It’s getting old and the display could be better, but this is still a powerful and effective Chromebook
SCORE
PRICE £667 (£800 inc VAT) from store.acer.com/en-gb
Acer’s sustainable Chromebook is getting a little long in the tooth – this is its third appearance in PC Pro and its second entry in the Labs. Yet it still has the charms that have served it well so far, along with a spec that keeps it in contention. It comes in Intel Core i3, i5 and i7 variants, with different RAM and SSD configurations, but the Core i7 version tested here gives you an extra burst of speed.
The chassis and screen bezel are formed from 30% post-consumer recycled plastics, while the keycaps and speakers are 50% PCR. The OceanGlass touchpad is a glass-like surface made from reclaimed plastic waste, and even the packaging combines recycled card and paper with sustainable natural fibres. To push the point, there’s a stamped Post Consumer Recycled logo beneath the keyboard, while the casing eschews the usual faux-metallic finish for a gritty, plain grey texture with white, grey and yellow specs showing through. It feels as tough as it looks, with MIL STD-810H certification for sand, moisture, dust and impact resistance.
It’s not ultra-slim, at just over 20mm thick, but at 1.4kg the Chromebook Vero is very manageable as a take-anywhere computer. What’s more, the ergonomics are rock solid. The hinge and the bottom of the screen raise the angle of the keyboard deck while the clamshell’s open, and the palm rests support your hand in a comfortable typing position.
The touchpad is sizable, at 105 x 77mm, and while it doesn’t quite feel like glass it’s smooth and accurate. Crucially, the keyboard is excellent, with large, flat keys in a sensible, standard layout, good tactile feedback and a quiet but consistent action. If you need a laptop for bashing out text-heavy documents then this one’s up to the job, and the keyboard is also backlit with five levels of brightness.
Connectivity is a little better than on some more basic Chromebooks. The two USB-C ports are USB 3.2 Gen 2, giving you 10Gbits/sec bandwidth for storage where others are stuck with 5Gbits/sec USB 3.2 Gen 1. You also get an HDMI 1.4 port for an external display or projector, along with Bluetooth 5.2 and Wi-Fi 6.
The screen is a little disappointing. It’s brightness level of 277cd/m2puts it a long way behind its Acer stablemate, the Chromebook Spin 714, when it comes
