The Acer Aspire 15 (2024) is a budget Windows ultraportable laptop. This model is available with Intel Raptor Lake CPUs, from a Core 3 100U to a Core 7 150U, up to 32GB of soldered RAM, and up to 1TB of storage. Display options include a QHD IPS, an FHD TN, and two FHD IPS (with or without touch input) panels. You get a full-size keyboard with a numpad, a 1080p webcam, and Wi-Fi 6E wireless connectivity. Ports comprise two USB-As, a USB-C, an HDMI 2.0, a headphone jack, and a barrel plug charging port. Only select models have a fingerprint sensor and Thunderbolt 4 support.
See our unit's specifications and the available configuration options in the Differences Between Variants section.
Our Verdict
The Acer Aspire 15 is acceptable for general productivity. It feels well-built for an all-plastic laptop, and its design is compact enough to make it easy to carry around. Performance is good; its Intel CPU can easily handle general productivity tasks like text processing, spreadsheets, web browsing, and presentations. Where this laptop falls short is in the quality of the keyboard and touchpad: the former feels mushy, while the latter is sometimes unresponsive. Battery life is also on the short side, lasting only seven hours in light uses, so you may need to plug it in for a quick charge to get through a typical workday.
Easy to carry around.
Feels well-built.
Decent port selection.
Display handles reflections well.
Battery lasts only seven hours in light uses.
Mushy keyboard, sometimes unresponsive touchpad.
FHD displays look dim and washed out.
The Acer Aspire 15 is decent for media consumption. It's easy to carry around for a 15-inch device, and its battery lasts around six hours of video playback, giving you plenty of time to get through a couple of full-length movies. For the best viewing experience, getting a model with a QHD display is best, as the FHD panels look washed out due to their narrow color gamut. Unfortunately, none of the displays are ideal for dark room viewing, as their low contrast makes blacks look gray. Also, the quiet, bottom-firing speakers sound boxy with almost no bass.
Easy to carry around.
Available with sharper, 100% sRGB QHD display.
Display handles reflections well.
Battery lasts around six hours of video playback.
Quiet speakers with no bass.
FHD displays look dim and washed out.
Not ideal for dark room viewing due to display's low contrast.
The Acer Aspire 15 laptop is bad for gaming. Its low-power CPU and integrated graphics aren't powerful enough to handle demanding AAA titles. You can play some lighter or older games, but you'll have to play at a lower resolution and with low graphical settings to get smooth gameplay. This laptop is only available with 60Hz displays, and none of them support variable refresh rates to reduce screen tearing.
Decent port selection.
Minimal throttling.
CPU and integrated GPU can't handle demanding workloads.
Only available with slow 60Hz displays.
No VRR to reduce screen tearing.
Soldered RAM.
Laptop gets hot and loud under load.
The Acer Aspire 15 isn't designed for workstation tasks, as it doesn't have the CPU or GPU processing power required to handle highly demanding tasks. Also, you can only get up to 32GB of soldered RAM. You can do some light color correction work like photo editing, but only if you get a model with the QHD display and if the content is in sRGB.
Decent port selection.
Minimal throttling.
Thunderbolt 4 support on some configurations.
CPU and integrated GPU can't handle demanding workloads.
Soldered RAM.
Laptop gets hot and loud under load.
Changelog
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Updated Oct 30, 2025:
We've updated text throughout the review after converting to Test Bench 0.9.
- Updated Oct 30, 2025: We've updated the review to Test Bench 0.9, which adds several test boxes in the performance section, including CPU/RAM Performance, Low Tier Graphics, High Tier Graphics, Professional 3D (GPU accelerated), CPU-Intensive Game Performance, GPU-Intensive Game Performance, and Ray Tracing Performance. See the 0.9 changelog here.
- Updated May 07, 2025: We've updated this review to Test Bench 0.8.3, which removes the viewing angle tests and adds a GPU Total Graphics Power comparison in the GPU section. The Pen Input test in the Extra Features section has also changed, as it now shows whether the laptop supports pen input rather than the inclusion of a stylus in the box. See the changelog for more details.
- Updated Mar 07, 2025: Review published.
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Differences Between Sizes And Variants
We tested the Acer Aspire 15 (model A15-51M-59QV) with an FHD IPS display, an Intel Core 5 120U CPU, 16GB of RAM, and 512GB of storage. The screen, CPU, memory, and storage are configurable; see the available options below. This review only applies to models with a model number starting with 'A15-51M.'
SCREEN
- 15.6" TN 1920 x 1080 60Hz (matte, 45% NTSC)
- 15.6" IPS 1920 x 1080 60Hz (matte, 45% NTSC)
- 15.6" IPS 1920 x 1080 60Hz (matte, touchscreen, 45% NTSC)
- 15.6" IPS 2560 x 1440 60Hz (matte, 100% sRGB)
CPU
- Intel Core 3 100U (6 cores/8 threads, up to 4.7GHz, 10MB cache)
- Intel Core 5 120U (10 cores/12 threads, up to 5GHz, 12MB cache)
- Intel Core 7 150U (10 cores/12 threads, up to 5.4GHz, 12MB cache)
GPU
- Intel UHD Graphics (integrated, Core 3)
- Intel Iris Xe (integrated, 80 EU, Core 5)
- Intel Iris Xe (integrated, 96 EU, Core 7)
MEMORY
- 8GB LP-DDR5 4800MHz
- 16GB LP-DDR5 4800MHz
- 32GB LP-DDR5 4800MHz
STORAGE
- 512GB M.2 PCIe Gen 4 NVMe SSD
- 1TB M.2 PCIe Gen 4 NVMe SSD
COLOR
- Steel Gray
See our unit's label.
Popular Laptop Comparisons
The Acer Aspire 15 is a decent budget laptop. It feels a bit sturdier than competing models like the MSI Modern 14 (2023), build-wise, and its performance is adequate for most people with a light workload. However, its battery life is on the shorter side at only around seven hours, whereas most laptops can easily reach eight to ten hours, like the aforementioned Modern 14. It also falls short when it comes to the quality of the keyboard and touchpad: the former feels mushy, while the latter is sometimes unresponsive.
For more options, check out our recommendations for the best budget and cheap laptops, the best laptops for college, and the best lightweight laptops.
The Acer Aspire 15 (2024) and the Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3i 15 (2023) are very similar overall. The Lenovo has a slightly more tactile keyboard, and its touchpad is more responsive to some actions like dragging and dropping. However, the Acer is available with newer, faster Intel Raptor Lake CPUs, so it can handle heavier multitasking and more demanding applications.
The Acer Aspire 15 (2024) is better than the Acer Aspire 3 15 (2023) for most uses. The Aspire 15 feels much sturdier build-wise, and it has better display options, including a much nicer QHD panel with full sRGB coverage. Also, its Intel CPUs are faster and more capable, giving you a much smoother and snappier desktop experience.
The Acer Aspire 15 (2024) and the ASUS Vivobook 16 M1605 (2023) are both budget general productivity laptops. They trade blows when it comes to the overall user experience; the Acer has a QHD display option that'll give you sharper images and text, but the ASUS has a more comfortable keyboard and responsive touchpad. The ASUS has a slightly longer battery life, and unlike the Acer, which uses soldered RAM, it has a SO-DIMM memory slot, allowing you to upgrade the memory yourself.
The Acer Aspire 15 (2024) is very similar to the Acer Aspire 5 15 (2023). The main differences are that the newer 2024 model has an additional QHD display that'll give you a better viewing experience, as well as Wi-Fi 6E wireless connectivity. The 2024 model's performance remains in the same ballpark as its predecessor, even though it sports newer Intel Raptor Lake CPUs.
Test Results
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