Acer Laptops Reviews 2020

Reviews  

Acer continues to offer some of our favorite budget and mainstream laptops, but the company struggled this year on the whole. Not one of the 20 laptops we reviewed were Editor's Choice picks, and only five of them received a 4-star rating. Acer laptops averaged a score of 3.4 stars, the lowest of any brand we tested

Despite Acer's lackluster grades, there are a few standout laptops in its ranks. The Aspire E 15 remains a top pick on our Best Laptops under $500 rankings, thanks to its long battery life and decent performance. Another top budget laptop, the Swift 1, has a slim aluminum chassis and a wide range of ports. Acer also proved this year that it could compete in the premium and gaming space with the incredibly thin Swift 7 and Predator Triton 500.

Design 

When it comes to design, Acer is truly like that proverbial box of chocolates. For the creme de la creme of what the company has to offer, take a gander at the Swift 7 and Swift 5. A pair of ultra-svelte laptops, the Swifts pushed the portability envelope with their sleek, aluminum, barely-there dimensions. The company wasn't afraid to bring its mantra of thin to its gaming laptops, like the Predator Triton 500.

Acer will also play with colors. The company is ditching the tired red-and-black gaming laptop palette for the eye-catching turquoise and black as seen on the Predator Helios 300 and the white-and-gold Predator Helios 300 Special Edition. The company even had some color leftover for the Chromebook 11, giving it a striking indigo-blue finish. From there, you have the lovely Chromebook 13, which sports an aluminum chassis and a special hinge to raise the keyboard ever so slightly for a more comfortable typing experience.

But for every delectable chocolate truffle, there's a coconut or molasses disaster waiting to wreck the flavor profile. For Acer, these are its plastic-clad laptops like the Spin 3, the Chromebook Spin 11 and the Aspire E 15, which we love for their price and specs, but the bulky, boring design leaves much to be desired.

Support

Acer's phone-based support system did better than it's done in years, delivering correct answers to all of our questions in a quick and friendly manner. If only its other representatives, working its social media and live chat channels, held up their end of the bargain. Unfortunately, those agents failed at providing the solutions our undercover support agents needed, proving quite frustrating.

Acer pays for the shipping when it sends fixed laptops back to users, but you're the one who's paying to get your notebook to their depots. Acer laptops come with a single-year warranty, and you can pay $60 to $189 for an additional one to three years of warranty protection, with the high-end option including accidental-damage protection. For even more money, your plan can include on-site service.

Innovation

Acer is innovating on multiple fronts, especially ultraportable laptops and gaming systems. The Acer Swift 7 is a stunning design achievement, as the machine's 0.35-inch frame makes it the thinnest laptop in the world. You also get built-in LTE and over 9 hours of battery life. And this system keeps cool, thanks to an ultrathin, 0.03-inch heat pipe.

Two Acer gaming laptops grabbed our attention, starting with the Predator Triton 900. With the Ezel Aero hinge, you can use easily switch between multiple modes, and Acer is bringing this design to the Concept D9 laptop for creative pros. The upcoming Acer Predator Helios boasts a HyperDrift keyboard, which slides forward to improve cooling and performance.

Value and Selection 

Acer sells a wide variety of laptops across the spectrum, from budget to premium. For just $179, the Acer Chromebook 15, which features a full metal chassis and a sharp 1080p display. There’s also the detachable Acer One 10 for $218 and the $329 Acer Aspire E15, which offers an 8th Gen Core i3 CPU and great battery life.

If you're looking for a mainstream laptop, look into the Acer Spin 3 ($599), which boasts a strong Core i5 and long battery life, all packed into a 2-in-1 design with decent speakers. There’s also the Aspire R15, available for $799 and the Aspire 7 ($918). On the premium end, you’ve got the hybrid Switch 7 Black Edition ($1,699) and Acer Swift 7 ($1,699) that slides in at just 0.4 inches thin and comes with a surprisingly comfortable keyboard and a gorgeous 14-inch display.