Acer is including a Chromebook to its Vero lineup, which it says is supposed to supply laptop computer consumers an “eco-conscious” choice. Just like the (fairly disappointing) Home 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, in line with the corporate. Acer’s press launch even means that a part of the Chromebook’s packaging might be “remodeled right into a multi-purpose triangular laptop computer stand,” should you’re detest to throw something away.
Earlier than 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, and is powered by a Twelfth-gen Intel processor with Xe graphics. You possibly 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. These are all comparatively low-power chips, acceptable for an eco-minded pc, but when I have been in search of a laptop computer I’d in all probability go along with both the i3 or i5 and keep away from the Pentium completely.
The 1080p display is roofed in Gorilla Glass, which ought to make it really feel moderately good should you go for the touchscreen mannequin. Its 300 nits of brightness received’t be sufficient should you’re consistently working in brilliant daylight, but it surely’s nonetheless a step up from the 227-nit panel discovered on its Home windows counterpart. The 514 also needs to enhance on the unique Vero’s colour rendering; whereas the Home windows mannequin can solely show 66 % of the sRGB gamut, Acer’s promising 100% protection for its Chromebook.
On the subject of 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 100% “ocean-bound plastics,” whereas the keycaps are made of fifty % post-consumer recycled plastic. 30 % of the chassis’ plastic is recycled. Whereas that’s not essentially as spectacular as, say, a $1,200 MacBook Air which has a 100% 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 supplies built-in.”
Acer additionally claims that the Chromebook is simple to restore and improve, with customary screws letting you entry the reminiscence and storage (which you will must do, provided that the most important SSD you will get with the 514 is 256GB). Whereas 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 Home windows model, which begins at $700, and doesn’t present a very nice worth at that worth level, in line with my co-worker Monica Chin’s overview from final yr. The 514 can also be operating ChromeOS, which is extensively thought-about to be much less demanding than Home windows — that would assist the 514 keep out of the landfill for longer, which is nothing however excellent news from an environmental perspective.
General it looks like Acer’s addressed fairly a couple of of the issues we had with the unique Vero laptop computer. Nonetheless, I’d wish to echo a notice that Monica hit on in her overview of that pc: it’s laborious to devour your strategy to ecological duty, and should you do have to purchase one thing it ought to final a very long time. One choice for these seeking to get a pc that’s a bit eco-friendlier is to put in ChromeOS Flex on an previous Home 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). However if you would like one thing with a bit extra fashionable {hardware}, together with creature comforts like a fingerprint reader, Acer says the Vero 514 can be out there at Greatest Purchase beginning in “mid-October.”