Acer Aspire Go 15

Trade in Acer Aspire Go 15

(Image credit: Future)

The Acer Aspire Go 15, priced at $299, presents itself as an affordable laptop that defies its low cost. Sporting a 15-inch display and Windows 11, this device may lack flashy features but offers a compelling option for budget-conscious buyers. Having tested it for a week, I can attest that it serves as an excellent choice for those seeking economical solutions. Despite not boasting high speed or upgradability, and featuring a lackluster screen and a subpar 720p webcam, this laptop provides a comfortable keyboard, ample power for productivity tasks and light gaming, along with sufficient ports and connectivity for various purposes. In this review of the Acer Aspire Go 15, I’ll delve into its strengths and weaknesses, ultimately arguing why it stands out as one of the finest budget laptops available today.

ACER ASPIRE GO 15 REVIEW: CHEAT SHEET

(Image credit: Future)

•  What is it? A 15-inch Windows 11 laptop that’s cheap and functional.
• Where can I buy it? The Acer Aspire Go 15 is available for purchase on Amazon.
• Who is it for? For folks who want a basic laptop for browsing the web, getting work done and some very simple gaming.
• What does it cost? This is the best part—it costs just $299.
• What do we like? The simple, functional design, comfy keyboard, good battery life and plethora of ports.
• What don’t we like? The anemic performance, poor webcam and washed-out screen are flaws that are to be expected at this price, but some may find them too much to bear.

ACER ASPIRE GO 15 REVIEW: SPECS

ACER ASPIRE GO 15 REVIEW: THE UPS

Upon unboxing our review unit of the Acer Aspire Go 15, priced at $300, I found myself pleasantly surprised by the multitude of features to appreciate. Here are the standout highlights.

Comfy keyboard

(Image credit: Future)

The Acer Aspire Go 15 boasts a surprisingly spacious and comfortable keyboard, a notable asset considering its limitations primarily to basic productivity tasks and simple gaming. What’s remarkable is that despite its affordability, I find typing on it more enjoyable compared to keyboards on pricier models like the Dell XPS 16, which I recently reviewed. Despite the vast difference in price (the Dell XPS 16 costing over ten times more at $3,399 compared to the Acer Aspire Go 15 at $299), the Aspire Go 15’s keyboard outshines with its comfort and usability.

I particularly appreciate the well-spaced, rounded keys on the Acer Aspire Go 15, allowing me to easily feel the layout without needing to glance down. This feature enables swift and natural typing, enhancing the overall user experience. Additionally, Acer manages to include a full number pad on this 15.6-inch laptop without compromising the layout’s comfort, although the size of the number keys may be a tad small for some preferences, they remain a valuable inclusion.

Plenty of ports

(Image credit: Future)

I also value the abundance of ports that Acer has managed to incorporate into this laptop. In an era where many modern laptops offer only USB-C ports and perhaps a headphone jack if you’re fortunate, it’s truly refreshing to find that the Aspire Go 15 is equipped with a pair of USB-A ports, one USB-C port, an HDMI out, and a headphone jack.

This selection of ports is commendable on any laptop, and particularly impressive on a budget-friendly machine like this one. The inclusion of both USB-C and USB-A ports ensures compatibility with a wide range of accessories. Furthermore, should the need arise for additional ports of either type, inexpensive adapters are readily available to convert USB-A to USB-C and vice versa, providing added flexibility and convenience.

(Image credit: Future)

The presence of an HDMI out is a welcome addition, facilitating effortless connection of this laptop to a monitor or TV for use as an external display. This feature proves invaluable for presentations or seamlessly transitioning to a home office setup upon returning from a coffee shop. Moreover, the inclusion of a wired headphone jack offers convenience, especially in settings like coffee shops where Bluetooth connectivity might not be ideal; having the option to plug in classic wired headphones is a comforting fallback.

Once again, the Acer Aspire Go 15 stands out for its generous port selection compared to significantly pricier laptops. Premium ultraportables such as the Dell XPS 16 and the MacBook Air 15-inch M3, which can fetch prices upwards of $2-3k, often offer only a handful of USB-C ports. To expand connectivity options, users are forced to resort to adapters or face limitations.

While the Acer Aspire Go 15 may not match the slimness or lightness of these premium counterparts, it remains highly portable and significantly more versatile straight out of the box, despite costing a fraction of their price.

Good battery life

(Image credit: Future)

In our Tom’s Guide battery test, our Acer Aspire Go 15 review unit demonstrated impressive endurance, lasting over ten hours. This performance is noteworthy, considering that even top-tier Windows laptops often struggle to exceed 8-9 hours. For comparison, the recently reviewed Dell XPS 14 managed only 9 hours and 21 minutes.

Although it falls short of the 12-15 hour benchmarks set by the best MacBooks, the Acer Aspire Go 15’s power efficiency ensures that you can confidently rely on it for a full day of work or school without the need to constantly worry about carrying the charger.

The charger accompanying the Acer Aspire Go 15 is equipped with a generously long cable, a detail often overlooked but greatly appreciated, particularly when charging in public spaces. It’s surprising how many laptops I’ve reviewed come with frustratingly short charging cables. Anything under three feet severely restricts your ability to work comfortably outside, as you may find yourself contorting or positioning your laptop awkwardly just to remain within cable reach of an outlet.

While the Acer Aspire Go 15 may not boast the fastest performance, it certainly won’t leave you uncomfortably close to strangers due to a too-short charging cable.

ACER ASPIRE GO 15 REVIEW: THE DOWNS

As anticipated from a laptop priced lower than a PS5, the Acer Aspire Go 15 does have some notable weaknesses that prospective buyers should be aware of before making a purchase.

Weak performance

(Image credit: Future)

The Acer Aspire Go 15 is equipped with a low-powered Intel Core i3-N3050 processor, which struggles to deliver significant speed or performance. Additionally, while the 8GB of RAM and 128GB of Flash storage it offers are sufficient for basic tasks, they are not particularly generous. Thus, potential buyers should be prepared to make compromises.

The 128GB of Universal Flash Storage, a cost-effective form of flash memory more commonly found in phones and tablets, severely restricts the available storage space on this laptop. Moreover, Windows 11 consumes a portion of this storage, further limiting available space. For instance, on my review unit, only approximately 47GB of space remained after installing Windows 11, basic applications, light testing software, and a few small games. Consequently, users may find it challenging to download large files or work on massive projects. Furthermore, since the only option for expanding storage is via an external drive connected through USB, convenient access to additional space cannot be guaranteed.

While the 8GB of RAM and Core i3 CPU enable web browsing and running lightweight applications like Evernote or Microsoft Word, the laptop struggles with tasks such as opening multiple tabs in Google Chrome or performing moderately demanding work like video editing. Even simple actions like dragging tabs in Chrome can cause stuttering and lag when more than 10 tabs are open. For those interested in gaming, resorting to a game streaming service like Nvidia’s GeForce Now, along with a stable Internet connection, is the most viable option for running demanding games on this machine.

Our laboratory testing confirms the observations made during real-world usage of this laptop. As depicted in the results chart above, the Acer Aspire Go 15 falls short in terms of speed and capability compared to most of the laptops we evaluate, including the premium Dell XPS 16 ($3,339 as tested) and the budget-friendly Acer Swift Go 14 ($999 as tested) that I reviewed recently.

While I could delve into the technical details and explain how Geekbench 6 assesses CPU speed, how our file transfer test gauges the laptop’s data transfer performance, and how the Handbrake test measures video transcoding speed, such information isn’t necessary to recognize that the Aspire Go 15 lags significantly behind its competitors in every aspect.

This outcome is unsurprising, given its low-powered CPU and modest 8GB of RAM. While this laptop is perfectly adequate for tasks like writing papers, checking emails, and browsing the web, users shouldn’t expect it to handle serious gaming or demanding workloads effectively.

Crappy webcam

Acer opted for a 720p webcam on the Acer Aspire Go 15 to keep costs down, and this decision becomes apparent as soon as you engage in a video call. Throughout my time with the Acer Aspire Go 15, I encountered no difficulties connecting to video calls and my voice came through adequately on platforms like Google Meet and Zoom. However, the visual quality was subpar, appearing washed-out and grainy.

Although the built-in microphone performed decently in capturing my voice, colleagues noted that my audio was slightly less clear and harder to hear compared to when I used the fancier, more expensive Dell XPS 16. This discrepancy is understandable given the price gap between the two laptops, but nevertheless, it’s disappointing.

Additionally, I experienced some peculiar instability issues during video calls on the Acer Aspire Go 15 when operating unplugged. On one occasion, I noticed that when I lifted the laptop to relocate it within the room, it abruptly went into sleep mode, disrupting my participation in the call and causing frustration as I attempted to awaken the laptop and resume the call.

Overall, while I was able to engage in video calls on the Acer Aspire Go 15 without major issues, the experience was neither the most flattering nor the most reliable.

ACER ASPIRE GO 15 REVIEW: VERDICT

(Image credit: Future)

I appreciate the Acer Aspire Go 15 because it defies the stereotype of a cheap laptop. If you were to conceal its price from me and place it alongside other, pricier laptops I’ve reviewed over the past year, there are instances where I might actually prefer the Aspire Go 15 over its more expensive counterparts.

For instance, while I admire the power, captivating design, and stunning OLED screen upgrade of the Dell XPS 15 OLED, if my intention were to venture to a coffee shop for some writing, I might opt for the Aspire Go 15 instead. Its lighter weight and longer battery life, coupled with my personal preference for its keyboard, could make it the more appealing choice for such a scenario.

However, it’s crucial to fully acknowledge and accept the limitations of the Acer Aspire Go 15 before making a purchase decision. Foremost among these limitations is its modest configuration of 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage, which means users shouldn’t expect ample storage space or the ability to run numerous applications simultaneously. Any tasks beyond basic writing may result in sluggish performance.

Additionally, it’s worth noting that the Acer Aspire Go 15 ships with Windows 11 Home in S mode by default. S mode offers a simplified and streamlined version of Windows 11, purportedly for enhanced safety and speed, albeit with limitations such as only allowing apps downloaded from the Microsoft Store. While it’s possible to disable S mode (and advisable to do so for most users), it’s important to understand that once you switch out of S mode, there’s no going back—it’s a permanent decision.

Nevertheless, if you’re comfortable navigating these limitations and imperfections inherent in the Acer Aspire Go 15, I believe it serves as a reliable workhorse for individuals on a budget.

Source: Tom’s Guide