Reuse Reduce Recycle, I think Acer has nailed the three “R’s” with the Aspire Vero. A laptop built with mostly recycled materials and features windows 11. Even the packaging that the device came in was made of eco-friendly packaging as it is made of 85% recycled paper.
Design & Build
There is almost no flex which is a good indication of solid build quality however the tradeoff in this situation is that even though it’s built solid it’s a little chunky for laptops in this price range.
It weighs about 2 kg with the following dimensions (HWD) 0.7 by 14.3 by 9.4 inches. Although it’s just 2 kgs it did feel heavier. I would not want to carry this and its charging brick together.
Below the chassis, we have yellow-colored feet and an ergo lift design for better airflow which is great when using the machine on the table but not so much as a laptop.
We also noticed this honeycomb design, this is most likely to give a stronger structural strength to the chassis.
Performance
Overall the Vero has solid performance and I would not expect any less from the top-of-the-line core i7 Quad-Core processor, intel xe graphics, and 16GB of ram.
| Processor | 2.9GHz Intel Core i7-1195G7 |
| Graphics | 128MB Intel Iris Xe Graphics |
| Ram | 16GB |
| Storage | 512GB SSD |
| Display | 15.6-inch, 1,920×1,080-pixel display |
| OS | Window 11 |
Older games run like butter, more AAA games would be a tad difficult for this machine. It should handle word processing or excel sheets with a breeze. Would be pretty good for on-the-go tasks like zoom calls while also being eco-friendly.
If you are unable to find the memory/ storage configuration you want, fret not as both memory and storage are upgradable as per Acer.
Software & security
At first glance, Windows 11 can be a bit strange with its soft curves and a more modern design language (something I expected from windows 10) but after a week of using it, I was more than happy to continue using it.
For some strange reason OEMs still, pair Nortons antivirus software which feels redundant given how good windows defender has gotten over the years.
There are multiple login options from a pretty accurate fingerprint scanner to passwords and passcodes. No windows hello here, but considering that this is a first-generation device I think we can look past this one con.
Screen & Battery
The screen is a 15.6 inch 16:9 1080p display, while it’s not the brightest screen in the world it functions just fine. The screen is an IPS display and is best when used in a dimmer environment. The color reproduction on the display is much higher when comparing it to my Samsung m7 monitor.
The battery lasted about 6 hours 30 minutes which was a bit disappointing considering most machines around the 1100$ (AED 3999) mark provide better battery life than the Vero.
Keyboard & trackpad
Coming from a mechanical keyboard the laptop keyboard did have a little bit of a learning curve but after 30 minutes of usage, I was accustomed to it. While typing is a pleasant experience the keys just dont sound as satisfying.
The trackpad sucks. Recycled plastic does not make for a good user experience, sure it’s good for the planet but as a user, I find it unusable. The trackpad itself has too much resistance and cant differentiate between clicks and right clicks. A glass trackpad would be the gold standard here. I preferred to use an external mouse over the trackpad.
EDIT: after some software updates the right click and left click issues were resolved.
Speakers & webcam
The webcam quality has a lot of noise in it so you won’t need to clean up too much for a call. On the other hand, the speakers are audible but nothing to shout about. The quality of the audio is the best when it’s on a solid surface and that is most likely due to its downward-facing design.
Ports & connectivity
Connectivity is standard at best with HDMI and USB-A ports, no thunderbolt but there is a USB-C and the proprietary barrel charging plug from the ye old days still remains. It’s very disappointing to see barrel plugs in machines that can easily support USB-C charging up to 100 watts which would also be more universal since most gadgets use USB-C charging.
On the left, we have the barrel plug, RJ-45 ethernet jack, HDMI, 2x USB-A&USB-C.
On the right, we have a Kensington lock, USB-A, headphone jack & led status indicators.
You should have no issues connecting multiple peripherals like a mouse, keyboard, or hard drive as you have space for all three.
Conclusion
Acer’s new Vero lineup is not meant for everybody, it caters specifically to those who want an eco-friendly machine and those who want to reduce their carbon footprint. It’s still a very competent machine for those who just want something a tad bit different. If the price feels a bit on the higher side there is an i5 model for 880$(AED 3,199)
