Acer Aspire Go 15 (AG15-31P) review – Getting the Essentials (Mostly) Right!

You’re searching for value, functionality, and maybe, just maybe, something that doesn’t scream “compromise” from across the room? Enter the Acer Aspire Go 15 (AG15-31P). At first glance, it throws a curveball – a sleek, minimalist design that genuinely looks like it belongs in a higher price bracket. It catches the eye, makes you lean in closer, and perhaps wonder: have Acer cracked the code? Is this the budget champion that delivers more than its price tag suggests?

But as seasoned explorers of the tech landscape, we know that surface appearances can be deceiving, especially when balancing features against cost. Does the Aspire Go 15 live up to its initial visual promise, or are there significant trade-offs hidden beneath that surprisingly elegant plastic shell? What compromises were made to hit that attractive price point, and more importantly, how do they impact real-world usability?

Stick with us as we dive deep beyond the aesthetics. We’ll dissect the performance of its entry-level hardware, scrutinize the display quality, test that impressive-sounding battery life, and examine every port and key. Let’s find out if the Acer Aspire Go 15 (AG15-31P) is truly a smart buy or just a pretty face in the budget crowd.

You can check the prices and configurations in our Specs System: https://laptopmedia.com/series/acer-aspire-go-ag15-31p/

Contents

Specs, Drivers, What’s in the box

Drivers

All drivers and utilities for this notebook can be found here: https://www.acer.com/us-en/support/product-support/Aspire_AG15-31P

What’s in the box?

Keeping things straightforward for this budget-friendly machine, the Aspire Go 15 box is pretty lean.

Inside, you’ll find just the essentials: the laptop itself and its surprisingly compact 65W power adapter.

Design and construction

At first glance, Acer Aspire Go 15 (AG15-31P) presents a surprisingly elegant and serious aesthetic. With its clean, sharp edges and minimalist design – punctuated only by a small, mirrored Acer logo on the lid – it genuinely punches above its weight, visually suggesting a more premium machine. We chose a unit in a lovely silver-gray finish, which complements the design beautifully, and honestly, it looks so good we wouldn’t seek out other colors even if they were available. It’s also quite resistant to fingerprints, which is always a welcome practical touch, keeping it looking neat without constant wiping.

Now, about that premium *look*: it’s important to note that while the design cleverly mimics the appearance of aluminium, the chassis is actually constructed from plastic. This becomes apparent when you handle it; there’s a slight amount of flex noticeable if you apply firm pressure, particularly on the lid or keyboard deck. However, during typical day-to-day use, this isn’t really an issue, and it feels solid enough.

In terms of size and weight, it measures 18.9mm thick (0.74 inches) and tips the scales at 1.75 kg (3.86 lbs). This makes it relatively slim and manageable for a 15-inch machine, likely aided by internal hardware that doesn’t demand excessive cooling space.

The hinge allows the screen to open to a maximum angle of about 160 degrees – not quite flat, but plenty for most situations. Acer has also incorporated a subtle lift mechanism: when you open the screen beyond approximately 100 degrees, the rear of the base lifts slightly off the surface, potentially improving airflow underneath, though the effect is quite subtle and you might not even notice it.

Turning our attention to the screen area, the bezels surrounding the display are best described as… standard for this class. They aren’t distractingly thick, nor are they impressively thin like some higher-end models. The top bezel is understandably a bit chunkier as it houses the webcam – a T-Type HD camera capable of 720p video at 30fps, featuring Temporal Noise Reduction for cleaner images in less-than-ideal lighting, a Blue Glass lens, and dual microphones. However, it’s worth noting a small but significant omission here: there’s no physical privacy shutter for the camera, a feature we increasingly like to see for guaranteed peace of mind.

Moving down to the input deck, Acer has equipped the Aspire Go 15 with a full-sized keyboard, including a NumPad. The keys in the NumPad section are slightly smaller than the main keys, but they remain perfectly usable. The typing experience itself is quite comfortable, thanks to island-style keys offering decent travel and tactile feedback. As is common on many laptops, the Up and Down arrow keys are half-height, which might bother some users, but unless you’re planning on playing arrow-key-dependent games (which this machine isn’t really built for anyway), it’s easy to adapt to. Our specific review unit did not come with keyboard backlighting, though Acer does offer configurations that include this feature, so check the specs if that’s important to you.

Biometric login options are absent; there’s no fingerprint reader, so you’ll be relying on traditional passwords or PINs. Finishing on a high note, however, is the trackpad. Acer has done a great job here – it’s generously sized, smooth, and responsive, making navigation a pleasant experience. Thumbs up for not skimping on the trackpad!

Ports and Connectivity

The Acer Aspire Go 15 (AG15-31P) provides a functional mix of ports suitable for everyday use, blending legacy and modern connections. On the left side, charging is primarily handled by a traditional round DC-in port. Alongside it sits a versatile USB Type-C port operating at USB 3.2 Gen 2 speeds (up to 10 Gbps). This USB-C port supports DisplayPort Alt Mode for connecting external monitors, can output a modest 15W (5V/3A) for charging other devices, and can also accept up to 45W DC power input, offering an alternative way to charge the laptop itself, slower than the dedicated charger. Also on the left are an HDMI 2.1 port with HDCP support, offering potential for high-resolution and high-refresh-rate output (though specific capabilities might vary), and a standard USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A port (5 Gbps).

The right side keeps things simple, housing a second USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A port (5 Gbps), useful for connecting peripherals like mice or keyboards. You’ll also find a standard 3.5mm combination headphone/microphone jack and a Kensington lock slot for physical security. Notably, there is no built-in Ethernet port, so users requiring a wired internet connection will need to rely on a USB-C or USB-A adapter or docking station.

For wireless connectivity, the Aspire Go 15 is equipped with Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax), supporting dual-band (2.4 GHz and 5 GHz) operation and MU-MIMO technology for improved performance on compatible networks. Bluetooth 5.1 or a newer version is also included for connecting wireless accessories like headphones or mice.

Display and Sound Quality, Get our Profiles

Viewing Angles

Viewing angles are good. We take photos from different angles to evaluate the quality.

Also, a video with locked focus and exposure.

Color Coverage

The whole “sail-shaped” map below (Fig. 1) consists of all the colors we can see, while the black crooked line shows all the colors from real-world scenes and nature around us.

Then, we’ve drawn some of the most important and interesting color spaces, compared to the colors the panel of Acer Aspire Go 15 (AG15-31P) can show:

Standard/For Web: sRGB – widely used color space for most consumer devices, ideal for Web design and development
For Print: AdobeRGB – used in professional photo editing, graphic design, and print
For Photographers/Video Editors: DCI-P3 – used in high-end film production, post-production, and digital cinema
Premium HDR: Rec.2020 – the widest consumer ITU color standard, covering a massive 75.8% of the visible spectrum, a benchmark for premium HDR content

Acer Aspire Go 15 (AG15-31P): the yellow dashed triangle (– – – – – –) represents the range of colors this monitor can display.

In our tests, we calculated the total color coverage of the monitor at 51% of the sRGB color gamut and 40% of the DCI-P3 color gamut.

(Fig.1) Acer Aspire Go 15 (AG15-31P) covers 51% of the sRGB gamut

Brightness and Contrast

The maximum brightness in SDR mode is 287 cd/m² in the center of the screen and 278 cd/m² averaged across the surface with a maximum deviation of 11%.

The Correlated Color Temperature (CCT) on a white screen at maximum brightness is 6760K.

The contrast ratio is 1510:1.

Uniformity: Luminance, Contrast, and Color Deviation

The figure below shows the results from our uniformity test across different sections of the screen. It’s measured at 184 nits (Windows slider = 71%) — a brightness level we consider typical for standard working conditions.

DeltaE values below 4.0 are acceptable for regular users. For those working with colors, screens with DeltaE values no higher than 2.0 are recommended.

Color Accuracy

Let’s check the difference between real colors and those you’ll see on the Acer Aspire Go 15 (AG15-31P). We measure that distance in DeltaE – the higher the number, the more different they look.

Values below 4.0 are acceptable for regular users, while values below 2.0 are suitable for color-sensitive work. A value below 1.0 means the difference is indistinguishable to the naked eye.

For the next graph, we’ve selected 24 common colors, including dark/light skin, blue sky, green grass, etc.

Before our calibration of the Acer Aspire Go 15 (AG15-31P), the Average color accuracy was 3.8 dE (Fig. 2), and with our Design and Gaming profile, it lowered to 3.7 dE (Fig. 3).

Comparison in the sRGB color space (primaries and D65 white point specified in ITU-R BT.709, sRGB encoding curve).

Here’s an illustration of what the Design and Gaming profile aims to deliver:

Left: No Profile | Drag the slider to see the difference | Right: Design & Gaming Profile

Visibility in dark scenes

Have you ever watched a movie with dark scenes where you could barely see anything? This often happens because many display panels struggle to differentiate the darkest nuances, making them appear the same.

The next figure illustrates how well the display reproduces these dark nuances. The left side of the image shows the display with stock settings, and the right side shows it with our Design and Gaming profile activated.

On the horizontal axis are the grayscale levels, and on the vertical axis – the corresponding display brightness.

You can also check how your display handles the darkest nuances but keep in mind that this also depends on the settings of your current display and the surrounding light conditions.

Response time (Gaming capabilities)

We test the reaction time of the pixels with the usual “black-to-white” and “white-to-black” method from 10% to 90% and vice versa.

We recorded Fall Time + Rise Time = 23.5 ms. Short pixel response time is a prerequisite for a smooth picture in dynamic scenes.

After that, we test the reaction time of the pixels with the usual “Gray-to-Gray” method from 50% White to 80% White and vice versa between 10% and 90% of the amplitude.

Health Impact: PWM (Screen flickering)

Some use PWM to regulate their brightness, which means that instead of reducing the light intensity, they pulse or flicker. Our brain merges the image, so it appears darker, but this strains both it and our vision, especially when the frequency of the pulses is low. You can read more about that in our dedicated article on PWM.

In the graph below, you see the intensity of light at different brightness levels—on the vertical axis is the brightness of the emitted light, and on the horizontal axis—time.

The light from the backlight of the Acer Aspire Go 15 (AG15-31P) display is not pulse-width modulated, providing visual comfort in the discussed aspect.

Health Impact: Blue light emissions

Installing our Health-Guard profile not only eliminates harmful PWM when the laptop uses it to control brightness but also reduces harmful Blue Light emissions while keeping the colors of the screen perceptually accurate.

If you’re not familiar with the Blue light, the TL;DR version is – emissions that negatively affect your eyes, skin, and your whole body. You can find more information about that in our dedicated article on Blue Light.

Health Impact: Screen Reflectance

Glossy-coated displays can cause eye fatigue in high ambient light conditions due to reflections. We measure the level of screen reflection with the display turned off, at a 60° angle.

The reflectance of the Acer Aspire Go 15’s screen is 52.1 GU. This is a good result.

High Gloss: >70 GU
Medium Gloss: 30 – 70 GU
Low Gloss: <30 GU

Get our profiles

Since our profiles are tailored for each individual display model, this article and its respective profile package are meant for Acer Aspire Go 15 (AG15-31P) configurations with B156HAN02.1 (AUO76A8), 1920 х 1080, IPS panel.

*Should you have problems with downloading the purchased file, try using a different browser to open the link you’ll receive via e-mail. If the download target is a .php file instead of an archive, change the file extension to .zip or contact us at [email protected].

Read more about the profiles HERE.

Sound

When we subjectively listen to a sound file through the built-in speakers, the sound quality offered by Acer Aspire Go 15 (AG15-31P) is relatively good. However, the low, mid and high frequencies have slight deviations in clarity.

Performance: CPU, GPU, Storage

All tests are conducted with Best Performance mode selected in Windows Settings, as the pre-installed Acer Sense app doesn’t show any performance tweaks.

CPU and Work Performance

You can choose between Intel Processor N100, Processor N200, and Core i3-N305. We ordered a machine with the most powerful of these three options…if we could use the word powerful for a processor that is out of Top 250 in our Top Laptop CPU Ranking.

What you see here is that Acer Aspire Go 15 (AG15-31P) and AG15-21P (detailed review) are pretty similar in terms of CPU performance so if you like the concept but you need something more powerful, the answer is Acer Aspire Go 15 AG15-51P (detailed review).

GPU and Gaming Performance

No dedicated GPUs, so you get either Intel UHD Graphics Xe 750 (32EU) for N305 and N200, or Intel UHD Graphics Xe (24EU) for N100. We should note that the Xe 750 (32EU) in N200 works at 750 MHz, while the N305 variant has a Max Dynamic Frequency of 1.25 GHz, so you’ll get a bit higher GPU performance with the Core i3 CPU.

Again, Acer Aspire Go 15 (AG15-51P) is two times more powerful.

You can find the performance rating of all the GPUs on the market in our Top Laptop Graphics Ranking.

Gaming tests

This laptop is not designed for gaming but we’ll still try the Counter Strike 2 on Low graphics settings. The good thing is that it’s silent when gaming, the bad thing – you barely get 30 FPS (34 FPS on average), and the flashbangs are so realistic that you really can’t do anything when they throw them at you.

Counter Strike 2	HD 1080p, Low (Check settings)
Average FPS	34 FPS

Storage performance

We ordered a 512GB SSD configuration of Acer Aspire Go 15 (AG15-31P), and it arrived with Kingston OM8PGP4512Q-AA, a PCIe Gen4 x4 SSD drive. However, the motherboard of AG15-31P supports PCIe Gen3 8 Gb/s, up to 4 lanes SSDs so the speeds are a bit limited.

Keep in mind that if you order a 128GB SSD version of the laptop, it may come with UFS storage, instead of NVMe. We have no further information about the UFS variant but chances are that it will be much slower.

Battery Life

The battery in Acer Aspire Go 15 (AG15-31P) has a capacity of 53Wh, although the official specifications say 50Wh. We’ve seen the same AP23A8L battery in other Acer laptops, and even in high-end machines like Acer Swift Go (SFG16-72). We have higher expectations here, as the components in Aspire Go 15 (AG15-31P) are much less power hungry.

The tests are conducted with Best Power Efficiency mode selected in Windows Settings.

The result is great for a budget machine mroe than 10 hours on a single charge!

Disassembly, Upgrade options, and Maintenance

To disassemble the Acer Aspire Go 15 (AG15-31P), first use a Philips PH0 screwdriver to carefully remove the 10 screws securing the bottom cover.

Then, with a thin plastic pry tool, gently release the plastic clips attaching the bottom panel to the laptop’s chassis. Begin near the hinge area and continue carefully around the device to avoid breaking any clips.

After removing the bottom cover, disconnect the battery connector from the motherboard using a pointed plastic tool. The battery itself is secured only by plastic guides and pressure from the bottom cover.

The battery is a lithium-ion type, model AP23A8L, rated at 4700 mAh with a nominal voltage of 11.2 V.

To remove or upgrade the SSD, unscrew its retaining screw and gently pull it out of the M.2 slot.

Our test configuration of the Acer Aspire Go 15 (AG15-31P) included a 512GB Kingston PCIe Gen4 x4 SSD. However, the laptop’s motherboard supports PCIe Gen3 speeds with up to 4 lanes, somewhat limiting the SSD’s potential performance.

The Wi-Fi module in this model is an Intel AX101NGW (Generation 6), featuring a single antenna (1×1) configuration with support for both 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands, providing maximum speeds up to 600 Mbps.

Cooling is handled by a simple solution comprising a single fan and a thin, flat copper heat pipe.

RAM in the Acer Aspire Go 15 is soldered onto the motherboard, meaning it is non-upgradable.

When reassembling the laptop after maintenance or upgrades, ensure you reconnect the battery connector securely and reinstall all screws properly.

Verdict

The Acer Aspire Go 15 (AG15-31P) presents itself as a budget-friendly option that gets a surprising amount right for its category. Its design, while entirely plastic, mimics a more premium look effectively and feels sturdy enough for everyday handling, resisting fingerprints well. For users needing a machine primarily for basic tasks like web browsing, document editing, and media consumption, it offers a comfortable typing experience, an exceptionally good and spacious trackpad, and crucially, fantastic battery life, easily lasting over 10 hours in our video playback test. The inclusion of a versatile USB-C port with DisplayPort and power delivery capabilities alongside HDMI 2.1 adds welcome modern connectivity.

However, the Aspire Go 15 is undeniably built to a price point, and the compromises are evident. Performance, even with the highest-spec Core i3-N305 option tested, is strictly entry-level, unsuitable for demanding applications, multitasking, or even light gaming beyond the most basic titles. The most significant drawback is the display; while its IPS nature provides good viewing angles and contrast, and thankfully uses a flicker-free backlight (PWM-free), its color coverage is very limited (only 51% sRGB), making it inappropriate for any color-sensitive work. Furthermore, the RAM is soldered to the motherboard, eliminating any possibility of future upgrades, which is a critical limitation to consider for longevity. Potential buyers should also be aware that lower-spec configurations might use much slower UFS storage instead of an NVMe SSD, and features like keyboard backlighting are optional, not standard.

Ultimately, the Acer Aspire Go 15 (AG15-31P) is a competent machine for users with modest needs and a tight budget, prioritizing battery life, input comfort, and a clean design over raw power and display fidelity. If your demands are basic and you value longevity away from the power outlet, it’s a worthy contender, but ensure the specific configuration matches your needs, particularly regarding storage type and optional features like keyboard backlighting. Power users, and creators on a budget may have a look at Acer Aspire Go 15 AG15-51P (detailed review), while gamers will need something with more GPU power.

You can check the prices and configurations in our Specs System: https://laptopmedia.com/series/acer-aspire-go-ag15-31p/