Acer Aspire Vero AV14 14" FHD Core™ i5-1235U 512GB SSD 16GB W11 GRAY Bcklt

Though it’s partly made from refuse, this plastic Acer is anything but garbage–it’s plenty powerful and has great battery life too. Last year, I got to review Acer’s latest eco-friendly laptop, the Aspire Vero 14 . Well, progress hasn’t stopped since then and we’re back again with another Vero, but this time it’s the big 15.6-inch Vero with upgraded Intel 13th generation guts inside. Acer’s Vero series uses more pre- and post-consumer recycled plastics than most other new PC laptops out there today. From the keyboard to the chassis, and even the packaging, this takes a close look at what “new” needs to mean when waste reduction and energy savings are critical. But as always, if it’s not a good computer, it can be made from solid titanium and still be a flop–does Acer have another winning Aspire Vero on its hands? Looking for more options? Check out PCWorld’s roundup of the best laptops available right now. Our review unit came equipped with an Intel Core i7-1355U CPU, 16GB of RAM, and 512GB of NVME PCIe SSD storage. For more details, check out the bulleted list below: CPU : Intel Core i7-1355U (10 cores, 12 threads: 2 performance, 8 efficiency) Storage : 512GB M.2 NVMe PCIe solid state drive Connectivity : 2x Thunderbolt 4, 2x USB-A 3.2 Gen 1 (1x always-on charging), 1x HDMI 2.1, 1x 3.5mm combo audio, 1x DC-in barrel plug Dimensions : 14.2 (W) x 9.36 (D) x 0.70 (H) inches Weight : 3.2 pounds, 3.86 pounds with AC adapter The Acer Aspire Vero has a plastic-forward design–no premium metals or luxury touches here. But plastic is a versatile material, and can be highly recyclable. Plus, the chunky, dimpled aesthetic of the 15.6-inch Vero is undeniably unlike the aluminum that other machines wear. This year, we sampled Acer’s Cyprus Green color, a blue/green with flecks of lighter green embedded throughout the computer and with some subtle mint accents.

Within the Vero product line , manufacturer Acer releases notebooks, monitors or peripherals that place special emphasis on sustainability and are, for example, largely made of recycled plastic. In the case of the Vero AV14, this results in a unique, chic design. But the compact office ultrabook has quite a few other advantages, as our Acer Aspire Vero AV14 review clarifies. Striking blue design made of PCR plastic Workmanship without any notable glitches Sustainability is the magic word in Acer’s Vero range. Both the outer packaging and the notebook itself are designed with the environment in mind. For example, the packaging is made entirely of paper – apart from the adhesive strips that protect the box from unwanted looks, everything here is recyclable. Accordingly, the Acer Aspire Vero AV14 only comes with the required 65-watt power adapter with a convenient USB-C port and the obligatory paperwork like the manual or warranty. As unpretentious as the scope of delivery is, the laptop’s design is unique. The case, the keycaps and much more are largely made of recycled materials – plastic in this case. Acer calls the navy blue hue that almost completely adorns the AV14 “Mariana Blue.” Again and again, the blue device is interspersed with white plastic particles, which provides a pleasant color accent. In addition, the surface is pleasantly grippy and scores with a pleasing haptic, which skilfully stands out from most notebooks that you get to see. There is almost nothing to see on the upper side. On the underside of the notebook, quite large ventilation slots catch the eye, which blow the hot air out of the AV14. There are also large, light blue rubber feet in the corners that provide a secure grip. Another large ventilation slot can be seen above the keyboard. Plus points are awarded for the display hinge, which raises the underside of the notebook a bit when it’s opened and thus ensures better air circulation.

+ Bright 16in screen with good color reproduction Bright 16in screen with good color reproduction The Acer Aspire Vero 16 is Acer's latest take on a more sustainable laptop, following on from 2022's TravelMate Vero and Aspire Vero 14, not to mention the Chromebook Vero we looked at back in 2023. Acer promotes the range on its eco credentials, pushing the device's carbon-neutral lifecycle and 60% recycled plastic build. Yet, even beyond these (and a Ben Fogle ad campaign), the Vero line has consistently delivered decent specs and sensible designs at the kind of pricing that small businesses can afford. Indeed, larger enterprises might still find them attractive. This isn't the kind of laptop that sets hearts racing or gets envious glances in the departure lounge or meeting room, but it's very usable and might help your business with its green credentials or its wider ESG policy. Most of all, it's going to do so without serious compromises on features, usability or performance. As with previous Vero products, the Aspire Vero 16 has a distinctive look and feel. It's fashioned from a chunky plastic, itself formed from 60% post-consumer recycled plastics, with a slightly industrial, speckled appearance that's apparently cement-inspired. Acer has also reduced the quantity of printed circuit board material used by 52%, upped the portion of recycled paper used in the packaging to up to 90%, and teamed up with the charity Plastic Bank to remove 80Kg of waste per laptop sold in the UK. We noticed some slightly rough edges on this year's model, but overall it feels smooth, comfortable, and tough. It meets MIL-STD-810H standards for durability, temperature, sand and humidity resistance, vibration, and up to 1.22m of drop shock, even if there's a little more flex than we'd like in the lid. The 16-inch screen inevitably makes for a fairly large desktop footprint – 359.4 x 247mm – and at 1.8Kg we're far from ultraportable territory here.

A surprisingly good eco laptop: Acer's Aspire Vero 15 is no cheap laptop that's simply made from plastic but is sold for a high markup — instead, its total concept sets itself apart from the rest of the Acer Aspire series and as a result, it can be classed a mid-range device. Sustainability is playing an increasingly large part in society, leading to more and more laptop manufacturers inching towards environmentally friendly design and recycling — however, this is still often limited to just the devices' packaging (with the exception of Apple's MacBooks , for example, which already use 100 % recycled aluminum). Subsequently, we will be taking a close look at whether the laptop's visuals, feel, stability, performance and other aspects suffer as a result of the focus on sustainability or whether they even profit from this. Our test device is fitted with an Intel Core i7-1355U , 16 GB LPDDR5-RAM, a 512-GB SSD and a FHD IPS display with 100 % sRGB coverage. In addition, this is a prototype model with a US keyboard layout in Cypress Green. Within the EMEA region, this color variant can only be had as a cheaper Core-i5 model, while the i7 version can only be found in gray and with a 1-TB SSD. We already tested the smaller Aspire Vero 14 last year but lots has changed on this year's model. The laptop barely faces any direct competition — however, it is interesting to compare it directly to the Framework Laptop , whose AMD base configuration costs a similar amount to the Vero with the Core-i7 CPU. It also makes sense to compare it with similarly priced consumer laptops, such as Lenovo's IdeaPad Pro 5 and HP's Envy series . The Vero 15's case is truly one-of-a-kind and while this isn't for everyone, it certainly impressed our tester. Our prototype model has the colorway Cypress Green which, depending on the lighting, sometimes looks almost blue.