At Costco, the Acer Aspire 14 AI with an Intel Core Extremely 7 CPU is on sale for $700. Act quick as a result of this deal ends on July 27.
I went hands-on with Acer’s Aspire Go 15 final 12 months and praised it as top-of-the-line low cost laptops you may get, priced at round $300. This 12 months, one of many newest additions to Acer’s Aspire line, the Aspire 14 AI, is just a few steps up when it comes to {hardware} and options, however maintains a aggressive worth level of $699 — or $499 on sale.
Acer’s model messaging has positioned itself as on the forefront of eco-friendly parts and post-consumer recycled supplies, and the aesthetic of its laptops from the previous few years displays this.
From the uncovered grill on the hinge to the seen copper warmth pipes on the underside of the gadget to the thick bezels surrounding the show, the Aspire 14 AI is not the sleekest laptop computer round. Nonetheless, it displays an unpretentious, eco-conscious aesthetic with a stable suite of {hardware} that exhibits up able to work.
It options two Thunderbolt 4 USB-C ports that may assist an exterior monitor at an 8K decision, an HDMI 2.1, assist for Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.4, plus a Kensington lock slot. This unfold of ports makes it a succesful enterprise laptop computer for distant or hybrid employees, notably when paired with the battery.
Battery life, nevertheless, is the Aspire 14 AI’s greatest function. I do know we have been singing the praises of many laptops with marathon battery life over the previous 12 months, however Acer’s Aspire 14 AI fills a distinct segment: an AI-ready funds laptop computer with an absolute marathon battery that may final for days on finish.
Throughout my testing, I introduced the Aspire 14 AI into the workplace on a full cost and used it intermittently all through the day. It was nonetheless above 90% by the tip of the workday, and after I closed it up and introduced it again out the subsequent day, it hadn’t dropped a single share level.
The following day, I introduced it again in and used it fairly a bit extra aggressively: holding a number of video calls, doing extra sustained multitasking, and maintaining the show jacked up. It lastly began to dent the battery life, however by the tip of the day, it was nonetheless excellent round 30%.
Like different power-efficient units in its class, the Aspire 14 AI’s energy consumption drops to a trickle when it is not being pushed too laborious and nearly stops depleting altogether when asleep and never in use. This makes it good for all-day use.
The implausible battery life is enabled thanks partly to the Intel Core Extremely 7 (Sequence 2) processor, which has carried out very nicely on different machines I’ve examined, just like the Asus Zenbook S 14 and the Dell XPS 13. With Acer’s 14 AI, the development continues, as this gadget not solely competes with these two laptops however barely exceeds them.
The gadget’s 3.05-pound bodily type issue is non-descript, with an aluminum shell on the highest and backside and a light-weight plastic body in a graphite end. The keyboard is ok, with none noteworthy traits, though the keys function a really quick journey distance and are on the mushy facet.
Relying on the way it’s configured, the Aspire 14 AI comes with both a 14-inch WUXGA IPS contact show or an OLED. The IPS show is useful however not notably noteworthy when it comes to brightness or coloration gamut. The OLED, alternatively, makes it really feel extra premium.
The Aspire 14 AI is well-stocked when it comes to reminiscence, with as much as 32GB of LPDDR5x RAM and 1TB of PCIe Gen 4 SSD, making it a stable choice for any mainstream workflow. As its identify suggests, the Aspire 14 AI is expressly designed for AI duties, delivering as much as 40 TOPS and the standard suite of AI-specific options that include different Copilot+ PCs.
Moreover, the Intel Arc GPU helps as much as 53 TOPS, with upscaling expertise for gaming and higher efficiency relating to graphics rendering and video enhancing.
That being mentioned, whereas gaming on the Aspire 14 AI is well-supported by the {hardware}, the IPS show could maintain again the expertise. Subsequently, when you’ve got any notions about gaming on this laptop computer, I might recommend choosing the OLED configuration.
ZDNET’s shopping for recommendation
Acer’s Aspire 14 AI is without doubt one of the higher bang-for-your-buck choices obtainable proper now. On sale for $499, it affords a number of the newest {hardware} and a battery that may final a number of days in a really aggressive bundle.
When you’re on the lookout for a “funds plus” laptop computer with respectable {hardware} that opts for a extra utilitarian type issue (and approachable worth), the Aspire 14 AI is a stable selection. I might recommend choosing the OLED configuration should you’re prepared to pay for the improve, particularly should you’ll be utilizing it for visually artistic work or gaming.
