- Acer announced new additions to its laptops, Chromebooks and smart home lines.
- The Chromebook Spin 513 is the company’s first device to feature the Snapdragon 7c chipset.
- The Halo Smart Speaker also offers a wide range of RGB and DTS support.
Acer has added a number of new features to its product portfolio, including a new Chromebook and the Halo Smart Speaker.
The Acer Chromebook Spin 513 is the company’s first device to feature the Qualcomm Snapdragon 7c chipset. The silicon announced at the end of last year uses a Kyro 468 CPU with an octa core in addition to the Adreno 618 GPU. Users also have an option for LTE connectivity, while Acer adds 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage to the mix. Although this hardware cocktail is not intended for heavy computers, according to Acer, the Chromebook can be used for up to 14 hours per charge.
This adds to the Chromebook Spin 513’s focus on portability. The machine weighs less than 1.2 kg and has a 360-degree hinge that allows four modes of use. The display is 13.3 inches and has a resolution of 1,920 x 1,080. I / O connects two USB-C 3.2 Gen 1 ports that allow users to charge or connect an external display to a single USB-A 3.2 port.
Acer’s Chromebook Spin 513 will be available in North America from February 2021. The standard model will be priced at $ 399.99 in the US and $ 599.99 in the north. Snapdragon performance apparently means a higher premium when compared to Celeron and MediaTek Chromebooks in the under $ 300 range. For enterprise rollouts, there is an enterprise model that starts at $ 699.99 in Canada and starts at $ 949.99.
Acer Halo Smart Speaker
Acer is also jumping into the Google Assistant smart speaker plunge pool with the Halo.
Although the design of the Acer Halo uses fabric extensively like its contemporaries, it stands out somewhat from current market offerings. A series of LEDs shine through a transparent base and can be synchronized with the music or used as a night light. An optional LED display is hidden in the network itself and can show the time, weather conditions or other personal messages. The physical buttons, including microphone mute, volume control, and play / pause combo, are on the top of the speaker.
Like the Xiaomi Mi Smart Speaker, the Halo also promises 360-degree sound coverage and sports DTS support. Two far-field microphones are also included so users don’t have to cast their voices too far across a room to speak to Google.
The Acer Halo will hit the EMEA markets in December for pricing and availability. The price is 119 euros. North America will get a taste of it starting in the first quarter of 2021. Prices start at $ 109 in the US. That makes it a bit more expensive than the Google Nest Audio, but those who love RGB might be tempted.
Continue reading: What’s the Best Smart Speaker You Can Buy?
Acer has also expanded its Windows-based Swift, Spin, Aspire and TravelMate lines.
The new Swift 3 series and the affordable Aspire 5 series are now available with Intel’s Iris X Max graphics chips and 11th generation core CPUs. Acer’s Spin 3 line now uses a 13.3-inch display with a 16:10 aspect ratio, while Spin 5 buyers can add an optional anti-microbial gorilla glass coating to their machine. Finally, fans of the rugged TravelMate series will get three new models, all with eSIM LTE support, MIL-STD-810G durability and a Thunderbolt 4 port.