I’ve had the honor to test an Acer Aspire V 15 Windows 10 laptop. It’s the first time in about 10 years I’ve used Windows. So it has been a very interesting experience. I’ve done a few videos1 about it on my Youtube channel already, but here is my written review of the Acer Aspire V15.
Both SSD and HDD! (Hybrid drive)
It's kinda cool that this laptop comes with both a 128GB SSD2 (where the operating system and apps are installed), and a normal 1TB hard drive for files and storage. Very good.
Great battery life
The battery life is quite good on this laptop. I haven’t done any video editing or playing games, but the battery life is around 8 hours and that’s quite ok when using it for blogging, writing and doing some web surfing.
Connects to WiFi really fast
One really impressive thing is that it connects to a wifi network really fast. It’s connected almost immediately after I have opened the lid.
Great sound
The sound is also quite good, it supports dolby surround sound and you can actually clearly here that. I like the sound much better than on my 11-inch Macbook Air.
The Numeric Keypad
The huge keyboard with a special numeric keypad to the right makes it hard to have it in your lap because you can't have it centered. I really hate that keypad. I never use the keypad (numpad) on any keyboard that has it. It just so clunky and in the way for typing fast. Not being able to have the laptop centered on my knees makes it really awkward to type and use the touchpad.
So, I have a hard time getting use to the keyboard because of the keypad to the right.
Weight
This laptop feels very heavy on your knees. This is definitely not a portable and mobile device. It’s more meant to be stationed on a desktop or table.
Very quiet
One positive thing is that it’s very quiet. I can hardly here it at all. Maybe that’s because I haven’t done so much heavy duty stuff on it yet though.
Not so warm
Another positive thing is that it doesn’t get so warm either. But that is probably also because I haven’t done any real processor intense stuff on it yet.
Bloatware
I really hate bloatware and thankfully Apple devices doesn’t come with any at all here in Sweden. But the Acer Aspire V15 is sadly filled with bloatware… Probably to keep the price as low as possible. But seriously, three different security software installed on the same machine? I am so glad that I don’t need such crap on my Macs.
The display has nice colors
The display isn’t the best or clearest i’ve seen but it has quite nice colors. And personally I can’t see any pixels on it, even if it only has a 1080p resolution.
Size
15.6-inch is not for me. I need portability and mobility. A laptop should not be as big. Seriously. This laptop is more a desktop computer than a laptop. It’s heavy, thick, big and quite clunky to use.
Windows 10
Windows 10 was a pleasant surprise though! I actually like it quite much. Some features reminds me of some OS X features. It feels quite stable and fast. It’s definitely the best Windows version i’ve used.
Not as good apps
Windows 10 doesn’t seem to have as good apps as OS X or iOS though. Native apps like Todoist, Wunderlist, Flipboard and more is much better for OS X and iOS.
It will be interesting to continue using this Windows 10 laptop from time to time. That way I can do some comparisons with my other devices, my Macs and iPads.