For Acer’s Green Day Event, the company is launching a brand new Chromebook that takes one of Acer’s most unique laptop lineups and brings it to the ChromeOS ecosystem. The Acer Chromebook Vero 514 is – like its Windows-based predecessors – a laptop that is built from the ground up with the environment in mind. From the packaging to the actual Chromebook’s build materials, the Acer Chromebook Vero 514 has a clear purpose in mind the entire way: sustainability.
The box is made of 100% recycled material with water-based ink, yet it presents itself in a fun, interesting way. While I’m all for recycled cardboard boxes for Chromebooks, most of them are as boring as possible. The Chromebook Vero 514’s box is both environmentally friendly and fun at the same time, including one piece that folds up as a cardboard laptop stand and a bottom section that can be fully unfolded to make a storage box out of the standard-sized laptop packaging.
Once you get inside the box and to the actual Chromebook, the theme continues with the striking 30% PCR chassis and 50% PCR key caps. In unabashed fashion, Acer leans completely into the recycled look and feel, and the Chromebook Vero 514 comes across as wildly unique because of it. With the Chromebook, Acer, PCR, and Vero logos all embossed in the recycled plastic chassis, the Chromebook Vero just looks refreshingly different.
There’s a slight texture to the device and the slight speckled pattern and accent colors on the bottom make for a Chromebook that stands out in a crowd. And I love it. Additionally, the sides and top of this device are far more boxy than standard Acer fare, and it makes the look clean and modern. Rigidity is also fantastic and a bit unexpected in a Chromebook that leans so heavily on being made of recycled materials. As a matter of fact, the Chromebook Vero actually comes with the same MIL-STD 810H testing that other Acer Chromebooks ship with, so not only does this thing feel incredibly sturdy: it can take a beating, too.
Another surprise comes in the quality of the screen, keyboard and trackpad, here. Again, I’m inclined to think that the Vero line comes with lesser parts due to the focus on environmental friendliness, but that just isn’t the case. The anti-glare IPS touchscreen looks great and comes in a decent 300 nits of brightness, too. The backlit keyframe feels premium, the Ocean Glass trackpad is smooth and sturdy, and the inclusion of a fingerprint scanner is always welcome.
Acer Chromebook Vero 514 Key Specs
- 14″ IPS Full HD 1920 x1080, sRGB 100% (touch and non-touch models)
- Up to Intel® CoreTM i7-1255U
- Up to 16 GB of LPDDR4X SDRAM
- Intel® Iris® Xe Graphics (Core i5 and Core i7)
- Up to 256 GB PCIe Gen 3 NVMe SSD
- 313 (W) x 224 (D) x 20.5 (H) mm (12.32 x 8.82 x 0.81 inches)
- 1.4 kg (3.09 lbs.)
- 10 hour battery life / 56Wh Li-ion battery and 65W PD Type C adapter
- 2x USB Type C ports
- 1x USB Type A port
- Full-sized HDMI port
- Headphone/microphone jack
- Wireless Wi-Fi 6E 2×2 MU-MIMO
- DTS® Audio with two built-in microphones and Google Assistant Lab Certification (ART)
- Fingerprint Reader
- MIL-STD-810H military-grade durability
- Eco-friendly Design – EPEAT Gold compliant
Add to all this the fact that Acer includes up to a 12th-gen Intel Core i7 CPU, 16GB of RAM and 512GB of NVMe storage and you’re looking at a unique Chromebook that has some serious power under the hood. With 2 USB Type C ports, a USB Type A port, full-size HDMI port, and a headphone/microphone jack, you’ll have no issue getting connected to whatever you need at any time, too.
While various models will go up for sale over the next few months, Acer says the main consumer model will hit Best Buy in October for $499. That build will come with everything we just talked about, but with the Intel Core i3, 8GB of RAM, and 128GB of storage. Though not the Core i7 with 16GB of RAM we had for our hands-on, there’s no doubt the $499 model will be very fast and plenty of hardware for 99% of Chromebook users.
While we really have to wait for the retail unit to arrive to make any real opinions about this device, I really like what I’m seeing so far. To have a Chromebook that looks this unique while being this powerful, durable, and environmentally friendly, I think Acer has something pretty special on their hands with the Vero 514. I’m excited for October to get a retail-ready unit in-hand to properly put it through the paces. There’s nothing out there quite like this Chromebook, and I’m very glad to see Acer include ChromeOS in their conservation efforts.
Newsletter Signup
