The Acer Aspire 5 15 has no clear advantages over the Apple MacBook Air (2020).
Advantages of the Apple MacBook Air (2020)
Good overall display quality
Best in class overall build quality
Very good portability
Excellent battery life
Best in class speakers
Best in class keyboard
Key differences
Screen Quality
6.2/10
7.5/10
15.6in
SIZE
13.3in
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
60Hz
275.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
395.0 nits
The Apple MacBook Air has a better screen than the Acer Aspire 5 15 for general use, AI, engineering and design, content creation, and software development.
PerfectRec’s screen quality scores take into account various important factors that are relevant for different use cases.
Battery
7.0 Hours
15.0 Hours
The Acer Aspire 5 15 has 7 hours of battery life. The Apple MacBook Air has 15 hours of battery life.
Battery life estimate is based on a mix of common use patterns. More portable and higher performing laptops tend to have less battery life.
Portability
Good
Very Good
15.6in
SIZE
13.3in
3.9 lbs
WEIGHT
2.8 lbs
0.7in
THICKNESS
0.6in
The Apple MacBook Air (2020) has very good portability, while the Acer Aspire 5 15 has good portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Build Quality
6.5/10
10.0/10
The Apple MacBook Air (2020) has best in class build quality, while the Acer Aspire 5 15 has only fair build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
The Apple MacBook Air (2020) and Acer Aspire 5 15 are both good for general use.
PerfectRec’s General Use Score takes into account the many different features of the laptop that make it more or less suitable for general productivity, web browsing, streaming, video calls, and running a wide variety of apps and programs.
Gaming and AI
6.3/10
6.3/10
3.7/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
3.9/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
60Hz
No
SUPPORTS DLSS
No
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
No
7.5/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
10.0/10
The Acer Aspire 5 15 and Apple MacBook Air (2020) are both only fair for gaming and AI.
PerfectRec’s Gaming and AI Score strongly emphasizes graphics processing capability, while also taking into account other factors that impact suitability for gaming and AI work.
Engineering and Design
7.0/10
7.4/10
7.4/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
6.0/10
3.7/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
3.9/10
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
The Apple MacBook Air (2020) and Acer Aspire 5 15 are both good for engineering and design.
PerfectRec’s Engineering and Design Score takes into account the many different features of the laptop that make it more or less suitable for graphic design and 3D rendering work.
Content Creation
7.3/10
7.8/10
7.4/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
6.0/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The Apple MacBook Air (2020) and Acer Aspire 5 15 are both good for content creation.
PerfectRec’s Content Creation Score takes into account the many different features of the laptop that make it more or less suitable for photo editing, video editing and other content creation tasks.
Software Development
7.4/10
7.8/10
7.4/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
6.0/10
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
7.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
9.5/10
The Apple MacBook Air (2020) and Acer Aspire 5 15 are both good for software development.
PerfectRec’s Software Development Score takes into account the many different features of the laptop that make it more or less suitable for software developers.
Cost
$800
$799
$400
$600
$800
$1,000
$1,200
The Acer Aspire 5 15 has a price of $800 and the Apple MacBook Air (2020) costs $799.
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How the Acer Aspire 5 15 and the Apple MacBook Air (2020) compare to other laptops
"The Acer Aspire 5 15 is a good value office laptop with reasonable battery life. The combination of slim exterior, relatively low weight (approx. 1.7 kg) and 8 hour real-life battery runtime makes the Acer Aspire a truly mobile laptop. The modest Tiger Lake processor supports this area and simultaneously ensures an affordable price point. The Aspire produces little noise and stays cool. The screen (FHD, IPS) might not win any prizes but is entirely appropriate for the price."
"The Apple MacBook Air M2 Entry is a very good, but too expensive daily MacBook. The new MacBook Air M2 is undoubtedly once again a very good mobile companion, but we are still a little bit disappointed on a very high level, which is definitely connected with the increased price point. The new chassis is extremely slim and the front edge is no problem during typing, but the bezels are pretty wide for a modern device and in addition with the vertical space required for the notch, the new Air has larger footprint than some Windows rivals."
Get a great deal on the Acer Aspire 5 15 or the Apple MacBook Air (2020)
About Acer
Acer is a prominent Taiwanese electronics brand which makes a wide range of laptops, with multiple product lines catering to personal use, gaming, and business use. They are renowned for having exceptional value for money, as they frequently offer good specifications at a lower price than other manufacturers.
About Apple
Apple, an American technology company, is one of the world’s largest company in terms of market capitalization. Their MacBook laptops feature a slim, minimalistic design, class-leading battery life, and premium display and speaker quality. In 2020 Apple switched from using Intel processors to their own silicon chips which have excellent performance and efficiency. The macOS operating system is the second most widely used OS, after Windows.
This information was produced and vetted by the PerfectRec laptops team. We are a product research and recommendation organization that meticulously reviews and evaluates the latest laptop information and makes it digestible for you.
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About the laptop team
Joe Golden, Ph.D
CEO and Laptops Editor
Joe is an entrepreneur and lifelong electronics enthusiast with a Ph.D in Economics from the University of Michigan.
Jason Lew
Staff Expert & Software Engineer
Jason is a staff expert and software engineer that has been making laptop recommendations for 7 years and moderates one of the largest laptop subreddits.
Chandradeep Chowdhury
Staff Expert & Software Engineer
Chandradeep is a staff expert and software engineer and expert in televisions and monitors. He’s been making monitor recommendations for ten years.
Craig Russell
Laptops Expert
Craig is a UK-based laptops expert. Craig works in IT, where he recommends and supports laptops and PCs for clients and has been recommending laptops on Reddit for five years.