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Dec 07, 2023

Acer Aspire Vero 15 review: Sustainable Intel Evo notebook with a long runtime

The Vero product line from manufacturer Acer stands for sustainability. In the case of the Acer Aspire Vero 15 AV15-53P, for example, over 40 percent of the case is made of recycled materials. But

The Vero product line from manufacturer Acer stands for sustainability. In the case of the Acer Aspire Vero 15 AV15-53P, for example, over 40 percent of the case is made of recycled materials. But that is not all. Our Acer Aspire Vero 15 review clarifies whether the notebook is also technically capable.

The aspect of sustainability is becoming increasingly important. Generation Z in particular is paying attention to its environmental footprint, consuming more consciously and advocating social justice, making it a driving force for change towards a more sustainable society.

More and more hardware and peripheral manufacturers are also recognizing this and are focusing on sustainability in their products. This also plays an important role in Acer’s Aspire Vero product line. Not only does the notebook come completely in a cardboard box and does without any plastic within the packaging, but the case of the notebook also consists of over 40 percent sustainable recycled materials.

As in the case of the AV14 (our review), this also results in a unique look for the Acer Aspire Vero 15. However, compared to the 14-incher, the larger model does not rely on a dark blue case, but a greenish one, which is interspersed with white and light green plastic particles.

This not only looks chic, but also provides a pleasantly grippy surface for the laptop. No question: The Acer Aspire Vero 15 stands out. There isn’t much to see on the upper side besides the small, discreet manufacturer logo, while four generous rubber feet provide a secure grip on the bottom.

As with the 14 model, the display hinge raises the notebook slightly when opened, which improves air circulation. Otherwise, the build quality is largely impeccable. Only the webcam isn’t quite in the center of the case, but this doesn’t affect its functions.

With dimensions of 359.7 x 236.9 x 17.9 mm and a weight of around 1.74 kg, the notebook is also well suited for on the go and is neither too big nor too heavy – and that despite comparatively thick display edges.

In terms of equipment, the Acer Aspire Vero 15 has a lot to offer. For example, the manufacturer relies on the modern Intel Core i7 1355U processor, which combines 10 cores with 12 threads and clock rates of up to 5.00 GHz.

It has 16 GB of LPDDR5 RAM at its disposal. However, the mass storage of our test model is very tight with a 512 GB PCIe 4.0 SSD. In our eyes, it should be at least twice as much storage.

If you like, you can change the SSD, two M.2 slots are found in the case, whereas the RAM is unfortunately soldered. Maintenance is done via a total of eleven Phillips screws on the underside of the case.

For wireless communication, there is fast Wi-Fi 6E as well as Bluetooth 5.2. In addition, there are a couple of stereo speakers with decent sound, a built-in microphone including AI noise reduction and a webcam in 1440p resolution with a pretty good image quality, which makes the Acer Aspire Vero 15 very suitable for meetings and video calls.

The notebook is also quite well positioned on the connectivity side, although there could have been a bit more in the 15.6-inch chassis. On the right side we find a 3.5 mm jack, one USB-A 3.2 Gen 1 and one Kensington Lock.

On the left, there are two Thunderbolt 4 ports, one of which is also used for the power adapter when connected. Another proprietary power port is available, as well as USB-A 3.2 Gen 1 and HDMI 2.1.

When it comes to the keyboard and trackpad, the Vero 15 presents a similar picture to the AV14, as the keyboard here also comes with an English QWERTY layout. The keyboard itself comes in a somewhat compressed full-size layout including the number pad, which does not cover the entire width, but leaves about 20 mm of space on the left and right.

I would have found it nicer to omit the numeric keypad and instead give the keys a bit more space, but that is certainly a matter of taste. The keyboard itself has very good typing characteristics and offers a pleasant typing feel.

This also applies to the quite generous trackpad, which is 12.7 cm wide and 7.8 cm high. Here you will also find the fingerprint sensor in the upper left corner, which triggers quite precisely and enables a quick unlock. A white backlight in two levels is also offered, but it can also be deactivated to save energy if desired.

As with the AV14, the display of the Acer Aspire Vero 15 marks probably the biggest weakness of the notebook, although it is by no means bad. The 15.6-inch IPS panel resolves in Full HD with 1,920 x 1,080 pixels, which in combination with the display size ensures a low pixel density of 141 ppi.

At the same time, the maximum refresh rate is limited to just 60 hertz, which is also a bit low. The display gets 300 nits bright and fortunately does not reflect too much.

The viewing angle stability is also pleasing, while the color space and reproduction are also on a good level. All in all, the display is okay, especially considering the price of the notebook, and fonts are comparatively clear and legible despite the low pixel density. However, QHD and a higher frame rate would have been desirable for this screen size.

In practice, the Acer Aspire Vero 15 cuts a good figure for an office notebook and copes very well with everyday tasks. Compared to the AV14, the fans do not make an annoying whistling noise, but they are also relatively fast – albeit at a much less annoying frequency.

They are already almost constantly active in idle mode, and it can even get quite loud under load. This does not even require intensive workflows; the app start is already enough for the fans to rev up.

Fortunately, the volume then decreases again quickly. Nevertheless, the notebook can get quite loud with a measured 55 decibels under load.

The notebook lacks performance for intensive work in image and video editing, but the Vero 15 features Intel Evo certification in return, which ensures a very fast system startup and a long battery life (more on that later).

As always, the Acer Aspire Vero 15 had to face various benchmarks in the test. I measured the productivity and system performance with PCMark 10 and Cinebench R23. PCMark 10 simulates different workflows when running the benchmark, which include word processing, web browsing and spreadsheets. Cinebench, on the other hand, measures the speed of the CPU cores individually, as well as in multi-core mode.

The SSD installed in the notebook comes from Kingston and delivers decent, but not fully convincing speeds. Even Acer’s AV14 was significantly faster here, especially in terms of write predecessors and 4K-64Thrd values.

Around 2,900 MB/s in sequential read and 1,862 MB/s in write are decent rates and perfectly sufficient for everyday tasks or office use, but more would have been possible here.

The scores in the CPU and system tests, Cinebench R23 and PCMark 10 turn out interesting. Especially since we have already tested a competitor here with the HP Spectre x360 (2023), which relies on the same Intel Core i7-1355U CPU and RAM configuration, but is equipped with a significantly faster SSD.

Surprisingly, the processor of the Acer Aspire Vero 15 achieves a significantly higher score of 7,653 points in the multi-core test compared to the HP convertible, which is (not quite as clearly) ahead in the single-core area.

Especially the faster SSD benefits the Spectre in the holistic system test PCMark10, in which the Acer notebook draws the short straw everywhere – even if comparatively close. Both devices are almost on par in web browsing, and the Vero 15 even has the lead in spreadsheets.

However, as soon as it comes to more intensive workflows, the sustainable laptop clearly(er) falls behind. Nevertheless, 5,271 total points jump out in the end, which marks a very good result considering the components.

The already mentioned Intel Evo certification of the Acer Aspire Vero 15 not only affects the system startup, which is over within a few seconds, but also the battery life.

Despite a manageable capacity of only 48.85 watt hours, the notebook achieves a full 12 hours and 36 minutes runtime at full display brightness in the standardized PCMark10 Modern Office test.

That’s over two and a half hours more than in the case of the HP Spectre x360, although the latter also has to fire up a much higher resolution OLED screen, while the Acer notebook only powers an IPS panel in 1080p.

However, this should in no way diminish the excellent result: You can easily get through even the longest workdays with this notebook. Charging takes about two hours with the included USB-C power adapter with 65 watts of charging power.

With the Acer Aspire Vero 15, the manufacturer puts out a compelling, sustainable notebook that can handle all everyday tasks with ease. The combination of fast CPU and working memory is pleasing, but it is a pity that the comparatively slow SSD cannot keep up.

The modern ports and standards that leave nothing to be desired are also praiseworthy. However, we have to accept some compromises in terms of the display. A QHD resolution would have been desirable for a screen diagonal of 15.6 inches.

The notebook lacks performance for demanding workflows and games, but that is not its field of application. In any case, the Aspire Vero 15 offers a pretty good overall package for the price. Price and performance fit excellently here.

The Acer Aspire Vero 15 presents itself as a quite fast and pleasantly grippy notebook that is well equipped for everyday tasks and scores with a long battery life.