Most of you are unaware of the existence of the Acer Aspire Vero. This laptop was born with the idea of offering a portable device made from recycled materials with special attention to the plastic in the case and packaging. But does it do everything right or does it contain a bug. We will get back to you after a few days of use.
Acer Aspire Vero, technology can be clean
Over the years, we’ve seen how device packaging has evolved. At first it was huge and contained countless plastic and bags, now it has been reduced to a minimum. It happens with the Acer Aspire Vero that when we open it we can already read the company’s statement of intent with our most “green” laptop to date.
Carton packaging throughout to avoid undue use of plastic. So far it is a success. In addition, it is successful to use the right part as a support for the laptop when folding the cardboard. However, we have already found Acer’s first bug. They use a proprietary charger instead of resorting to USB-C which may allow us to forget about our smartphone charger or use it when needed.
The laptop is noticed at first glance that it uses recycled materials with this distinctive texture and removes any extra materials from the device’s casing. All logos are engraved on the case itself to a depth of 1 or 2 mm. It can be a long term nightmare where you end up with trash or something else. But the idea is very clever.
Acer chose a black keyboard that contrasts nicely with the rest of the box. The only items that stand out are the letters E and R on the keyboard. These are represented in reflection and in yellow signifying the company’s clear ethos in favor of recycling. Another striking element in black is the fingerprint reader on the trackpad.
Recycled…but a monster inside
Just because a laptop is made from recycled parts doesn’t mean it’s not sturdy. Power is guaranteed by the hand of Intel and its eleventh generation processors. The Acer Aspire Vero uses an Intel Core i7 1195G7 processor with a frequency of 2.90 GHz, 16 GB of RAM and a 475 GB SSD.
Thanks to the use of this Intel processor, we have integrated Iris Xe graphics, which is one of the most powerful Intel graphics that will allow us to play less demanding games with ease. The biggest problem we found was with the screen. Acer chose a 15.6-inch screen with an IPS panel and FullHD resolution.
The problem is with color reproduction as it achieved a 45.9% DCI-P3 color representation in lab tests. The representation of the color is rather poor and when viewing the painting under the microscope we find that its layout is rather poor. Of course, Acer has also indicated that it is a recycled screen and that should explain this situation.
Technical Specifications
| purifier | 15.6-inch IPS (16:9 aspect ratio, 1920 x 1080 pixels, matte) |
|---|---|
| Healer | Intel Core i7-1195G7 |
| GPUs | intel iris xe |
| memory | 16 GB LPDDR4 |
| storage | 512 GB PCIe SSD |
| for him | 2 speakers Acer True Harmony |
| Connection | 1 x USB Type-C 3.2, 2 x USB-A 3.2 Gen1, 1 x USB-A 3.0, 1 x HDMI, 1 x 3.5mm, 1 x Ethernet |
| Wireless networks | Wi-Fi 802.11a/b/g/n/ac/ax 160MHz, 2 x 2 MIMO, Bluetooth 5.0 |
| battery | 48 watts |
| Collective | 1.8 kg |
| others | 720p webcam, trackpad fingerprint reader |
A first step towards a new generation of laptops
This laptop gives me the same feeling as the first electric cars. It goes beyond what was created and presents us with a different laptop. The result was exciting despite some of the annoyances we noticed and it just makes us want to know what Acer will do with the next versions of the Vero family.
The recycled plastic casing has a nice touch and Acer didn’t try to hide it, they just show it off and that’s a big plus. Nothing to use as plastic paints or varnishes. This material is new to laptop makers and Acer certainly took advantage of it in the Aspire Vero.
We note at first glance that we are facing a different laptop, at least in terms of touch. Acer didn’t want to overdo it and the laptop’s lines were conservative in design. But it still looks amazing. The only design detail that shocks us is the way the air outlet and heat exchanger focus on the screen. Fortunately, in our testing, we didn’t see the fan turned on and this helps the gear last longer.
environmental independence
We talked about how powerful this laptop is with its 11th generation Intel Core i7 processor. With that said, we were hoping the battery was up to the task. Unfortunately, Acer scratched the battery and it only has 48Wh, which gives us about 5 hours of autonomy, which is a bit rare if we want to keep up with the pace of our lives. In addition, the battery is contained within the frame of the device which makes it difficult to change it when the time comes. That if star screws are used, we have easy access to the interior of the device so that we can change this and other components.
Bottom line: A good start with room for improvement
The Acer Aspire Vero isn’t perfect, in case anyone doubts. The company created its first laptop with recycled items throughout and the time and effort is remarkable. The user should be the one considering whether to bet on a cleaner streak despite the poor screen or somewhat poor autonomy.
The idea is exciting and we’ll just ask Acer to bet on better autonomy, use a USB-C charger we even forgive the screen. We have to think that these kinds of products should be more and hopefully more popular. Acer made a bold decision and that alone is their commitment.