Acer Aspire Vero (2022) review. | Media Pyro

Built with eco-conscious users in mind, last year’s Acer Aspire Vero proved to be a capable green machine. Almost a year later, Acer has refreshed its sustainability-focused laptop in some significant if not always obvious ways. With an updated 12th Generation Intel CPU, a bump in storage capacity, and an improved battery and display, the 2022 Vero (starts at $549.99; $899.99 as tested) is a step up from the original that’s still one of the most eco-friendly notebooks you’ll find you

That Old-fashioned Feeling

When we reviewed the Aspire Vero 2021, we tested the entry-level 15.6-inch unit, but this time we’re reviewing the top of the line 14-inch. As before, the laptop’s paint-free chassis is made from 30% post-consumer plastic (PCR) savings, Acer says, around 21% of typical carbon dioxide emissions – and 50 % PCR of the keys.

(Credit: Kyle Cobain)

The newest addition is the Ocean Glass Touchpad, which is made entirely from abandoned ocean-bound plastics. Our review unit features the familiar mottled gray of some eco-friendly products (this time called Cobblestone Grey), but Acer now offers two additional color options: Mariana Blue and Starry Black. Acer is still offering a 15.6-inch, as well as a 14-inch Veros. (The $549.99 base model has the larger screen.)

(Credit: Kyle Cobain)

As you turn the laptop around, you’ll notice that the Vero uses standard screws to hold its undercarriage in place, allowing for easy upgrades, repairs, and recycling of your machine. Yellow accents still show off the vents too; nothing too exciting, but it’s fun.

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Acer has also found a way to use more recycled packaging, now using up to 90% recycled paper as well as 100% recycled polyester used for protective laptop sleeves and keyboard sheets. The inner partition of the box can even be used as a laptop stand.

(Credit: Kyle Cobain)

But, while the exterior looks familiar, this year’s Vero has received a number of updates. Our test machine sports an Intel Core i7-1255U processor (two Performance cores, eight Efficiency cores, 12 threads) with integrated Iris Xe graphics, 16GB of memory, and a 1TB NVMe solid-state drive—a critical essential for a laptop priced under $1,000.

The $749.99 model cuts the RAM and storage in half and comes with a slightly slower Core i5 CPU. Both feature with Windows 11 Home and come with a number of pre-installed apps from Dropbox and ExpressVPN to Amazon and Norton Security upgrades. Bluetooth 5.2 is available, as well as Wi-Fi 6E, which should provide faster wireless speeds and lower latency if you have one of the latest routers.

The Vero weighs 3.31 pounds and measures 0.7 by 12.9 by 8.8 inches (HWD). That’s about average compared to other 14-inch systems like the Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5i 14, though surprisingly heavier than the 14-inch Acer Spin 5 convertible. The 15.6-inch variant also weighs under four pounds, quite a trim considering the screen size.

(Credit: Kyle Cobain)

The keyboard hasn’t changed much, although that’s not a bad thing. Sturdy keycaps provide comfortable feedback, with a standard set of system setting shortcuts at the top. The power button is integrated into the keyboard. I love the new touchpad – it’s much smoother than the surrounding palm rest area and provides a comfortable glide that I think is missing from many pads. Plus, there’s a Windows Hello fingerprint reader in the corner that will sign you into your computer without typing a password. The Vero’s stylized T and E keys also return, reminding you of Acer’s mission to Reduce, Reuse and Recycle.

Brighter Display, Fewer Ports

Vero 2022 provides a 14-inch (1,920-by-1,080-pixel) full HD IPS display with a 1080p dual-mic webcam on its top bezel. What Acer brilliantly calls ComfyView is an anti-glare matte display that reduces light reflection, while Temporal Noise Reduction technology produces high-quality images even in low-light conditions.

Both hold up to scrutiny well, with picture quality that delivers in a variety of lighting situations and viewing angles. Brightness has improved slightly, but is still rated under 300 nits, although colors don’t look as washed out as the 2021 model.

(Credit: Kyle Cobian)

Shot down speakers are still located on the bottom panel; they provide high-quality sound that never distorts even when the volume is cranked to 100. Credit to Acer’s TrueHarmony feature, which uses high-quality speaker magnets to produce high flux for more realistic sound reproduction. There’s a distinct lack of bass, but that’s typical for affordable laptops, and the chassis doesn’t vibrate like it sometimes does on cheaper laptops and Chromebooks.

Despite its improvements, the new Vero does lose a port or two compared to last year’s edition, especially the wired Ethernet port. On the right side, you’ll find only one USB 3.2 Type-A port and a Kensington lock slot. On the left is another USB-A 3.2 port, USB-C/Thunderbolt 4 port, HDMI 2.1 video output, 3.5mm headphone jack, and AC adapter connector.

(Credit: Kyle Cobain)

(Credit: Kyle Cobain)

Testing the Acer Aspire Vero: Firmly in the Mediterranean

The Acer Aspire Vero 2022 has the looks, specs, and environmental angle to make it a tempting purchase at first glance, but before you spend your hard-earned cash on any laptop, you’ll want to see how it performs. For our benchmark comparisons, I pitted the Vero against its 2-in-1 cousin, the Acer Spin 5; another convertible in the Dell Inspiron 14 2-in-1; and two consumer shells, the HP Pavilion Plus 14 and the VAIO FE 14.1. You can see their basic data in the table below.

Performance Tests

We begin our benchmarking with OL’s PCMark 10, a suite that simulates a variety of Windows productivity programs to give an overall performance assessment of office workflows. The Vero joins its rivals in clearing the 4,000 points that indicate excellent productivity for everyday apps like Word and Excel, but sits squarely in the middle of the pack.

Three tests focus on the system’s CPU, stressing all the cores and threads to evaluate a computer’s number-crunching ability. The Vero’s 12th Gen Core i7 was more than three minutes faster than last year’s 11th Gen system in our timed HandBrake test, which involves transcoding a 4K video clip to 1080p resolution, but the Aspire still landed close behind of the park. It was a middle-of-the-road runner in our Cinebench image editing and Geekbench math tests.

Our final productivity test is PugetBench for Photoshop(Opens in a new window), which automates a variety of functions in Adobe’s popular image editor to demonstrate the suitability of a PC for digital content creation and multimedia applications. The Aspire Vero performed creditably, confirming its status as a decent performer for a sub-$1,000 system.

Graphics tests

With their integrated Intel graphics, these laptops are all casual gamers or video streamers, not in the same zip code as true gaming rigs with discrete Nvidia or AMD GPUs. Our DirectX 12, Night Raid and Time Spy 3DMark synthetic benchmarks prove it.

The Vero didn’t shy away from distinguishing itself in this group, although you should abandon any hope of playing the latest games or screwing up the image quality settings in the older ones.

Battery and Display Tests

The final stretch of our tests evaluates screen quality and laptop battery life. For the latter, we make sure the system is fully loaded and then loop a 720p video at 50% screen brightness and 100% audio volume, with Wi-Fi and keyboard backlighting disabled, until the machine exits (hibernates) . The Aspire Vero wasn’t a front-runner in our test group, but it showed decent stamina and should get you through a full day of work or school. Acer says its Fast Charge feature provides four hours worth of juice in 30 minutes.

Finally, we use the Datacolor SpyderX Elite calibrator to measure the display’s color coverage (in three common gamuts or color spaces) and brightness. The Vero’s 1080p IPS screen isn’t a threat to the HP Pavilion Plus 14’s dazzling OLED display, but it’s reasonably bright and offers a big boost in color accuracy over the 2021 model’s terrible results. That’s an improvement you can literally see.

Verdict: Eco-approved and Improved

Overall, the new Acer Aspire Vero represents an improvement in ways both big and small. While it may not be much greener than the original, it offers better performance across the board, keeping it competitive with other consumer laptops. Still, this is a notebook for generalists, not specialists; no one should expect any serious gaming or workstation-style visual rendering or video editing here. But if you’re looking for a greener-than-average option that performs great for less than $1,000, this Vero earns a green thumb.