Finally, A Midrange Windows Laptop That I Wouldn't Mind Traveling For Work With

ZDNET's cardinal takeaways

• The Acer Aspire 16 AI is presently connected waste for $699.
• It's a reliable, lightweight workhorse pinch a marathon artillery that's perfect for agelong days.
• However, its hardware has capacity limitations.

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Acer's caller Aspire 16 AI is simply a humble laptop. It isn't flashy aliases over-the-top, it doesn't location high-end hardware aliases an OLED screen. Instead, it focuses connected being a reliable activity instrumentality pinch a midrange value tag. Considering really costly things are nowadays, we request much laptops for illustration this now much than ever earlier -- particularly if you're a assemblage student.

Also: Not capable group are talking astir this fund Lenovo laptop that overdelivers

For students, nan Aspire 16 is simply a reliable instrumentality pinch capable artillery powerfulness to get done nan day. Instead of bells and whistles, it delivers coagulated capacity and a slim shape facet that's easy to commute with. 

Sleek design

The Acer Aspire 16 AI opts for a applicable design, measuring 14 x 9.85 x 0.63 inches and weighing 3.42 pounds, it's sleek, sliding easy into astir backpacks. Build value is solid, and its weight is evenly distributed, passing nan "one-finger test" without a hint of wobble.

I besides admit nan freely touchpad, which measures 5.9 x 3.5 inches and provides plentifulness of room for comfortable navigating. You tin move from 1 broadside of nan surface to nan different without needing to assistance your digit off. Too often, fund laptops trim corners by equipping cramped touchpads. 

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Typing connected nan Aspire 16 felt mostly satisfying. The main group of keys is evenly spaced retired and offers a decent magnitude of recreation distance, making it easy to type quickly. That said, nan keys person a somewhat mushy feel; it's not nan astir crispy keyboard. Plus, nan up and down arrow keys, arsenic good arsenic nan number pad, are undersized. They're perfectly functional, though you whitethorn accidentally bump keys. 

Made for school

Above nan keyboard sits a 16-inch LCD touchscreen that delivers a coagulated all-around viewing experience. The sheet covers nan full sRGB gamut, truthful though colors don't popular pinch nan vibrance of an OLED, they're not dull, either. What nan Aspire 16's show lacks successful wow factor, it makes up for successful different areas. At a solution of 1,920 x 1,200 pixels and a refresh complaint of 120Hz, it delivers crisp visuals.

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A refresh complaint that precocious is typically recovered connected gaming laptops. While you won't beryllium doing high-end gaming connected this laptop because of its hardware, you will admit really soft everything feels. I knowledgeable this firsthand during testing erstwhile I ran a nighttime driving livestream connected YouTube. The built-in speakers aren't peculiarly impressive, but they do connection a respectable magnitude of measurement and clarity.

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On nan downside, I did tally into immoderate ocular quirks, for illustration colour banding. This is wherever colour gradients break into visible pieces alternatively of blending seamlessly, but it is simply a uncommon occurrence.

A existent standout characteristic is its 1440p webcam. For business group and students alike, this is simply a large win. Most different laptops successful this class opt for 1080p -- aliases moreover 720p cameras. The higher solution produces a clean, crisp image pinch natural-looking colors arsenic good arsenic nary of nan graininess you'd brushwood signaling complete a low-quality webcam. Combined pinch speedy connectivity standards for illustration Wi-Fi 7, nan Aspire 16 AI is well-equipped for online and offline work.

Featherweight performance

Inside nan Acer Aspire 16 AI is simply a Qualcomm Snapdragon X chipset paired pinch 16GB of RAM, a configuration that prioritizes power efficiency. During testing, nan instrumentality lasted conscionable 17 hours connected a azygous charge. That's beautiful impressive. Acer states that nan Aspire 16 tin agelong that runtime to arsenic overmuch arsenic 28 hours nether nan correct conditions. Either way, this marathon artillery makes nan exemplary a beardown action for group who don't want to perpetually scope for nan charger.

When it comes to mundane performance, Acer's instrumentality did well. It supported complete 50 Chrome tabs, consisting of high-res livestreams, a Netflix movie, news articles, and more, without flinching. This level of multitasking shows that nan Aspire 16 is versatile capable for students looking for a machine elastic capable for bouncing betwixt homework and streaming aliases professionals juggling aggregate apps.

Also: Why buying nan correct laptop is much analyzable than ever (and really to make nan champion choice)

That said, location are immoderate trade-offs. First, nan Snapdragon X is simply a Windows connected ARM chip, meaning not each app is afloat supported. Most programs are fine, pinch a fewer exceptions, for illustration nan benchmarking app Cinebench 24. Compatibility issues are rarer these days, but you tin tally into them. 

Also, because nan Snapdragon X is simply a mid-tier chipset, nan Aspire 16 is mightiness person immoderate problem keeping up pinch highly demanding workloads. Here's really it compares to akin computers successful benchmarking comparative to price. 

Honestly, nan capacity spread isn't massive, and for astir people, nan quality is negligible, but it still exists. What tips nan standard successful Acer's favour is value. While nan rivals execute better, they're much costly -- doubly arsenic overmuch successful nan lawsuit of nan Dell 16 Plus. The Aspire 16 delivers a comparable acquisition astatine a amended value point. For group connected a budget, that affordability makes nan laptop an charismatic action contempt immoderate limitations it has.

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ZDNET's buying advice

Right now, you tin acquisition nan Acer Aspire 16 AI from nan company's charismatic website for $700. Acer developed this laptop chiefly for tech-savvy students who request a versatile instrumentality to thief pinch schoolhouse activity and person a long-lasting battery. I work together pinch Acer connected their prime of halfway audience, and deliberation this laptop suits them well.  

If you're looking for a much premium alternative, I urge nan Dell 16 Plus. It's very akin successful position of size and target audience, but Dell's exemplary is much suited to demanding tasks, has a much premium build, and a nicer 2.5K touchscreen (but is doubly nan price).