The most interesting gadgets from the Next@Acer 2020 presentation

Based on the last Acer conference, you can sign up for smart speaker manufacturers. There is only one column so far, but it is very interesting. Firstly, this is one of the few models that support DTS surround sound.

Secondly, it is equipped with an unusual LED display, which is hidden under the casing of the speaker. When turned off, it is completely invisible, and when turned on, it is visible through the fabric of the skin. As planned by Acer, it will be possible to display the time, the weather forecast, or some simple message like “don’t feed the cat, he had breakfast three times” on the display.

It seems that Acer realized that smart speakers are rarely bought by music lovers, and you need to put pressure on something else. Therefore, in addition to the LED display, an RGB backlight was sewn into the transparent base of the case, which can be adjusted to suit your mood. For example, change color depending on the time of day, wink to the rhythm of the music, or simply turn on a static light using a speaker instead of a bedside lamp.

Acer Halo is equipped with two far-field microphones, which are good at distinguishing background noise from Google Assistant voice commands. Everything is classic here - the assistant allows you to control smart home devices, play podcasts, play music from streaming, make queries to a search engine, come up with stupid nicknames for pets, etc.

In addition to a legion of assorted laptops, Acer has expanded its product range with the unusual ConceptD 300 desktop PC, which is aimed at 3D modelers, architects, graphic designers and video editors. They basically took the idea of their ConceptD "creative laptop" and crammed it into a one-piece chassis that you can hook up to any monitor you want. In general, an alternative for those pros who do not want to overpay for mobility.

The ConceptD 300 is housed in a miniature Mid-Tower that won't take up much desk space. It is on the table that he belongs, because Acer designers really got confused with the design of the case, decorative elements and wooden inserts, hiding it under the table would be blasphemy. The manufacturer promises a very quiet (for the office) noise level of the workstation, which will not exceed 40 dBA.

Inside the case is a 10th generation Core i7 processor and a graphics card recently introduced by NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 from the Ampere family, which confidently bypasses yesterday's leader in the face of GeForce RTX 2080 Ti. The system is also ready to offer up to 64 GB of DDR4 RAM and an NVMe SSD with a capacity of up to 1 TB. This, of course, is not a NASA computer, but something very close to it.

While the ConceptD 7 had to save space and trim the number of ports, the desktop ConceptD 300 has more than enough ports. Here you have versatile USB, and a card reader, and a LAN port, and a whole bunch of video outputs for connecting multiple monitors. You definitely won’t have to mess around with USB hubs, and this is already a big plus.

Recently, such a thing as "laptop for creativity" has become increasingly common. These are specialized laptops for designers, artists, vfx artists, editors and other creative professions that stand out with a combination of all-powerful hardware and an advanced display that meets any artist's requirements. Every second manufacturer already has such models, and the most recent examples were MSI Creator and Acer ConceptD.

Digital content creators will love the ConceptD 7's elegant look, slim aluminium chassis, offbeat matte white color scheme and interiors that many gaming laptops would envy. For a second, in the maximum configuration of the new ConceptD 7, the tenth generation Intel Core i7, the top NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Super graphics card, a capacious SSD and 32 GB of RAM will be installed. ConceptD 7 Pro models will be released separately with highly specialized NVIDIA Quadro RTX 5000 graphics cards.

Now about the display. The laptop is equipped with a 15.6-inch IPS panel with a 16:9 aspect ratio, 4K resolution, 100% Adobe RGB color gamut, Delta E <2, and Pantone certification. Judging by preliminary reviews in the Western press, the screen turned out to be really chic, which is why the ConceptD 7 is called the new king of "creative laptops". True, it costs accordingly: for the basic version in Europe they will ask for 2899 euros, for the top one - 3699 euros.

The equipment of the updated model includes an Intel Wi-Fi 6 module, several USB-C connectors with Thunderbolt and an alternative mode of DisplayPort operation. Acer also tweaked the Vortex Flow cooling system, reducing its noise limit to 40 dBA. In addition to hardware, display and equipment, the Western press praises the beautiful white chassis of the laptop, and weak built-in speakers are called the only reason for disappointment. Oh, and a hefty price tag. Although, we repeat, you are unlikely to find such a combination of characteristics and even on the cheap.

The Next@Acer 2020 conference showed that the Taiwanese manufacturer is ready to keep up with the times, releasing diverse electronics designed for a variety of categories of customers. If earlier the brand was associated with us primarily with inexpensive laptops, now its profile is more blurred. This thesis was confirmed by the collaboration with the famous Porsche design bureau, which designed a premium laptop called Acer Book RS for Acer.

The laptop is enclosed in an all-metal body, and the main design element is the top cover with an interesting carbon fiber texture, which refers us to the design of sports cars. The case and display are joined together by a stylish and durable metal hinge that, when the lid is lifted, raises the bottom of the case for more efficient cooling. The case of a 14-inch laptop weighs only 1.2 kilograms with a thickness of 16 mm.

The Acer Porsche Design Book RS is powered by an 11th Gen Intel Core i7 processor with integrated Iris Xe graphics or a GeForce MX350 discrete graphics accelerator and 16GB of RAM. The laptop is classified as an Intel Evo certified device. The filling is quite decent, but it is not clear why a discrete GeForce MX350 video card is needed here, if the integrated Iris Xe card will have approximately the same performance. The 14-inch IPS display with Full HD resolution and Corning Gorilla Glass with an antimicrobial coating also looks good. It provides a good margin of brightness (340 nits) and a rich palette of colors ( 100% sRGB coverage).

We also know about a fingerprint scanner, Wi-Fi 6, USB-C ports with Thunderbolt 4 and a capacious fast-charging battery, which Acer claims can last about 17 hours with a moderate load. Considering the level of collaboration, the price tag is unlikely to be a decisive factor here, but it is impossible not to say about it. The laptop will arrive in Europe with a price tag of 1799 Euros in the basic configuration. Or 2399 Euros for a complete set, which, in addition to the laptop, includes a leather organizer folder, a protective case, a mouse and a mouse pad, made in the same style as the laptop itself.