A lot of electronics look like disposable products, and that goes for a lot of Chromebooks. With its Chromebook Vero 514, Acer plays the eco-responsibility card. This small 14-inch computer is not limited to using recycled materials, but also relies on a good level of repairability.
According to the company’s press release, it is indeed easy “ to upgrade, repair, dismantle and recycle “. These qualities would give it a fairly low ecological footprint or, at leastbetter than many of its competitors.
The advantage of plastic is that we now find plenty of it in the oceans
For starters, when it comes to the materials used, this Chromebook uses over 30% Post-Consumer Recycled (PCR) plastic on its chassis and display bezel, and 50% on the keys and the speakers. The touchpad surface is, like Microsoft’s Ocean Plastic Mouse, made entirely from plastic recovered from the oceans. Note that the chassis is not painted, again for ecological reasons.
This is now quite common, but the packaging is also more environmentally friendly. We thus find a molded pulp packaging made from various fibrous materials such as recycled paper, cardboard or other natural fibers.
A very very daring ecological act: the use of standard screws!
Acer has made a few other changes to its computer to minimize its environmental impact. Regarding upgrading and teardown, this is limited to the use of standard screws, which are supposed to facilitate repairs and/or RAM and storage upgrades. The company also announces a 99% recyclable screen. Finally, this Vero 514 Chromebook is supposed to be able to withstand a few bumps and drops, and it meets the MIL-STD 810H standard.
For the rest of the specs, this PC is powered by a 12-inch Intel Core i7 processor.e generation (Alder Lake). Acer, however, does not specify which one. It comes with up to 16 GB of LPDDR4x and an ultra-fast PCIe Gen4x4 NVMe M.2 SSD up to 512 GB. A solid configuration for a Chromebook.
You will be able to acquire this machine from November in Europe, against the sum of 599 euros: a fairly high price for a Chromebook. But would that be the right price to pay now?
Sources: PR Newswire, Acer
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