What Happened During the Next@Acer Livestream?

Acer has live-streamed their news conference for 2020 on Youtube, Next@Acer, and revealed a whole host of new products for the year. You don’t want preamble, and I don’t want to write it – so lets jump right into what Acer announced during their conference.

The conference started with the culmination of the crowd interactivity portion of the event – a contest between rock, paper, and scissors, with each of these representing a different portion of the Acer product ranges, and the crowds votes deciding which would be shown first.

First up was paper, which represented Acer’s thin and light devices. A lot of emphasis was placed on these devices like notebooks and slimline laptops due to their importance in working from home during the Covid-19 crisis, which Acer are apparently constantly looking into regarding different ways to help with connectivity and inclusion via technology.

The Chromebook Enterprise Spin 713 was unveiled, a brand new Chromebook from Acer, which will feature an antimicrobial solution on the screen of the Chromebook itself – Acer weren’t lying when they said they were thinking about different ways to combat Covid-19 through technology, and with these Chromebooks being very popular in workplaces and other densely populated areas, this is a great addition to the touchscreen technology.

This Chromebook will use a Vertiview display, which was described as a ‘3×2 display that’s more narrow’, and is apparently perfect for getting more text on screen if you are using it for reading papers or showing off PowerPoint slides. It also has a durable metal chassis, a tenth gen Intel core i7 CPU, and dual type C USB ports and built-in HDMI adaptability.

The Swift 5 also turned up during the Paper section of the Acer Livestream, with its new form being entirely coated in the same antimicrobial solution, meaning that the entire Swift machine is resistant to germs. A welcome change to one of Acer’s best selling product, that wrapped up the Paper section of the show, before transitioning to Scissors.

The Scissors here represent creativity, and more specifically, design. The ConceptD 3 Ezel was revealed, which boasts a color accuracy delta E of less than 2, as well as being Pantone validated – big news if you work in design. They threw the segment over to Youtuber Pypah, an artist who talked through the real-world applications of the ConceptD 3 Ezel.

Pypah highlighted the ease of use of the ConceptD 3 Ezel, notably how accurate the pen was and how rigid and reliable the screen was to both moves around and work within various positions. It was also revealed that the ConceptD 3 Ezel has up to 18 hours of battery life – what that translates to in real working terms we aren’t sure of yet, but it could be good news for those who need to design and illustrate away from a sit-down environment.

The ConceptD 3 Easel forms one part of a larger enhanced ConceptD 2020 lineup, which includes both desktop and laptop computers, in the forms of the ConceptD CP5, the ConceptD 100, the ConceptD CP3, and the ConceptD 3. All of these machines are going to be compatible with Windows 10, and Acer is confident that these additions to the ConceptD line of products are going to provide a solution to a lot of different designers needs when it comes to their digital needs.

That concluded the Scissors section, which was followed by (obviously) Rock. It was here that Acer unveiled a brand new product line, Enduro. Enduro is aimed at those who have to work outdoors, sometimes in tough conditions, and still have need of laptop and tablet technology t do their job. Right away a sizzle reel was shown of laptops and tablets in heavy-duty casings being used in rigorous environments, from deserts, to thunderstorms, building sites, and more, all with the Enduro machines working as they should despite the conditions. Makes sense why they called this section rock, doesn’t it?

The first product shown off was the Enduro N7 – IP65 compliant, with a MIL-STD 810 rating (military grade). Not usually specs you look for in a laptop, but Acer is out to prove that their Enduro line lives up to its name. It also comes with a carry handle, and a swappable battery, meaning that it can definitely live up to longer times out in the field than a traditional laptop might.

The Enduro N3 was also unveiled, which was also touted as military-grade in terms of toughness, and featured in a video where an astrophotographer put it through its paces outdoors just to show what it could do. Apparently, the laptop worked well in environments that featured high humidity, rain, both extremes of the temperature scale and much more – all in all, a good showing from a laptop that could become a fast favorite for hobbyists and pros alike.

The Enduro N3 will come equipped with up to a 10^th gen core i7 chip from Intel, as well as many other features that should make it a dependable machine to use when you are out working in harsher elements. It makes up just one part of a larger product line, which will consist of the laptops the N3 and the N7, and two tablets, the T5, and the T1, which will be available in both Windows and Android formats.

Then we got to the part of the show that I’m guessing a lot of you are reading through for; the gaming section.

It kicked off with an updated Helios 300, which will now be outfitted with a 240hz screen which features a 3 second response time. The new Helios 300 will even come with a GPU running up to a 2070 Max Q from Nvidia, so its exciting times if you have been interested in the Helios in the past, and are looking for a good way into the gaming laptop world.

They then moved onto the Predator Helios 700. It’s a much bigger laptop than the 300, but it does make up for the larger size with an Nvidia GeForce 2080 Super and an overclockable Intel 10^th Gen Core i9 CPU, making it a very powerful gaming laptop indeed.

The Helios 700 also comes with a Hyperdrift keyboard. Basically, you can slide the keyboard out from its traditional place on the laptop to give yourself an optional wrist wrest when you are using it – a nifty little trick on its own, but its real purpose is to open up the cooling of the laptop, giving the machine a much better a unique airflow system that could be the one to beat in other gaming laptops if its done right.

It even comes with MagForce keys, which allow the same kind of sensitivity as an analog stick on a controller -meaning that you can control just how much your character turns, their walking speed, or how you are turning in a car at any times. Apparently it can run Overwatch at ultra graphics and maintain 300 FPS, which is big news if your familiar with the usual kind of trade-offs that gaming laptop users have to make.

It also comes with PowerGem, which has allowed for the laptop to be smaller, but it also outperforms other industry-leading laptops at a cooler temp thanks to the PowerGem Tech. Great stuff if you are looking to overclock the CPU or GPU in this machine, which you can do.

Acer then took us to the Orion 9000, their newest desktop PC that they wanted to show off in the Livestream. Apparently it comes outfitted with up to an Intel Core i9 – 10980XE CPU, with a Nvidia RTX 2080 Ti SLI over an NVLINK, as well as Predator Frostblade fans for advanced cooling and RGB lighting. And it has wheels.

This is what Acer is describing as their flagship desktop PC for gamers, and it’s not hard to see why. With its tempered glass side panel that cuts out noises, its also more accessible than Acer Orion PCs of the past, and with its RTX 2080ti GPU setup then this is going to be a very powerful prebuilt system for gamers to enjoy right off of the bat. Amongst other improvements on previous models of the Orion gaming range, the new Frostblade Fans were marked out as a standout feature due to Acer’s focus on cooling. These fans have shown a 16% improvement in airflow usage and a 55% positive increase in static pressure. Good stuff when you consider the kind of heat that will be coming off of this machine.

Then, the Predator X25 gaming monitor was revealed. It’s a 360hz, G-Sync gaming monitor that also comes with adaptive light tech to give off a more ambient and immersive feel as you play. I think it looks pretty cool anyway. It also comes with lightsense, proxysense and colorsense, that will all work together to scan the environment that the monitor is in to automatically adjust its settings depending on the room that it is in. All good stuff, as it’s designed to help reduce eye strain over longer periods of time.

Then they revealed an energy drink. I’m just going to gloss over that, but right after they showed off the new Predator gaming chair. What makes this chair special? It has two Bluetooth speakers built into the headset, and more importantly, it has a massage function, which can be activated with the touch of a button.

All in all, it was a pretty cool show, with some features like the antimicrobial screens and resistant laptops being a real highlight for me as it shows that Acer has no problem branching out and solving problems that need to be solved in modern, working environments, which says (to me at least) that they have no end of ideas when it comes to expanding their brand.

And of course, for gamers, there was the announcement of the different laptops and desktop systems that Acer is known for, with their new gaming chair a welcome addition to the sometimes static and none progressive line-up of readily available gaming chairs on the market.

You got a favorite part of the show I didn’t mention? Looking forward to an Acer product that wasn’t featured on today’s event? Speak up, let us know n the comments below.