Acer’s Vero 514 brings its ‘eco-conscious’ idea to a Chromebook

Acer is including a Chromebook to its Vero lineup, which it says is supposed to supply laptop computer consumers an “eco-conscious” possibility. Like the (quite disappointing) Windows laptop computer that got here earlier than it, the Chromebook Vero 514 is made utilizing recycled plastics, has a chassis that’s 99 % recyclable, and is available in packaging that’s 90 % recycled paper, based on the corporate. Acer’s press launch even means that a part of the Chromebook’s packaging might be “transformed into a multi-purpose triangular laptop stand,” should you’re detest to throw something away.

Before we go over the recyclability, although, let’s rapidly undergo the specs — it weighs in at only a hair over 3 kilos, which is cheap for a laptop computer with a 14-inch display screen, and is powered by a Twelfth-gen Intel processor with Xe graphics. You can spec it out with a wide range of processors, together with the five-core Pentium Gold 8505 (don’t let the core depend idiot you, just one is for efficiency whereas the remaining are effectivity cores), the Core i3-1215U, the Core i5-1235U, and a Core i7-1255U. Those are all comparatively low-power chips, applicable for an eco-minded pc, but when I have been on the lookout for a laptop computer I’d most likely go together with both the i3 or i5 and keep away from the Pentium completely.

The 1080p display screen is roofed in Gorilla Glass, which ought to make it really feel fairly good should you go for the touchscreen mannequin. Its 300 nits of brightness received’t be sufficient should you’re continuously working in shiny daylight, however it’s nonetheless a step up from the 227-nit panel discovered on its Windows counterpart. The 514 also needs to enhance on the unique Vero’s shade rendering; whereas the Windows mannequin can solely show 66 % of the sRGB gamut, Acer’s promising one hundred pc protection for its Chromebook.

When it involves ports, the 514 has a wholesome choice — two USB-C ports, which can be utilized to quick cost the battery as much as 50 % in half-hour, one USB-A port, an HDMI port, and a headphone jack. The pc additionally comes with a “flare-reducing” 1080p webcam.

As for the laptop computer’s ecological footprint, Acer says that the trackpad’s floor is made up of one hundred pc “ocean-bound plastics,” whereas the keycaps are made of fifty % post-consumer recycled plastic. 30 % of the chassis’ plastic is recycled. While that’s not essentially as spectacular as, say, a $1,200 MacBook Air which has a 100 percent recycled chassis, it’s good to see Acer offering comparatively granular particulars like Apple. I wasn’t capable of finding any numbers backing up Asus’ claims that its Chromebook Flip CX5 has an “eco-friendly design” due to its “recycled materials built-in.”

Acer additionally claims that the Chromebook is straightforward to restore and improve, with customary screws letting you entry the reminiscence and storage (which you’ll have to do, on condition that the largest SSD you may get with the 514 is 256GB). While that’s not on the extent of what Framework’s doing with its nearly utterly repairable and upgradeable laptop computer, that pc is nearly double the worth; the bottom mannequin 514, comes with the Core i3, 8GB of RAM, and a 128GB SSD, begins at $499.99.

That’s one other enchancment versus the Windows model, which starts at $700, and doesn’t present a very nice worth at that worth level, based on my co-worker Monica Chin’s evaluation from final yr. The 514 can also be working ChromeOS, which is extensively thought of to be much less demanding than Windows — that might assist the 514 keep out of the landfill for longer, which is nothing however excellent news from an environmental perspective.

Overall it looks as if Acer’s addressed fairly a couple of of the issues we had with the unique Vero laptop computer. However, I’d wish to echo a notice that Monica hit on in her evaluation of that pc: it’s onerous to eat your technique to ecological accountability, and should you do have to purchase one thing it ought to final a very long time. One possibility for these trying to get a pc that’s a bit eco-friendlier is to put in ChromeOS Flex on an previous Windows laptop computer bought from a neighborhood used pc retailer or dug out of a closet (implementing the “reuse” step of cut back, reuse, recycle). But if you would like one thing with a bit extra trendy {hardware}, together with creature comforts like a fingerprint reader, Acer says the Vero 514 will probably be out there at Best Buy beginning in “mid-October.”