Acer Aspire Vero Review
A mid-range laptop that wants to save the world
Verdict
The Acer Aspire Vero is a great laptop for those who want a great-looking notebook that’s also helpful for the environment. It’s moderately powerful for a mid-range pick and also offers up a brilliant selection of ports. Battery life is a little bit below par, and the Full HD display, while plenty big enough, is a smidgen dim at times.
Pros
- Eye-catching speckled design
- Brilliant port selection
- Respectable levels of power
Cons
- Sub-par battery life
- Display is a little dim
- Thick chassis
Availability
- UKRRP: £849.99
- USARRP: $899.99
Key Features
- Environmentally manufactured:The Acer Aspire Vero is partially made of PCR (post-consumer recycled) plastics, meaning it’s strong but also environmentally friendly,
- Great port selection:You’ll also find plenty of ports on the Vero including USB-C, USB-A, HDMI and Ethernet.
- Full HD Display:The Vero also employs a sizeable 15.6″ 1920x1080p panel that’s decent for viewing videos.
Introduction
The Acer Aspire Vero is one of the most eye-catching laptops I’ve had the pleasure of testing within the last few months.
It’s also got an equally juicy spec sheet, with this review sample packing an 11th Gen Intel Core i7-1195G7 CPU, 16GB of RAM and a 512GB SSD which means it packs plenty of punch at a performance level.
This is the more powerful iteration of the Vero with a price tag of $899.99 to match. For a mid-range laptop, it’s arguably pretty expensive, but does sit well alongside the likes of the HP Pavilion 15 (2020) for instance.
Alongside this comes a base model that offers up a Core i5-1155G7 as well as 8GB of RAM and a 256GB SSD. The pricing for the base model clocks in at $699.99/€799.
Design and keyboard
- Smart, eye-catching plastic shell
- Partially comprised of PCR plastics
- Tactile keyboard, large trackpad and brilliant port selection
The Acer Aspire Vero’s design sets it apart from most of the competition. Where other candidates opt for a standard brushed aluminium outer shell, Acer’s more environmentally friendly laptop utilises a speckled plastic shell that looks noticeably smart.
It’s sure to catch the eye of passers-by as there’s no other laptop that comes close to this when it comes to such a unique look. That speckled colouring of slate grey alongside flecks of green and blue is thanks to the fact the Vero’s body is comprised partially of PCR (post-consumer recycled) plastics, as is also declared by the little engraving in the corner.
While it undoubtedly looks the part, the Vero’s clever shell can feel a little rough to the touch which can take some getting used to if you’re used to something smoother.
The screen bezel is relatively narrow on the sides and top, but the one on the bottom is pretty thick. You will still find a handy 720p webcam for all your video conferencing needs on its top though.
The Vero’s overall construction does mean it’s not the thinnest of laptops and it carries plenty of heft, with a total weight of 1.8kg. With that being said, I found it’s still light enough to carry around in a decent rucksack.
The slightly thicker chassis houses a decent number of ports. On the left, you’ll find an Ethernet port, alongside one USB-C, an HDMI and two USB 3.2 Type-As. Round the right there’s a Kensington lock, USB 2.0 Type-A and a headphone combi jack. It’s fair to say Acer definitely hasn’t skimped out here, and Ethernet is an especially nice addition for those that want fast, cabled internet.
The speakers on offer sound nicely balanced with a little bit of low-end punch. They are downwards firing though, so do note that sound could be a little muffled if you place the Acer Aspire Vero on a softer surface, such as blanket or a bed.
You’ll also find some handy support for Windows Hello with a fingerprint sensor that comes integrated into the top left corner of the Vero’s trackpad, which seems a convenient place to put it.
The Vero’s keyboard is nicely tactile and responsive to the touch with a convenient full-size layout with oodles of backlighting, although the number pad is a little more compact than I’d have liked. By contrast, the trackpad is positively huge with accurate tracking and tactile buttons.
Display
- Standard 1080p resolution is pretty good
- 250 nits of brightness is a little dim
- 15.6-inch panel offers plenty of screen real estate
Acer has gone for something a little more standard in the display department with a 15.6-inch Full HD panel that offers up some decent colours and more than enough screen real estate for day-to-day working and relaxing.
When catching up on The Grand Tour’s last special on Amazon Prime, the Vero’s colours felt a little flat in comparison to some of Acer’s other laptops, including their Chromebook Spin 713 with its 400 nits of brightness.
This panel with a brightness of 250 nits, is a little dimmer than I would have liked and falls below the usual 300 nit target by just a tad.
For most scenarios, there isn’t anything wrong with the Vero’s panel especially for use indoors, but it isn’t the best option for uber-bright settings.
Performance
- 11th Gen Core i7 processor is pretty snappy
- Integrated Iris Xe graphics can be useful for casual gaming
- SSD read and writes are pretty respectable
Under the Vero’s certified “environmentally sustainable” hood, you’ll find it packs a handy punch for a mid-range laptop. Highlights include an Intel Core i7-1195G7 CPU, alongside Intel Iris Xe integrated graphics, 16GB of RAM and a 512 GB SSD. These are very good specs for a laptop this price.
In the real world, this spec sheet translated to a snappy user experience, although in the Geekbench 5 multi-core and PC Mark 10 tests, the Vero did fall behind some of its closed competition by some margin, largely thanks to the multi-core benefits of Ryzen-powered offerings like the HP Pavilion 15 (2020).
Acer Aspire Vero | HP Pavilion 15 (2020) | Dell XPS 13 | |
Processor | Intel Core i7-1195G7 | AMD Ryzen 4700U | Intel Core i7-1165G7 |
3D Mark Time Spy | 1621 | 1046 | 1657 |
Geekbench 5 Multi-core | 4383 | 4553 | 5687 |
PC Mark 10 | 3763 | 3889 | 4802 |
16GB of RAM does at least mean the Vero has plenty of headroom for more intensive tasks such as photo and video editing, and it worked well for some generally productive workdays.
If you’re planning on spending your evenings relaxing with a game or two, then the Vero can game given the integrated Iris Xe graphics on offer, but don’t expect it to run AAA titles.
A 512GB SSD offers up a decent bit of capacity for storing all your files and programs, and isn’t as stingy as some other laptops. But this is the max capacity currently available on the Vero, which may not suit everyone.
Its read and write speeds of 2388.97MB/s and 1217MB/s respectively do make this one of the quicker SSDs available on mid-range laptops in my testing and a good choice for loading your files on and off.
If you do go out and buy a Vero, then you’ll also find Windows 11 pre-installed, meaning you don’t have to wait until your own PC updates in order to give it a go. Windows 11 feels smoother than 10 in my view, which is only a plus.
Battery Life
- Lasted 7hrs 28mins in the benchmark test
- Capable of lasting one working day
I’m afraid to say that the Vero’s battery life is a little underwhelming. During the PCMark 10 office battery benchmark, it lasted just shy of seven and a half hours before shutting down.
The Vero lags behind the competition with it lasting for only half the time of the Lenovo Yoga Slim 7’s near 15 hours, and an hour or so behind one of our top laptops, the Microsoft Surface Laptop Go.
Within the real world though, it’ll comfortably last for a working day, and you may be able to eke it out into a second by winding down the brightness.
Latest deals
Should you buy it?
You want a brilliant looking mid-range laptop: The Vero sells itself not only on its beefy levels of power, but also because it’s built with some sustainable materials and has plenty of ports to boot.
You’re wanting a uber-bright display and long battery life: Unfortunately, the Vero won’t please everyone as its display isn’t the brightest and its battery life is also a little underwhelming.
Final Thoughts
The Acer Aspire Vero represents a bit of a leap forward for laptops when it comes to construction and design. If Acer’s more sustainable methods and materials catch on, then there could be a way forward for lessening quantities of e-waste as laptops recycle and repurpose PCR plastics.
Its design is bold and beautiful, with specks of green and blue making the Vero look fantastic. For a mid-range laptop too, the port selection is nicely well-rounded and there’s also plenty of power to get your teeth stuck into.
Just note that the battery life isn’t the most incredible and the Vero’s display is a little dim for my liking.
How we test
Every laptop we review goes through a series of uniform checks designed to gauge key things including build quality, performance, screen quality and battery life.
These include formal synthetic benchmarks and scripted tests, plus a series of real world checks, such as how well it runs the most frequently used apps.
We also make sure to use every laptop we review as our primary device for at least a week to ensure our review is as accurate as possible.
Used as our main laptop for the review period
Tested for at least a week
Used consistent benchmarks for fair comparisons with other laptops
Tested the battery life
FAQs
Acer use 30% PCR plastic in the chassis, claiming to save around 21% in CO2 emissions.
No, this laptop does not have a touchscreen.
Yes, Acer claims the packaging is 100% recyclable.