195G7, 16GB RAM, 1TB NVMe, priced at £849
My example is i7, but it has 512GB, so it shouldn’t affect the overall performance data I publish.
The CPU used by Vero will only be launched in the second quarter of 2021, so there are not many competing notebooks.
The ASUS ExpertBook B1 B1500 has similar specifications, priced at £800, but has less RAM (8GB) and Windows 10. It does have a USB-C charging function.
Dell Inspiron 5000 14″ is a two-in-one model, equipped with 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD, priced at 900 pounds
For the i5 model, there is ACER Aspire 5 A514-54 14 inches, equipped with i5-1135G7, 8GB memory and 512GB storage space, priced at 599 pounds. Therefore, it appears that Vero’s price premium is £50.
comprehensive
The Acer Aspire Vero is an excellent notebook, and its price is about the same as the competing options.
My main complaint is the lack of UBS-C charging, which is convenient and environmentally friendly.
It lacks fancy features, such as a two-in-one display, but it makes up for it in terms of maintainability. For me, this is the main reason to buy a laptop.
The environmental certificate is good, but I can’t imagine that many consumers would choose it instead of something thinner or lighter.
However, once you consider its maintainability and scalability, the long-term cost should be significantly reduced. Of course, unless you get a larger NVMe drive, you may not need to upgrade RAM or storage, but if you damage the monitor or the battery starts to fail, both should be easy to replace (battery at least).
As a good laptop suitable for consumers, I expect it will attract many companies. The ability to easily repair a laptop can have a significant impact on long-term hardware costs.
Last updated on 2021-12-21 / Affiliate link / Image from Amazon Product Advertising API
