The Avita Liber V is a compact budget Windows 10 laptop, promising reliable performance for under £500 without compromising on style or features
Avita is a relatively new name in the UK, but the Hong Kong-based brand has turned heads with a number of stylish-looking laptops, which sometimes boast psychedelic Paisely-esque patterns. While the original Avita Liber was cut from this cloth, this latest model, the Liber V, adopts a more conservative look and indeed is only available in regulation black or silver. The Avita Liber V is very close to the budget Avita Pura in terms of specs. Processor options are the same – you get to pick between a Liber V powered by an AMD Ryzen 3200U or a Ryzen 5 3500U – as are the memory options,4GB or 8GB. The ports are the same, and the 14in display boasts the same Full HD resolution. The Liber V differs by offering a couple of bells and whistles in the form of a fingerprint scanner, a slightly larger camera sensor (1Mp instead of VGA) and a more premium look overall. Despite the flashy exterior, it’s not as highly-specced as the Avita Admiror, so if you’re after something with a little more power under the hood, this may be more to your liking. The Avita Liber V is a very smooth and tidy-looking laptop. If you squinted, it could pass as a MacBook Air, especially the silver model which I reviewed. As well as having a slim chassis, and thin bezels around the 14in display, the Avita Liber V weighs a mere 1.28kg. As most of that weight is in the front of the deck, the laptop does feel a little heavier than you might expect, but it’s no bother if you need to carry it between meetings. The camera is housed in a discrete section which rises out of the top bezel, like an inversion of the insufferable notches which have plagued all smartphones since the iPhone X. As well as not interfering with what you’re looking at, this lip also makes it easier for you to open up the Liber V. When you do, you’ll see that there’s a fingerprint scanner near the top left corner of the deck. This is positioned quite cleverly, as it means you can rest your left index finger on the sensor, unlock the laptop, and then easily move to a natural typing position. The Avita Liber V’s keys are nicely spaced, offer reasonably deep travel and fast action. There’s hardly any flex in the centre of the backlit keyboard and the layout is quite sensible. This all adds up to a generally excellent typing experience, which, considering the price point, is a very big plus. Sure, the arrow keys are a little cramped, and the ‘#’ key is perhaps a little too close to the Return key, but you get this with a lot of budget laptops like the Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5. Likewise, there is no number pad, and nor are there any dedicated navigation keys – the arrow keys pull double duty here – but, again, very common for laptops at this price.
