[ad_1]
Advantages
- 30% recycled plastics
- Good performance and all-day battery life
- Full size keyboard with separate number pad
Cons
- 720p web camera
- A single USB-C port
- Limited time purchase configurations and upgrade options
Tech companies have a mixed reputation when it comes to climate change and sustainability issues, but with its recently launched Vero line of ‘green PCs’, Acer hopes to boost its credibility in this area. There are several products in the Vero range, including laptops, desktop PCs and monitors, but the biggest offering for business users is the 15.6-inch TravelMate Vero running Windows 11 Pro.
Acer TravelMate Vero: 15.6-inch IPS screen, Core i5 or i7 processor (UK only at the moment), integrated Iris Xe graphics, 16GB RAM and 512GB SSD storage. The chassis incorporates significant amounts of recycled plastic. Image: Cliff Joseph / ZDNet
In many ways, this is a fairly traditional laptop, but Acer says the Vero chassis is made up of 30% PCR (Post-Consumer Recycled) plastic, which helps reduce CO2 emissions from the manufacturing process by around 21%. The keys on the keyboard also use PCR, and the packaging materials are fully recyclable. And, just to let your clients know about the trend of your business, BIOS Vero allows you to customize the logo that appears on a startup.
The keyboard has a separate number pad, which also uses recycled plastic. A fingerprint reader is embedded in the large touchpad. Image: Cliff Joseph / ZDNet
Design & features
Recycled plastic aside, the TravelMate Vero has a fairly traditional clamshell design. Its speckled black casing is smart enough, but the chunky border around the screen looks very dated. It’s well built, though, measuring just 18mm thick, and weighing 1.8kg, which isn’t a bad weight for a 15.6-inch laptop. But, as we’ve mentioned in previous reviews, Acer’s use of a spindle power connector that sticks out from the side of the laptop seems like a potential weak point.
The 15.6-inch screen means the chassis has room for a full-size keyboard and a separate numeric pad, as well as a large touchpad with an embedded fingerprint reader. The keyboard panel also feels firm and responsive when typing quickly. The IPS FHD (1920×1080) display isn’t going to win any awards, but it’s bright and clear, with good viewing angles if you need to give an impromptu presentation when you’re out of the office. Acer diligently avoids any mention of the color standards supported by the display, so this is not a laptop designed for creative users, although its 11th generation Core i7 processor will be perfectly adequate for basic photo or video editing with for presentation.
While RJ-45 Ethernet and HDMI ports are provided, there’s only one USB-C port – the other three are USB-A (2x 3.2, 1x 2.0). Image: Cliff Joseph / ZDNet
Connectivity is another area where the Vero looks a little behind the curve. It only offers one USB-C port, and three USB-A ports – one of which is USB 2.0 for some inexplicable reason. There’s HDMI for an external display, RJ-45 Gigabit Ethernet and a 3.5mm headphone jack, but no Thunderbolt, DisplayPort or SD card reader support.
The 720p webcam isn’t great either, with a slightly grainy image that won’t be ideal for remote operator video calls. Impressively, the Vero includes Wi-Fi 6, as well as Bluetooth 5.0 to provide good wireless connectivity.
Price & options
You are not overloaded with options on the TravelMate Vero. Acer’s website clearly states that the Vero has the ‘powerful processing power’ of an i7 processor, and the review unit included a quad-core Core i7-1195G7 processor running at 2.9GHz (up to 5.0GHz with TurboBoost) Acer available. as well as 16GB RAM and a 512GB SSD. But, not for the first time, we found the pricing and sales information on Acer’s website to be a bit vague.
At the time of writing, the Core i7 configuration was only available in the UK, priced at £899.99 (VAT included) — that’s around $1,130. Acer’s US website currently only offers an entry-level model with a Core i5-1155G7 processor for $899.99, so US customers will have to wait a bit longer for the i7 version of the TravelMate Vero to ship.
Performance & battery life
That’s a shame, because the Core i7 in our review unit will prove to be the TravelMate Vero’s saving grace, delivering extremely respectable performance for a laptop in this price range.
The Geekbench 5 CPU benchmark reported scores of 1645 for (single core) and 5525 (multi-core), which is in line with more expensive Core i7 laptops like HP’s Elite Dragonfly G2.
The Vero relies on the integrated Iris Xe Graphics of the Core i7 processor, which achieves a score of 85fps for graphics performance with Cinebench R15, which will be quite sufficient for simple photo or video editing work. However, with a modest 10fps with the more demanding Unigine Valley benchmark the Vero is clearly best suited for general productivity software such as Microsoft Office, rather than heavy content creation work.
LOOK: The best computers: Is a Windows PC, Chromebook, or Mac right for you?
That impression is confirmed when running the PCMark 10 productivity test suite, with the Vero recording a solid mid-range score of 5174 that puts it at almost exactly the halfway point in PCMark’s overall performance ranking.
It’s a similar story with battery life, which is respectable without being particularly outstanding. Acer’s VeroSense app is useful here, as it provides several eco-friendly power plans in addition to those already built into Windows itself. The VeroSense app provides both Eco and Eco+ options, with the latter lowering the fan speed and disabling features like USB charging to preserve battery life.
Acer’s website — unhelpful as ever — states a battery life of ‘up to 9.5 hours’ on one page, and ‘7 hours maximum’ on another. In fact, we were able to get 7.5 hours of streaming video from the BBC iPlayer using the VeroSense Eco+ power plan, with brightness set to a perfectly viewable 40%. If you’re not using wi-fi all day, you should be able to get a full day’s work out of the TravelMate Vero between charges.
Conclusions
If you or your business are very eco-conscious, using TravelMate Vero recycled plastics could be a deciding factor in your purchasing decision. However, this laptop’s eco credentials have to be balanced with a slightly dated design and features. To be fair, the Core i7 model reviewed here delivers respectable performance and battery life for a laptop in this price range, but – aside from its recycled plastics – the TravelMate Vero doesn’t have many features to help it stand out in a competitive market.
Acer TravelMate Vero specifications
| Operating system | Windows 11 pro |
| Display | IPS LCD 15.6-inch, FHD (1920 x 1080, 141.2ppi) |
| Processor | Intel Core i5-1155G7, Core i7-1195G7 (as reviewed) |
| GPU | Intel Iris Xe Graphics (integrated) |
| Ram | 16GB (DDR4) |
| Storage | 512GB (PCIe SSD) |
| Bluetooth | 5 |
| Wifi | Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax) |
| LAN | Gigabit Ethernet |
| Ports | USB-C (3.2), 2x USB-A (3.2), USB-A (2.0), HDMI, RJ-45, 3.5mm audio out |
| Input | backlit keyboard, multi-touch touchpad |
| Web camera | 720p |
| Fingerprint reader | yes |
| Battery | Li-ion 3-cell |
| Battery life | 7 – 9.5 hours |
| Dimensions | 363.4mm x 238.5mm x 17.9mm |
| Weight | 1.8kg |
| In the box | TravelMate Vero (TMV15-51-71YY review), battery, AC adapter |
| Price | $899.99 (US, Core i5) / £899.99 (UK, Core i7) |
Other options to consider
Acer’s consumer-focused Aspire Vero is only available with Windows 11 Home, but has similar green credentials as the TravelMate Vero, and offers both Core i5 and i7 configurations. And, of course, there are plenty of laptops costing around $1100 available from competing manufacturers.
RECENT AND RELATED SUBJECTS
Next@Acer 2022: Acer announces new sustainability initiatives, laptops, and more
CES 2022: Acer refreshes Swift X laptop, Chromebook lineups
The best battery life laptops: Work longer without the plug
Best laptops: Does Apple take the crown?
The 10 best Windows laptops: The best notebooks, 2-in-1s, and ultraportables
Read more reviews
[ad_2]
Source link
