The Chromebook Vero 514’s distinctive appearance and colour scheme quickly caught my attention when I first opened the box. The dark grey metal lid was gone, replaced by a light grey lid with a variety of coloured flecks. Additionally, since Acer chose to employ PCR materials for the construction, no two Vero 514s will essentially be identical.
Two of these placed next to one another might make the distinctions more noticeable, but the speckled patterns would probably differ. From a design standpoint, it’s not that significant, but I just found it interesting to consider. Additionally, the small accents that you’ll notice all over the chassis contribute to further differentiating this Chromebook from its rivals in terms of distinctiveness.
For instance, the feet on the bottom of the case are the same yellowish colour as the “E + R” buttons on the keyboard. In the bottom right corner of the trackpad is a little “recycled” emblem to match the embossed “Post Consumer Recycled” mark on the keyboard deck. On the front lip is another embossed emblem, this one bearing the name “Chromebook Vero” itself. When a brand-new variety of Chromebook enters the market, we truly appreciate to notice small details like these.
Acer Chromebook Vero 514 review: Design and build
The colour scheme on the Chromebook Vero is one of the most distinctive we’ve ever seen, and I’m all for it. The ordinary grey exterior has yellow and dark blue specks all over it. The colours of the recycled elements the laptop is composed of, not paint, are what give it its appearance. Nice, huh? I tend to favour notebooks with unique or striking design elements, and the Chromebook Vero excels in this regard. Although it might not appeal to everyone, I really value the innovative design. Additionally striking are the embellishments painted in banana yellow on the machine’s sides and bottom.
If you’re a tactile person like myself, you might not be accustomed to the recycled material’s odd texture. The outside of most computers is made of slick plastic. In contrast, the Vero has a little rougher feel to it. Despite this, it isn’t unpleasant. While I was watching YouTube videos, I noticed that I was touching the machine’s corners.
Given the recycled materials, I anticipated the construction quality to be below par, but I couldn’t have been more mistaken. Overall, the Vero has a tough and sturdy feeling. Although I pulled and pushed on the display with both hands, I didn’t observe any bending in the keyboard tray. Definitely feels like this Chromebook could take a nice bump or two.
The Vero Chromebook is also surprisingly light. It is little heavier than three pounds. I was startled by the weight because the Vero has a box-like appearance and appears heavier than it is. Its weight qualifies it as ultraportable, which is fantastic if you travel frequently. I used this machine on my lap for hours at a time, and it never became uncomfortable heated.
Acer Chromebook Vero 514 review: Display
The 14-inch, 1920 x 1080 display of the Acer Chromebook Vero 514 could be brighter, but I didn’t had high hopes for a Chromebook. Nevertheless, it was still reasonably vibrant. The orange fur of the title character flashed on screen in the Puss In Boots: The Last Wish trailer as he demonstrated his fighting prowess against a furious stone monster.
The corners of the tavern were, nevertheless, darker than they ought to have been during the conflict with The Wolf. Also problematic are the viewing angles; even when I focused on the centre of the screen, a heavy glare could be seen on the sides.
Our colorimeter determined that the Acer Chromebook Vero 514’s panel covered 79.2% of the DCI-P3 colour gamut, which is higher than other low-cost gaming laptops and approximately equal to the average for Chromebooks (79.3%). While the Spin 714 (78.9%) followed not far behind, the Dragonfly (79.3%) and Duet 5 (85.2%) performed marginally better.
The Acer Chromebook Vero 514’s brightness of 274 nits failed to surpass the Chromebook average (333 nits). The Vero 514 was thoroughly rinsed by the Dragonfly (392 nits), Spin 714 (358 nits), and Duet 5 (361 nits).
Acer Chromebook Vero 514 review: Connectivity
The Vero 514 Chromebook has great connectivity possibilities. It has a Kensington lock, an HDMI port, and both new and vintage USB ports. This implies that the majority of devices can be connected without an adaptor. The laptop also offers a headphone port, which is useful if you want to isolate your audio from the outside world or need some peace and quiet. The Vero 514 is a fantastic option for anyone who needs to connect to several devices at once thanks to all of these connections.
Acer Chromebook Vero 514 review: Performance and battery Life
Because they lack the fat that slows down the Windows and Mac operating systems, Chromebooks typically operate quickly. The drawback is that you can’t run many programmes, including Adobe Photoshop and Microsoft Office, but there are typically alternatives that can perform identical tasks, and Chromebooks are alluring to many users due to the appeal of speedier overall processing.
That argument is particularly compelling in this instance because the Chromebook Vero 514’s 12th Gen Intel CPU helps everything operate incredibly quickly. I open tabs constantly and once had more than 15 open (editor’s note: yours is even worse). One of those tabs was playing high-definition video without experiencing any slowness at all. Also, there wasn’t much fan noise throughout.
The battery life is likewise excellent. For regular work and productivity, I often got eight to eight and a half hours per charge. Typical examples of such use include watching YouTube videos, document processing, and website browsing. Additionally, I was able to loop a Netflix video for 13 hours and 24 minutes, which is long enough to withstand the longest of flights, when I conducted the normal test.
Acer Chromebook Vero 514 review: Price and availability
The Intel Core i3-1235U processor, 8 GB of RAM, and a 128 GB SSD are the only components found in the base edition of the Acer Chromebook Vero 514 14-inch laptop that I tested. you can buy this product from Acer’s website In the US, Best Buy is charging $499 for it, while Curry’s in the UK is charging £499 for it.
Final Words
For those looking for an everyday laptop that is environmentally friendly, the Acer Chromebook Vero 514 is a fantastic option. The shell is both tough and distinctively styled, while the inside hardware offers powerful performance. It’s undoubtedly a pleasant difference from your standard everyday Chromebook in terms of aesthetics and sustainability.
Only a few drawbacks exist with the Vero. Although disappointing, the audio is subpar. Poor audio is a common complaint about laptops. Additionally, you are forced to use ChromeOS, which has fewer app and gaming alternatives. If you don’t mind those little quibbles, the Chromebook Vero 514 is unquestionably an option to think about.
