Need An Affordable Laptop For Work Travel? I Recommend This One For $499

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One of nan latest additions to Acer's Aspire line, the Aspire 14 AI, is simply a fewer steps up from nan different devices successful Acer's Aspire line, but maintains conscionable arsenic competitory a value constituent at $499 connected waste -- a banger of a woody for a laptop pinch this level of hardware successful 2025.

You've sewage an Intel Core Ultra 226V processor, 16GB of RAM, a 512GB SSD, and an Intel Arc 130V GPU, a mid-range loadout that's much than tin of master tasks and mundane workflows.

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It features 2 Thunderbolt 4 USB-C ports that tin support an outer show astatine an 8K resolution, an HDMI 2.1, support for Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.4, positive a Kensington fastener slot. This dispersed of ports makes it a tin business laptop for distant aliases hybrid workers, peculiarly erstwhile paired pinch nan battery.  

Acer's marque messaging has positioned itself arsenic astatine nan forefront of eco-friendly components and post-consumer recycled materials, and nan artistic of its laptops from nan past fewer years reflects this.

From nan exposed grill connected nan hinge to nan visible copper power pipes connected nan bottommost of nan instrumentality to nan heavy bezels surrounding nan display, nan Aspire 14 AI isn't nan sleekest laptop around. Still, it reflects an unpretentious, eco-conscious artistic pinch a coagulated suite of hardware that shows up fresh to work.   

Review: Acer Aspire 14 AI

It features 2 Thunderbolt 4 USB-C ports that tin support an outer show astatine an 8K resolution, an HDMI 2.1, support for Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.4, positive a Kensington fastener slot. This dispersed of ports makes it a tin business laptop for distant aliases hybrid workers, peculiarly erstwhile paired pinch nan battery.

Battery life, however, is nan Aspire 14 AI's champion feature. It's an AI-ready fund laptop pinch an marathon artillery that will past for days connected end.  

Like different power-efficient devices successful its class, nan Aspire 14 AI's powerfulness depletion drops to a trickle erstwhile it's not being pushed excessively difficult and virtually stops depleting altogether erstwhile dormant and not successful use. This makes it cleanable for all-day use.  

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Additionally, nan Intel Arc GPU supports up to 53 TOPS, pinch upscaling exertion for gaming and amended capacity erstwhile it comes to graphics rendering and video editing.

That being said, while gaming connected nan Aspire 14 AI is well-supported by nan hardware, nan IPS show whitethorn clasp backmost nan experience. If you person immoderate notions astir gaming connected this laptop, I'd propose opting for nan OLED configuration.  

Looking for nan adjacent champion product? Get master reviews and editor favorites with ZDNET Recommends.

How I rated this deal 

I'm giving this woody a 4/5 successful our standing strategy owed to nan 40% disconnected discount connected an already-affordable laptop. The Aspire 14 AI is an unpretentious workhorse that is simply a bargain astatine this waste value and will service you arsenic good arsenic a activity device, backup laptop, aliases main driver.