Aspire Vero AV15-52: New green laptop from Acer

What makes Vero more environmentally friendly than other computers is above all that the chassis is partly built from recycled plastic. Other things are also now more recycled, such as the packaging, the keys and the mouse pad. The mouse pad must be made entirely of plastic from the sea. However, there is still much that is not recycled. It is not in the same class as, for example, a mobile from Fairphone. But it is certainly a good step on the way.

Recyclability is another green aspect. The screen panel is said to be 99 percent recyclable. It is also easier to access and upgrade or maintain the components inside the computer than in most consumer laptops. This makes it easier to avoid it becoming a wear-and-throw machine.

However, very little of this is new compared to the first Vero. The mouse pad and keyboard buttons should be made of partially recycled materials, which they weren’t before, and that doesn’t make them any worse to use. There is no premium quality and luxury feeling in the keys, but it was not in the predecessor either. It’s well laid out and works, and you get clear backlighting.

Green style and good price

Just like before, about 30 percent of the plastic in the chassis is recycled, and nothing beyond that, except for the box the computer comes in. Is that enough to call this a sustainable and cycle-friendly computer? Any steps towards that are of course appreciated, but no, any Fairphone on the laptop side is not Vero. At least not yet.

However, it very much wants to be seen as such, with a design that signals more environmental thinking than is actually in the computer itself. Surfaces look like pressed unbleached recycled paper, but are actually plastic that is only one-third recycled. It’s an eye-catching aesthetic that can actually appeal when all other laptops are depressingly similar. But unfortunately, the computer is also unnecessarily thick and angular, which makes it uncomfortable to carry.

This is not an excessively expensive computer, you will have to pay SEK 12,990 for it. Performance is office class, but no more. Since the computer was actually released already last fall, it does not have the latest generation of Intel’s Core processor, but the 12th generation. The Core i7-1255U to be specific, a low-power processor that does a good job in single-core operations, but doesn’t keep up with Intel’s P- or H-series processors for heavy workloads. It’s smooth to surf, stream video or run Word and Excel, but you’ll run into problems if you try to edit photos or movies on the computer.

Small improvements in the screen

Nor is it something you’re likely to be tempted to do on its screen, a simple 1080p ips with good quality for web and documents. It also has pleasant properties for viewing media, as long as you don’t have HDR ambitions. It has better brightness than its predecessor, something I appreciate, as it was perhaps the previous model’s weakest point. Now I can sit with a window at my back without problems with legibility. The color gamut also seems higher, closer to srgb class than before.

Unfortunately, it is not matched by approved speakers. The sound from them is thin, diffuse and undetailed. Here you probably need to plug in headphones for a pleasant experience. Or preferably a headset, if you are going to run a video meeting, because the built-in microphone is not top class either. However, the webcam is convincingly problem-free.

Sixteen gigabytes of RAM is a plus in the price range. Eight would not have been unreasonable in the price range. But it’s slow ddr4 memories, most others run ddr5. A large ssd of one terabyte is also good. It’s also refreshingly fast, albeit not as fast as the very best right now. You get support for wifi 6e. If you have the right router at home, you can surf quickly. The computer has also been well approved with external connections, both usb ports, hdmi and fixed network.

The noise lowers the rating

Unfortunately, Acer does not seem to have understood that there is a cooler and more power efficient processor in the computer, because the Aspire Vero has fan cooling as if it were a heavy performance processor. As soon as the cores are loaded, a loud hissing cooling kicks in and pumps air through the computer. The air that comes out is cold, so the question is whether it is really necessary. Now it’s just really annoying.

Finally, I want to make a small plea to Acer, please clean up the software jungle. There is far too much unnecessary that just gets in the way and annoys. Partly own apps that should be able to be cleaned up and merged together, partly a lot of bloatware.

The novelty has passed, and a new Aspire Vero, which is basically the old Aspire Vero with minimal improvements and, surprisingly, a noticeably degraded and noisy cooling. It’s only enough for a half-positive review. It’s nice that Acer is trying to find a sustainability track, but they have some way to go to get it together into an attractive laptop.