Prolific manufacturer Acer isn’t letting lockdown stop it from announcing a wide gamut of gadgets at their latest conference, showcasing an array of exciting products for 2021 earlier this week.
Porsche Design x Acer
First up is word on an exciting collaboration with famed aesthetics house Porsche Design, which sees Acer’s technological know-how captured in a beautiful device with the Acer Book RS.
Touting an all-metal frame and an 11th Generation Intel Core i7 processor married to an NVIDIA GeForce MX350 GPU, the Acer Book RS is cutting edge hardware in a deceptively light 1.2kg body.
Carbon fibre stylings abound as is the Porsche Design way, the Acer Book RS also offers a 14-inch IPS touchscreen, an abundance of connectivity options including USB-C, Thunderbolt 4 and USB 3.2 Gen2), as well as impressive 17-hour battery life.
Fancy accessories come in the form of the travel pack, which offers a pouch made of ECCO PALERMO leather with magnetic clasps, a mouse which also sports carbon fiber, and a slick notebook sleeve.
Jerry Kao – co-COO of Acer was rather effusive, saying “…the Porsche Design Acer Book RS is a perfect blend of style and performance for urban mobile professionals. It brings together Acer’s expertise in technology and Porsche Design’s design prowess, resulting in a refined product that not only has timeless aesthetics, but also exceptional performance under the hood.”
UK-pricing starts at £1,899, rising slightly to £2,099 for the premium package including the travel pack.
Chromebooks
Acer’s flourishing relationship with Google continues in the standout Chromebook Spin 513, their first device powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 7c.
The eye-catching folding design affords an array of productivity options, whilst 4G support enables connectivity on the move.
Chrome OS is the light-touch, offline-ready option for those looking for a more affordable device in the Spin 513, whilst internals includes a Qualcomm Kyro 468 – a capable octo-core engine – and Adreno 618 for visuals.
Equally important is battery life, boasting 14 hours.
Available from January 2021, the Chromebook Spin 51§3 starts at just £399, making it a great option for school or the home office.
Halo Smart Speaker
A fresh arrival came in the form of Acer’s Halo Smart Speaker – an attractive addition to any environment.
Powered by Google Assistant, it performs the now-familiar selection of voice-activated tasks, but also boasts in being one of the only devices to currently support DTS audio.
Subtle on the surface, the Halo also comes equipped with an optional LED display which can display the weather or any manner of messages and news, as well as an RGB-laden base, enabling the option for colourful accompaniments to any notification.
This is one that is looking more likely to drop this side of Christmas, priced from just €119.
Monitors
Gaming monitors are set to explode in interest, especially with the incoming new generation of consoles set to send both display resolution and refresh rates sky-high.
Acer’s new Predator and Nitro gaming monitors seem up to the task, featuring up to 1440 resolution and overclocked 280Hz refresh rates and NVIDIA G-SYNC compatibility.
The XB253Q GW (pictured above) is a decently sized 24.5-inch effort, with an FHD (1920 x 1080) display, as well as RGB LightSense functionality, meaning the action on-screen syncs up to an array of ambient lights on the rear.
The flagship Predator X34 GS offers a massive 34-inch curved display and integrated 7-watt speakers, removing the need for separates.
The GW is priced from £399 and is set for a January ’21 launch, whilst the X34 is looking to cost a suitably top-end €1,099, and be here in December.
Check out the full range of new arrivals, including the Acer Swift 3x and revamped ConceptD laptops here.
