I have not used a Windows based ARM laptop yet and to be honest I was a bit skeptical as I had heard that Windows on ARM has not been great in the past. I did however hear that they had come a very long way so was curious to check it out for myself. I am pleasantly surprised at how seamless it has been so far, if I didn't know it was ARM I probably would not have picked up on it, at least not for a while. The laptop itself is actually quite nice and has lots to offer for a reasonable price but there are a few things holding me back from giving it a five stat review (not deal breakers but worth talking about). So my first and biggest gripe with it is the bloatware, I have not experience this much of it on a laptop before. I understand these partnerships between Acer and these other companies help keep costs down but it felts invasive to me. Just to name a few, the laptop came preinstalled with McAfee, NordVPN, WebAdvisor by McAfee, Dropbox Promotions, a couple web links made to look like apps, the worst one being a pinned bookings.com logo to the task bar, and a ridiculous amount of Acer software. I am personally really not a fan of this kind of stuff as it adds things to my computer that may slow it down or take up space without me potentially knowing about it. I ended up making a Windows 11 ARM image and doing a fresh install after I linked this Windows 11 key to my account. A few other things I noticed that are not my favourite, the lack of a finger print reader, USB-C ports only on the left side, and a relatively big power cord considering it is only 65 Watts. The laptop has Windows Hello which works really well and is a great feature. It also includes a physical slider to block the camera, again a really nice feature. However, I need to keep this slider open if I want the ability to quickly sign into my computer, a fingerprint reader would be a nice alternative for logging in. The computer has two USB-C ports which are also used to power the laptop, I am glad they are on the left side so they don't get in the way when I use a mouse but I do wish it had a port on each side to better accommodate any type of setup. For the power cord I was really hoping for a more modern looking brick that plugs directly into the wall with the USB-C cord going directly to the laptop, however its more the traditional style with the detachable (and thick) power cable going into the power supply then from the power supply into the laptop. But, it is USB-C for power and was able to use my own 65W power brick and cable without issues. Outside of these, honestly pretty minor, issues, the laptop is actually pretty great. At 16" it is a fairly large laptop but is quite thin and not super heavy for the size. The screen has a 16:10 resolution and can run at 120Hz leaving the overall experience feel more smooth. The slightly larger aspect ratio is great as it gives that much more vertical space to work with. The screen is also a touch screen, has nice colours, and is bright. I actually really enjoy typing on the keyboard, the keys feel nice and responsive. The layout is a little different than I am use to so its taking a little time to adjust but nothing too crazy. It has a small num pad on the side, nice to have it but its size also requires some getting use to. The track pad is decent but I do find my finger has a hard time gliding across it sometimes, especially when trying to drag something. But it is large, has a click feedback when pressed, and works with the known gestures. The speakers, to me, feel pretty lacklustre, they are functional but not super loud and essentially no base. The camera falls in the same boat for me, the image quality is not great but it is functional and I am happy it has one. Overall I think this is actually a pretty nice laptop at a reasonable price. I was worried the ARM processor would cause more issues but so far it has not stopped me from doing anything I normally do. I was even able to install Steam and boot up some "not so demanding" games and it simply just worked without any compatibility issues. The bloatware was annoying but a fresh install solved the problem. The other minor issues I pointed out are definitely not deal breakers and only worth mentioning. And as a bonus it included three months to game pass, not sure that will always be the case but was happy to get it! Read more

This laptop is a sleek machine for multimedia or even productivity tasks as it balances multi core SoC efficiency of an integrated Snapdragon X CPU and vivid 16" LCD screen. Design of the laptop is slim and feels lightweight enough to lug around while traveling. When it comes to durability however, screen flex was minimal being an outer titanium shell and this extends around the laptop chassis. Keyboard deck makes typing on this laptop feel mostly comfortable using ergonomically shaped island style key caps and metallic palm rests. At night the keyboard can also illuminate with auto backlit effect making spotting buttons easier. Bezels are slim but top bar has wide angle 1080p webcam with a thoughtful slide over cover. Storage capacity felt somewhat basic at 512GB using NVMe PCI-E but the SSD is soldered directly onto motherboard which misses on upgradability. One drawback to consider is this laptop isn't x86 chipset, relying on an ARM based Oryon CPU which despite being 8 core limits compatibility for running apps. Processor also clocks around 0.8GHz of frequency on idle which felt great for power efficiency to extend battery. Once CPU turbo ramps up, frequency was closer to 2.2GHz consistently with 4 cores of usage and 3GHz at peak CPU performance. Initially this laptop did feel towards sluggish end, having slight lag for toggling between apps and slower to boot up. After setting up and adjusting performance modes, the CPU can be optimized creating a snappier feel. Integrated NPU is also basic enough to run AI workloads for computer vision or even smaller models for Copilot acceleration. Onboard is 16GB of LPDDR5X memory which is great for multi tasking but as the GPU plus NPU setup also depends on system ram, it splits capacity to nearly 8GB for running models. Where this laptop stood out was the 16" IPS LCD panel managing to output native 1920x1200 resolution. While screen feels crisp, its not particularly high DPI and has some level of noticeable pixelation effect. Touchscreen also has a fluid 120Hz mode and brightness was ample for outdoors but is layered behind matte anti glare coating. Battery runtime lasted for nearly 8 to 10 hours on single charge and plugs into an included 45W adapter for charging up over Type C port. There's also expandability using USB Gen 4 ports, HDMI to drive external 4K monitors and snappy performance to handle streaming or multi tasking. Overall, considering its machined from titanium chassis and a thinner ultrabook shape, this Acer 16" laptop is a lightweight machine for commuting but relies on an ARM based processor. Read more

Product performs as described. Great budget laptop. Read more

Very nice sturdy laptop so far. Have been very happy with Acer. Read more

== Why this laptop over any other? == The battery life is awesome! I love not worrying about when I need to plug it in to charge again or eyeing the battery icon anxiously while it drains lower and lower. The Snapdragon X processor ensures the highest energy efficiency with 18-19 hours of battery life on a single full charge. It’s a productivity booster for work or school needs. The AI features help save time, perfect and simplify daily tech drudgery. You have access to Copilot Plus and Asus Intelligent AI at the touch of your fingertips with dedicated buttons on the keyboard for fast access. The keyboard is backlit - yay! This is a must-have feature for me. I tend to write a lot at night in the dark or in low light conditions with ambient low lighting, so some shine-through backlit keys are important to me. If portability is a concern, no worries, even with the larger 16” screen size, this laptop has an aluminum chassis which is slim and lightweight. It’s not a bulky, hefty thing to haul around to work and school everyday, despite the flabbergasting battery life it boasts! It charges via USB-C port (65W), not DC-in, simplifying the charging process and easing the stress of packing for trips as you don’t need to sweat about forgetting the dedicated charging block for this one piece of tech that uses a charging input port that none of your other tech devices use… == Why some people may not want to consider the Aspire AI 16”? == What may be a major drawback to this laptop for some is that it runs on Windows 11 on ARM processor architecture, not the ubiquitous Windows x86. For some pros and cons between the two, ARM is more energy/power efficient whereas x86 is considered more versatile for software and program compatibility. It’s important to consider what programs/apps and games you may regularly use and whether they’re compatible with ARM. For instance, my TorGuard VPN doesn’t offer a native ARM64 app but it can run emulated x64 version. It is not the laptop to get if you want it for gaming. RAM and storage capacity are non-upgradeable. Whatever version you get (I got the 16GB RAM and 512GB PCIe Gen 4 SSD) is what you’re stuck with. You can’t boost the performance by buying and installing another RAM stick down the line. Better err on the side of caution and opt for higher RAM and storage or look into a laptop that doesn’t restrict user upgrades if your budget doesn’t allow for it right now, but you want the option to upgrade in the future when you’ve been able to save for more RAM/storage. == Other Aspects == SPEAKERS – Are pretty good for laptop speakers. I don’t actually use mine very often, whether I’m at home or out in the world I tend to use my Bluetooth earbuds or my Bose Bluetooth speaker for out-loud sound. Or, alternatively, there’s also the 3.5mm AUX-in headphone jack on the right side of the laptop for plugging in wired headphones so you can listen to your hearts content without being a nuisance to others in public. KEYBOARD – layout and tactility go, the keys feel nice, the layout is full-size with a numpad on the right and somewhat squashed arrow keys. It takes some adjustment to avoid mistypes. The trackpad is large and spacious with good tactility for presses and taps, and responsive swipe and finger gestures. DISPLAY – Screen has an anti-reflective coating so it is crisp and non-strain inducing for my eyes, although the contrast is not as high as OLED screens. It has a 120Hz refresh rate, so video quality is smooth. I’m happy with the screen clarity, although the brightness could be a bit better (only 350 nits). I’ll admit I’ve never had a laptop with an OLED screen before so maybe it would be hard to “downgrade” if you appreciate OLED and are willing to pay more for the difference. WEBCAM – Stands out as the highest resolution built-in camera compared to my past laptops. 2560x1440 and 30FPS with a privacy shutter (which I appreciate so much!) Overall? This has become my primary laptop for everything. It’s superior to my older Acer laptop. I do wish it came with less bloatware but for tech-inclined folks, you’ll know how to strip out what you don’t need or do a fresh Windows install if that’s your preference so you can curate the programs you wish to be installed on it starting from a bare bones minimum. Read more