Acer Aspire Lite 14 – Getting back to basic

It’s almost the time when you’re supposed to put down the festive cheer, avoid looking at the scale, and start shopping around for a basic notebook for the kids to take to school. Acer’s Aspire Lite 14 would like to have a word, especially if you’re all about sticking to the schoolwork. Okay, and maybe a few episodes of whatever is currently trending among the younger set.

Plastic rectangle

Picture a laptop emoji in your head. No, not on an iPhone. Android. A mid-range phone with a 720p screen. Got it? That’s exactly what the Acer Aspire Lite 14 looks like from a distance. It’s an awfully generic design that doesn’t do much to stand out from every other laptop you’ve ever seen. That’s good, in one sense. You won’t be put out when Junior (or Juniette?) plasters the lids with stickers and/or graffiti.

The plastic build feels every cent its R6,000 price tag but the chunky size doesn’t carry over into weight. The two versions of the Lite 14 (more on that in a sec) weigh in at 1.3kg. That’s doable for a primary schooler but you might want to reconsider buying this for a high-school kid. They don’t need much more than this to get their work done (unless they’re taking coding-related subjects) but their peers will probably have something to say. Kids can be so cruel.

The Aspire Lite 14 at least ticks the various port boxes. USB-C, HDMI (full-sized), USB-A, and microSD are all represented. So is the humble 3.5mm headphone jack and you can also opt for the proprietary power port if you’re lacking in USB-C charging options.

Intel inside

There are two different processors you can opt for. One is clearly better but it comes with a corresponding price increase. We had the basic Intel Pentium N100 model in for review and it was… okay. It turns on, it browses the web, it chugs the moment you try make it render graphics. It’s a basic school or office notebook.

There’s also a Core i3 N300 version that spikes the cost to R8,000. We’d argue that the price increase is worth it if you’re also avoiding some of the performance issues but neither notebook will ever set any speed records. No, not even with liquid nitrogen. Either chipset has 8GB of RAM to play with, which is enough to ensure that Windows 11 doesn’t entirely suck.

The 14in 1,900 x 1,080 IPS display is a highlight. It makes for a pleasant workspace, with the panel proving bright enough for daily usage. This carries through to Netflix or Showmax bunking sessions and it would also prove a benefit for any of the gaming you can’t do on this machine. Intel’s UHD graphics tech can only do so much.

Connectivity options are well-represented and also properly functional. Bluetooth 5.0, WiFi 6E, and support for 2.4Ghz and 5.0Ghz wireless networks mean it’ll do the network thing pleasantly enough. The 46Wh battery is also handy enough to get you through a whole workday without access to a wall socket. It should last until school gets out, provided it’s a) relatively new, b) fully charged, and c) not playing reruns of My Name is Earl while the teacher is talking.

Acer Aspire Lite 14 verdict

Acer’s little 14in machine can be had for as little as R6,000, a prime consideration when choosing a barebones system. It won’t shine in any advanced role but it’ll suffice for taking notes, making video calls, and indulging in streams and other media. That’s a drawback if you need more power but when the choice is between Fortnite and schoolwork… well, maybe it’s better if Fortnite just doesn’t work on the notebook. It’ll do for a school machine, it’ll shrug off some damage, and the relatively low price tag will mean you’re not too miffed if it’s destroyed or goes missing. Miffed, sure, but at least it’s not a MacBook Air.