Acer Aspire S7 Ultrabook Review

Software is one area where less is more, generally speaking. Most PC makers have gotten the hint about bloatware and the software you’ll find on an Acer system is more likely to be Acer’s own branded applications, which are typically unobtrusive and sometimes come in quite handy.


The Aspire S7 comes with Windows 8 64-bit and is upgradable to 8.1. Buy it from the Microsoft store and a local Windows Store will handle the upgrade for free. Of course, you can also install the update yourself at no charge, but it’s something to keep in mind if you’re buying an ultrabook for someone less technology-savvy.

Acer Recovery Management is one of the first applications you’ll want to check out, as you can use it to create a custom backup on whatever media you prefer. If things go south later on, the Acer Recovery Management tool can help you restore the system back to a previous state. You can also use this tool to restore the Aspire S7 to its factory settings, which is handy when you want to start with a clean slate or are passing the ultrabook along to someone else.


Acer Live Update is also worth checking out. It can look for updates as often (or as rarely) as you’d like. And if you often charge your smartphone by plugging its USB cord into your ultrabook, the Acer Charge Manager is worthwhile too. It lets you choose how low the S7 will let its own battery go before cutting off power to your smartphone.


Acer Crystal Eye gives you everything you need for shooting selfies and videos with the built-in camera. And, Crystal Eye is a touch-friendly app, so you can use all of its features by tapping the screen.  The camera’s image quality isn’t bad, even in somewhat dim lighting.

Those are the more useful freebies on the S7. As we said, it isn’t loaded down with software. Now, let’s dig into the benchmarks.