Acer Aspire S5-391

67 reviews

May, 2013

Positive
Design (13)
Performance (13)
Energy (3)
Usability (2)
Reliability (1)

Negative
Value for money (16)
Battery (14)
Screen (12)
Keyboard (6)
Sound (4)

General overview
Price comparison
Product Specifications

alaTest has collected and analyzed 53 reviews from magazines and websites. Reviewers really like the portability and usability. The energy efficiency and design also get good opinions. There are some mixed views about the build quality, while there are some critical reviews about the sound and keyboard.

performance, design, energy, usability, portability

value for money, battery, screen, keyboard, sound

We analyzed user and expert ratings, product age and more factors. Compared to other Laptops the Acer Aspire S5 is awarded an overall alaScore™ of 95/100 = Excellent quality.

See all Acer Laptops

Review analysis

(Based on 67 reviews)

Expert Reviews

User Reviews

Review Ratings

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Features

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Showing 42 review(s)

Expert Reviews User Reviews

Showing 1 - 10 of 42 Show Reviews: in English | in other languages (27)

Expert review by: Till Sch?nborn (notebookcheck.net)

Review Acer Aspire S5-391-73514G25akk Ultrabook

High-end debut. With the 1500 Euros (~$1927) ultrabook Aspire S5, Acer wants to attract customers in the luxury segment. In order to achieve this, the manufacturer sets on fast hardware, fine materials, and a couple of interesting features. Is this...

Very light and stable housing ; High performance ; Extremely fast SSD combination ; Proper input devices ; Thunderbolt port ; Long battery life

Reflective and qualitatively disappointing display ; Moderate Turbo Boost utilization ; Noisy under load ; No UMTS/LTE or LAN ; Limited maintenance capabilities ; Very high price

Given its long battery life, the Aspire S5 could have been the perfect mobile companion - could, because the weak display gets in the way. Dark, with low contrast and narrow viewing angles, and reflective - a bitter disappointment for an ultrabook in...

Oct, 2012

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Expert review by: Brian Westover (pcmag.com)

Acer Aspire S5-391-9880

The Acer Aspire S5-391-9880 is a terrific-looking laptop, but it's a mixed bag that doesn't fully justify its premium price.

Robust processor. Uses high-capacity SSD for storage. Includes both Thunderbolt and USB 3.0 ports. Design is thin and light

MagicFlip I/O Panel is inconvenient, puzzling. No backlight for keyboard. Middling display and sound

Jul, 2012

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Expert review by: Yardena Arar (pcworld.com)

Acer Aspire S5 Review: A Serious MacBook Air Challenger

If you're looking for an Ultrabook with the superslim good looks of a MacBook Air, enough computing oomph to handle multimedia and general business tasks, plus a good-enough battery life, take a long hard look at the Acer Aspire S5. Especially the...

Exceptionally thin and light, yet powerful ; SSD, superior audio, dual-band Wi-Fi

No ethernet, has bloatware, and is a tad pricey ; SSD limits storage to 256GB

The sleekly designed Acer Aspire S5 Ultrabook poses one of the most credible threats to the MacBook Air we've seen to date.

Jul, 2012

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Expert review by: Christopher Null (wired.com)

The Revolution Will Be Motorized

The Aspire S5 is a pricey and powerful entry into the ultrabook market from an unlikely source.

Best ultrabook performance money can buy. Solid audio (courtesy Dolby). Double the storage versus most SSD-equipped ultrabooks

Loud, grinding fan. Small keys, too widely spaced. Arrow keys are so diminutive they’re nearly unusuable. Two USB ports isn’t enough

Jul, 2012

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Expert review by: Dana Wollman (engadget.com)

Acer Aspire S5

With dozens and dozens of Ultrabooks on parade, you'd be forgiven if one skinny laptop with an ultra-low voltage processor started to look like the next. Even so, it's tough to forget the Acer Aspire S5: of all the ultraportables we've seen these last...

Thin, lightweight design ; Insanely fast SSD performance ; One of few PCs with a Thunderbolt port

Poor screen quality for the price ; Drop-down port cover is tedious to use ; Subpar battery life ; Loud fan noise

The S5 is thin and light with blazing disk performance, but this overpriced laptop is marred by serious usability issues, including short battery life and inconvenient port placement.

Jul, 2012

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Expert review by: Matt Smith (digitaltrends.com)

Acer Aspire S5

Acer was one of the first companies to jump into the pool of Ultrabooks. The Acer Aspire S3, which we reviewed last year, was a competent first entry. Battery life could have been better and performance was only so-so, but the laptop was otherwise...

Fast processor ; Absurdly quick solid-state drives ; Among the thinnest, lightest laptops available

Bland design ; Annoying connectivity ; Average display ; Small battery ; Massively overpriced

Nothing about the S5 justifies the price disparity between it and the Aspire M5, and nothing makes it competitive with other expensive Ultrabooks.

Jul, 2012

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Expert review by: Chris Burns (slashgear.com)

Acer Aspire S5 Review

Let's have a peek at the Acer Aspire S5, the ultrabook with the mechanical “MagicFlip” dish in the back with ports that whirrs out when you need to plug in and don't need all that pesky space this near-thinnest on the market notebook works with. It's...

You can pick up the model we’ve got here, the Acer Aspire S5 S5-391-9880, at Acer’s online store for a cool $1399.99 USD, and it’s in stock right this minute. Also check our our Acer Aspire S3 with Core i7 Review for an ultrabook that’s just a bit larger.

Jul, 2012

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Expert review by: Dan Ackerman (cnet.com)

Acer Aspire S5

It was back in January, at CES 2012 , that we first saw the $1,399 13-inch Acer Aspire S5 ultrabook. Of course, if you remember the S5 from CES, you'll recall its most unique feature -- a tiny motorized door at the back of the bottom panel that opens...

The Acer Aspire S5 is an incredibly thin and light ultrabook that hides its ports, including Thunderbolt, behind a clever motorized door.

That port door, named the MagicFlip, is a potential problem if it ever breaks down. The keyboard isn't backlit, and battery life could be better.

Even thinner and lighter than a 13-inch MacBook Air, the Acer Aspire S5 is a great example of an ambitious ultrabook, held back by a few flaws and its high price.

Jul, 2012

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Expert review by: Dustin Sklavos (anandtech.com)

Acer Aspire S5 Ultrabook Review: The Steady March of Progress

First generation technology is seldom perfect, and the fruit of Intel's ultrabook initiative was no exception. While vendors came out in force with some fairly impressive pieces of hardware, these first shots at the form factor all came away lacking in...

This is the most impressed I've been with an Acer notebook in some time. Most of my usual whipping boys have been taken care of, and I'm left with an ultrabook that's for the most part very usable.

Jul, 2012

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Expert review by: Avram Piltch (laptopmag.com)

Acer Aspire S5

The Acer Aspire S5 is a superthin Ultrabook with record-breakingly fast dual SSDs, but a dull screen and short battery life hold it back.

Click to EnlargeThe Acer Aspire S5 combines light weight with blazing fast performance, but also falls short on some critical features. For $1,399, you should expect a sharper screen and longer battery life, which you can get from competitors such as...

Jul, 2012