Acer is a brand closely associated with budget workhorse machines — the company largely manufactures laptops for entry-level gamers, students and office workers. It’s an admirable (and tough) niche to fill at a time when RAMageddon is inflating hardware component prices and even sub-$700 laptops feel like a dying breed.

Maybe that’s why the company is continuing to throw its weight behind the right-to-repair movement with the fourth-generation Vero 16 revealed at IFA 2026. If you’re going to be shelling out more cash for a so-called “budget laptop,” it makes sense that you’d want it to stand the test of time. The repairable and upgradable Vero 16 is one way for the company to adapt to changing market conditions.

While that more modular Vero design is one of the laptops Acer is positioning front-and-center at the show, its other clamshells certainly aren’t being ignored: Two new lightweight Swift laptops are making their debut at IFA 2026.

Vero 16

When Acer revitalized its Vero laptop line last year, sustainability was the name of the game. The 2025 version of the Vero 16 had a chassis composed primarily of recycled post-consumer plastic waste and oyster shells. It was a gritty, textured clamshell shot through with gray-blue specks — a spectacle piece, to be sure. And while vague commitments to sustainability and repairability are great, there wasn’t anything especially interesting going on aside from the computer’s oceanic aesthetic.

The next-generation Vero 16 brings the sustainability theme to one of its natural conclusions, and the company ended up with a more interesting computer in the process. The 2026 Vero 16 is an even more repairable laptop, allowing you to swap out or upgrade parts. That could cut back on some waste — and additional expenses for you, the laptop owner.

Parts of the chassis (including the bottom cover, hinge and I/O port covers) are removable, granting Vero 16 owners access to the laptop internals for quick repairs. You’ll be able to swap out a bad battery or SSD on your own, and the device is designed to support processor upgrades for the next two generations. You still might need to bring the computer into a repair shop for more serious maintenance, but there’s a lot here that you can service completely on your own.

While Acer isn’t the only computer manufacturer hopping on the repairability trend, the Vero 16 feels like it fills a niche for folks who might not feel technically savvy enough to benefit from, say, one of Framework’s fully modular computers. This laptop even has a visual repair guide engraved on the chassis to help owners feel more confident about completing simple swapouts. Hey, who knows, maybe that’s what it’ll take for your dad to phone you for computer help a little less frequently?

Every fourth-generation Vero 16 configuration has an OLED panel, with 2.8K (2,880×1,800-pixel) and 2K (1,920×1,200-pixel) resolution options available. The 1,920×1,200-pixel panel will support an optional touchscreen. This clamshell will house up to an Intel Core Ultra X9 388H processor with integrated Intel Arc B390 graphics, up to 32GB of LPDDR5x memory and 512GB of storage.

Swift Blade 14

Acer’s Swift laptops might not be quite as funky-looking as the Vero 16, but the two new additions to the company’s more premium lineup are some of the sleekest laptops ever from Acer.

The Swift Blade is the more compact entry. This 14-inch laptop weighs just 1.76 pounds and is half an inch thick, making it appreciably lighter than the Swift Edge 14 AI. The Swift Blade 14 can be configured with up to a 2.8K OLED panel, an Intel Core 7 350 Wildcat Lake processor, 12GB of LPDDR5 RAM and 1TB of storage.

With Acer laptops, you’re usually making build quality compromises, as many of the company’s computers have plastic chassis. That’s not the case with the Swift Blade 14, which will be built from a magnesium-aluminum alloy and carbon fiber. These lightweight metallic build materials are crucial for a thin laptop to withstand accidental stress, so I think the Swift Blade could carve out a meaningful place in the brand’s lineup, depending on its price.

Swift Air 16

Unlike the Swift Blade 16, the Swift Air isn’t an entirely new entry into Acer’s sleek laptop lineup. In fact, this 16-inch laptop refresh is rather beefy compared to the rest of the Swift lineup, weighing in at 3.3 pounds. Perhaps that can be attributed to the all-aluminum build, since Acer ditched its magnesium alloy for this particular clamshell.

Like its predecessor, the Swift Air 16 features an up to 2.8K display with OLED and IPS options — certain IPS panels will offer touchscreen support. This laptop houses up to Intel Core 7 350 silicon, 16GB of LPDDR5x memory and 512GB of system storage.

Acer has neither confirmed when its new laptops will be available for purchase nor the prices for the Vero 16, Swift Blade 14 and Swift Air 16. Stay tuned for that information in the coming days.

Tyler is a writer for CNET covering laptops and video games. He’s previously covered mobile devices, home energy products and broadband. He came to CNET straight out of college, where he graduated from Seton Hall with a bachelor’s degree in journalism. When Tyler’s not asking questions or doing research for his next assignment, you can find him in his home state of New Jersey, kicking back with a bagel and watching an action flick or playing a new video game.

You can reach him at tgraham@cnet.com.

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