Laptop manufacturer Acer has unveiled its first sustainability centric product today, named the Acer Aspire Vero and it will be available for purchase starting tomorrow in North America. The Aspire Vero will be the first machine Acer will release to feature Microsoft’s new Windows 11 Operating System.
Acer is proud to align with Microsoft, so our customers can immediately take advantage of the modern, serene design of Windows 11 that helps them do more with their PC”, stated Chris Chiang, Vice President of Product Marketing at Acer America.
The laptop is made from recycled materials and keeps in line with Acer’s Earthion mission entailing the development of products that support a sustainable future. The design of the Vero came to be by embracing the core values of eco minded consumers and aligning with EPEAT Silver Certified.
Acer dove deep to meet and comply with a detailed list of environmental and socially responsible criteria at every stage of the development cycle for the machine. Some of the criteria points Acer had to comply with include:
- Substance Management
- Good choice of Materials such that they are sustainable as well as durable
- Longevity of the product such that it doesn’t accumulate a lot of e-waste
- The product’s energy consumption
- Sustainable product packaging
- Carbon Footprint being at a low during manufacturing of the product and packaging.
The chassis of the laptop is made from 30% PCR plastic saving CO2 emissions by 21% compared to the traditional all metal chassis design most laptops have today coupled with the key caps on the machine being made of 50% PCR plastic thus reduced pollution from the production of virgin plastics and landfill trash.
Furthering the chassis design to reduce the carbon footprint, Acer did not use any paint on the laptop body’s surface. The laptop comes bundled with Acer’s new control centre program named VeroSense, which enables the user to select from a set of laptop operating usage modes which have been optimised for mandating energy efficiency and prolonging battery life.
The keyboard that comes bundled with the laptop reinforces the laptop’s eco ideologies by colouring the ‘R’ and ‘E’ keys in yellow to highlight the sustainability foundation principles of Review, Rethink, Recycle and Reduce. The build is held together by standardised screws which enables a simpler disassembly process for repairs and hardware upgradability.
The packaging that comes with the laptop has earned Acer a Red Dot Award for Brand & Communication design, this year. The plastic wraps that the laptops come in have been replaced with paper adapter protection sleeves.
As for the carton box that laptop ships with is made from 85% recycled materials. The box has also been engineered to give it functionality to be used as a stable computer stand which can be customized to facilitate many different angles, to suit the user’s preferences.
Powering this eco machine are impressive specs. Acer offers up to the latest Intel Core i7 11th generation processor with its Intel Iris Xe graphics and 16GB of DDR4 RAM for powering through daily computationally heavy tasks backed with 512GB of M.2 SSD storage to hold all important and personal files and programs.
The display sports a Full HD IPS 15.6-inch diagonal screen provides clear images and onboard microphones provide noise suppression for good sound clarity during meetings.
Connectivity on the machine has Intel’s latest Wi-Fi 6 technology achieving Gigabit speeds, 1x USB Type-C port, 2x USB 3.2 ports and an HDMI out port for connecting to external displays. This configuration available on Amazon for $899.99 with a lower end machine sporting an i5 processor, 256 GB SSD and 8 GB of DDR4 Memory for $699.99.
