Acer Aspire True it is not the only one sustainable notebook in the world but it is certainly the one that made the most talk about itself during this 2021. The reasons are several: think of the presentation of Acer in the spring, which placed an important emphasis on the theme of environmental sustainability and social commitment, but also the particular aesthetics of this laptop and the price range that places it below the € 1.000 threshold.
All elements that make Aspire True particularly interesting. But how is this notebook in everyday life? We tell you about it in this one review.
The Acer Aspire Vero review: a one-of-a-kind design
We notice that the Acer Aspire Vero is an unusual notebook practically immediately. It is characterized in fact by a very particular body, with a basic gray color that is however enriched by a series of colored dots. It is not a choice of style only but is dictated in part by the material with which the laptop is made: Aspire Vero is in fact made up of 30% recycled plastic.
In fact, on the chassis we find the logo PCR, ossia Post Consumer Recycled, which has been engraved in the body, exactly like the Intel Core and Acer logos. It is not a random choice: the company has avoided affixing stickers or wasting materials for a possible bas-relief by opting for an elegant and more sustainable solution.
Instead, we would call the decision to insert original phosphorescent yellow details in this Aspire Vero: small elements that make the laptop less banal and more modern.
Worried about build quality? In reality the presence of recycled plastic does not undermine the general solidity of the Acer Aspire Vero which, on the whole, is quite robust. The only flaw perhaps concerns the lid which, if stressed, tends to bend a little more than expected.
Acer makes up for it though by using standard screws for assembly, a choice it allows for easily disassemble the product for an upgrade or for any repairs.
On the connectivity front, we have a lot of useful inputs. On the left we find the connector for the charger - with proprietary input -, the HDMI, 2 USB-A and one USB-C while on the right we have another traditional USB and the 3,5 mm jack for headphones. Virtually everything is there. However, we would have appreciated being able to charge the laptop via the USB-C port. It is not an indispensable function but, considering the diffusion of that type of charger, it is a feature that can potentially save the working day.
Autonomy
The theme of the charger leads us straight to that of the autonomy that stands on 6 / 7 hours regarding multimedia playback.
It is a lower result than what is offered by other notebooks of the same range but it is by no means negligible since it still allows you to cover a good part of the day.
The Acer Aspire Vero review: performance and display
Autonomy aside, it's hard to complain about this laptop's performance. We got to try the version with Intel Core i7-1195G7 processor, Intel Iris Xe and 16 GB of RAM, a combination that has fared well with all the tasks we have entrusted to him.
Of course we are not dealing with a gaming laptop so you can play some undemanding title from a graphic point of view, such as Fortnite, while you will have to give up more demanding games like Call of Duty or FIFA. On the other hand, it can handle a bit of photo editing with Photoshop or Lightroom or a not overly heavy video editing with Premiere Pro. However, his favorite soil is that linked to standard productivity so with emails, documents, navigation and presentations he gets along really well.
A small note. It is true that Acer Aspire Vero also handles Adobe programs well but the 15,6-inch display is not designed for this kind of use. The coverage of the various color spaces - from sRGB to NTSC - is not exactly very high which makes it unsuitable for professionals in photography, video editing and graphics.
Also keep in mind that the brightness is not very high: we are around 250 nits which are more than enough in closed spaces but less suitable for any outdoor use.
Finally, we report the presence of webcam, positioned above the display, in the center of the top edge. It's 720p and the yield is not excellent: even in a well-lit room there is a lot of background noise. A shame given the amount of video calls that dot our days.
Keyboard and touchpad
The keyboard is made up of 50% PCR. We also have two keys, the R and the E, which are backwards and are yellow. It's not a casuality. RE stands for Review, Rething, Recycle and Reduce, a summary of the philosophy that inspired this laptop.
Overall I liked the keyboard very much. The key travel is great, the buttons are responsive, we also have the numeric keypad and a good backlight.
The touchpad is also not bad. It is obviously made of plastic and not glass but it is very large, precise, responsive and supports Windows gestures. Plus it includes the fingerprint reader for unlocking via Windows Hello which is always useful for data protection.
Windows 11 e VeroSense
On the software front we find default Windows 11. A nice surprise that saves you time since you don't have to upgrade the operating system yourself.
On board you will find then VeroSense, Acer's software that allows you to define the battery optimization mode and the type of recharge. In fact, you can decide to stop the charge at 80% to extend the life of the battery or extend it up to 100%, depending on your needs.
The Acer Aspire Vero review: the final verdict
Acer Aspire Vero is on sale starting from € 799. In our opinion it is an adequate price for a laptop that offers excellent performance, good build quality, a very comfortable keyboard, Windows 11 already on board and the possibility of being easily upgraded or repaired.
Pay attention only to the display which is not suitable for those who work with videos, photographs and graphics or for purists of visual content.
