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ZDNET’s key takeaways
- Acer’s Aspire 14 AI is available now at Costco for $699.
- It has a fantastic battery and some of the latest hardware: all for a very approachable price point.
- I suggest opting for the OLED, since the low-end display isn’t the best.
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I went hands-on with Acer’s Aspire Go 15 last year, and praised it as one of the best cheap laptops you can get, priced at around $280. This year, one of the latest additions to Acer’s Aspire line, the Aspire 14 AI<!–>, is a few steps up in terms of hardware and features, but maintains a competitive price point of $699.
Acer’s brand messaging has positioned itself as at the forefront of eco-friendly components and post-consumer recycled materials, and the aesthetic of its laptops from the past few years reflects this.
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From the exposed grill on the hinge, to the visible copper heat pipes on the bottom of the device, to the thick bezels surrounding the display, the Aspire 14 AI isn’t the sleekest laptop around, but it reflects an unpretentious, eco-conscious aesthetic with a solid suite of hardware that shows up ready to work.
It features two Thunderbolt 4 USB-C ports that can support an external monitor at an 8K resolution, an HDMI 2.1, support for Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.4, and a Kensington lock slot. This spread of ports makes it a capable business laptop for remote or hybrid workers, particularly when paired with the battery.
The battery life, however, is the Aspire 14 AI’s best feature. I know we’ve been singing the praises of many a laptop with marathon battery life over the past year, but Acer’s Aspire 14 AI fills a niche: an AI-ready budget laptop with an absolute marathon battery that will last for days on end.
During my testing, I brought the Aspire 14 AI into the office on a full charge and used it intermittently throughout the day. It was still above 90% by the end of the workday, and when I closed it up and brought it back out the next day, it hadn’t dropped a single percentage point.
The next day, I brought it back in and used it quite a bit more aggressively: holding multiple videocalls, more sustained multitasking, and keeping the display jacked up. It finally started to take a dent in the battery life, but still, by the end of the day it was still just right around 30%.
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Like other power-efficient devices in its class, the Aspire 14 AI’s power consumption drops to a trickle when it’s not being pushed too hard and virtually stops depleting altogether when asleep and not in use. This makes it perfect for all-day use.
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The fantastic battery life is enabled thanks in part to the Intel Core Ultra 7 (Series 2) processor, which has performed very well on other machines I’ve tested like the Asus Zenbook S 14 and the Dell XPS 13. With Acer’s 14 AI, the trend continues, as this device not only competes with these two laptops but slightly exceeds them.
The device’s 3.05-pound physical form factor is rather non-descript, with an aluminum shell on the top and bottom combined with a lightweight plastic frame in a graphite finish. The keyboard is fine, without any noteworthy characteristics, although the keys feature a very short travel distance and are on the mushy side.
The Aspire 14 AI comes with either a 14-inch WUXGA IPS touch display or an OLED, depending on how it’s configured. The IPS display is functional but not particularly noteworthy in terms of brightness or color gamut. The OLED, on the other hand, goes a long way to making it feel more premium.
In terms of memory, the Aspire 14 AI is well-stocked, with up to 32GB of LPDDR5x RAM and 1TB of PCIe Gen 4 SSD, making it a solid option for any mainstream workflow. As its name suggests, the Aspire 14 AI is expressly designed for AI tasks, delivering up to 40 TOPS and the usual suite of AI-specific features that come with other Copilot+ PCs.
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Additionally, the Intel Arc GPU supports up to 53 TOPS, with upscaling technology for gaming and better performance when it comes to graphics rendering and video editing.
That being said, while gaming on the Aspire 14 AI is well-supported by the hardware, the IPS display may hold back the experience. For that reason, I’d suggest opting for the OLED configuration if you have any notions about gaming on this laptop.
ZDNET’s buying advice
Acer’s Aspire 14 AI<!–> is one of the better bang-for-your-buck options out there right now. Starting at $699, it offers some of the latest high-performing hardware and a battery that will span multiple days in a very competitive package.
If you’re looking for a “budget plus” laptop with respectable hardware that opts for a more utilitarian form factor (and approachable price), the Aspire 14 AI is a solid choice. I would suggest opting for the OLED configuration if you’re willing to pay for the upgrade, however, especially if you’ll be using it for visually creative work or gaming.
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