Acer Aspire S 13 review: Wonderfully lightweight

Pros

Tactile keyboard
Super lightweight
long-lasting battery life

Cons

Middling performance
Mediocre screen
Cheap design

It seems like every laptop manufacturer is going for thin-and-light gold in 2016, and now Acer is staking its claim. With its slender, lightweight chassis and bargain price, it looks like the Acer Aspire S 13 might just be the complete ultraportable package.

Admittedly, it’s not the thinnest laptop out there right now – HP’s Spectre 13 retains its crown there – but Acer’s kept the weight down (not to mention the price) by keeping the metalwork to a minimum. However, the predominantly plastic housing doesn’t look as cheap as you might expect. The silver hinge adds a dash of class and contrasts nicely against the S 13’s all-black finish. If you don’t like black, you can also opt for a white version.

Build quality is a little suspect, however: both the screen and keyboard flex considerably when put under even the slightest amount of pressure. It’s perhaps unreasonable to expect too much given the plastic construction, but this is a laptop that you’ll need to cosset in a laptop bag if it’s to last the course.

Display

The Full HD, 13.3in display is a touch uninspiring, too. Despite a good 809:1 contrast ratio and a reasonable maximum brightness of 338cd/m2, the panel obviously struggles to reproduce the most intense, saturated parts of the colour spectrum. Another minor moan is that the matte anti-glare finish struggles to remain legible under bright sunlight.

Keyboard and touchpad

Acer’s familiar Scrabble-tile keyboard makes another appearance here, and it’s still one of the better ones out there. There’s plenty of travel to each press of the keys, and quiet but reassuring clicks to every keystroke.

The smooth touchpad is generously sized and is just as enjoyable to use, performing Windows 10’s many multi-touch gestures without any noticeable hiccups.

Performance and battery life

Peer inside the review unit and you’ll find a dual-core Intel Core i3-6200U processor clocked at 2.3GHz, paired with 8GB of RAM. It’s not the fastest combination in the world, but there’s a more expensive £700 Core i5 model in the range, too.

The i3 chip performed just as I expected, with some pretty middling 4K benchmarking scores. Scoring 36 overall, the Acer finds itself neck and neck with Lenovo’s recent convertible, the Miix 700, and its 1.2GHz Core m7 chip. It’s not quick by any means, but it does edge in front of some of its other ultraportable counterparts, such as the £1,000 Lenovo Yoga 900S.

However, the similarly affordable ZenBook UX330UA performed miles better with its overall score of 42. The S 13’s Achilles’ heel lies in the Core i3’s weak multitasking performance – something that becomes particularly noticeable if you make the mistake of having Chrome and Photoshop open at the same time.

Graphical performance is just as you would expect given the modest integrated Intel HD Graphics 520 chip. I didn’t have too many problems running Dirt: Showdown at 1,280 x 720 resolution at Low settings, with an average frame rate of 47fps, and there weren’t any noticeable problems with Minecraft either, but more demanding games will definitely take their toll.

Battery life is a strong point. A result of 9hrs 12mins is more than enough to sustain the Acer for lengthy sessions away from the wall socket. It beats both the Dell XPS 13 and ZenBook UX330UA in this respect, lasting almost two hours longer than each of its rivals.

Ports and connections

Despite its skinny frame, the Aspire S 13 has plenty of ports. On the right, you’ll find both USB 3 and USB 3 Type-C ports, in addition to HDMI for hooking it up to an external display. Take a look on the left, and you’ll find another USB port, SD card slot and the 3.5mm headset jack.

There’s no Ethernet, but you do get onboard 802.11ac Wi-Fi for online connectivity, backed up with Bluetooth 4.1.

Verdict

The Acer Aspire S 13 does many things right, but the competition is seriously tough. Dell’s XPS 13 remains the best choice if you’re willing to pay for it, and Asus’ ZenBook UX330UA is a strong contender if you’re looking for high-end performance for a little less cash.

However, if you’re in the market for a cheap ultraportable laptop for school or university, or a not-too-flashy laptop for use on the move, the Acer Aspire S 13 is a decent all-rounder. It’s not as refined as some of its pricier counterparts, but it’s a reliable machine with long-lasting battery life and a comfortable keyboard for those long typing sessions – and for £600, that’s a pretty tempting combination.