Acer is one of the first tech companies to announce their latest wares at CES, and they have quite a few surprises: crazy-thin and USB-C monitors, a Windows 10 flagship phone, the first Wi-Fi ad laptop, new Chrome OS devices and more. Let’s take a look!
See More: ‘Shop our phones, gadgets and accessories – as seen at CES 2016‘
Monitors: Ultra-wide, super thin and USB-C
Acer’s 25-inch and 27-inch H7 monitors come with 2560 x 1440 IPS panels with full sRGB support — great for artists. They’re the first monitors to come with USB-C on board, allowing them to charge laptops attached via the new connector; HDMI and DP inputs are also included. The monitors start at €499 from February.
Acer also announced ‘the world’s thinnest monitor’, the R1. These are only 1080p monitors, but they measure just 7mm thin (with a wider base). These start at €139 for the 21.5-inch version; 23.8, 25 and 27 inch models are also available later this month.
The final monitor announcement is a new ultra-wide 21:9 model, the XR342CK. They have a 3440 x 1440 resolution, 144Hz refresh rate, customisable ambient lighting and AMD FreeSync support. It should be a great one for gamers, particularly for racing games or shooters, when it releases in March for an eye-watering €1099.
Liquid Jade Primo Win 10 smartphone
Windows 10 smartphones are few and far between, with the only real options so far being Microsoft’s own Lumia 550, 950 and 950 XL models. Today, Acer detailed its alternative, the Liquid Jade Primo. This flagship phone comes with a 5.5-inch 1080p display, a Snapdragon 808 processor and a 21-megapixel rear camera. Inside, you’ll find 3GB of RAM, 32GB of internal storage and WiFi ac. The phone also has a USB-C port and supports Continuum, allowing it connect easily to external monitors, keyboards and mice for a desktop-like experience. The phone will cost around €569 when it debuts in February.
TravelMate and Switch 12 S laptops
Acer have announced two new laptop lines at CES. The first is the Aspire Switch 12 S, the first convertible laptop with USB-C. The 12.5-inch display comes in 1080p or 4K options, powered by a sixth-generation Intel Core M processor and between 4 and 8GB of RAM. The laptop is charged via USB-C, with additional ports for USB 3.0, Micro HDMI out and a Micro SD card reader. The Switch 12 S starts at €1199 from February.
The second laptop is the TravelMate P648, a business laptop which is the world’s first to support 802.11ad Wi-Fi. This short-distance Wi-Fi standard, also known as WiGig, supports speeds of up to 4.66 Gb/s and has much lower latency (30ms vs 200ms) for casting to a wireless display. It’s a useful complement to Wi-Fi ac, and should appear in more devices soon. The P648 will debut in April, with pricing yet to be confirmed.
Rugged Chromebooks and Chromebase
Acer has been a steadfast supporter of Chrome OS, and they added two new devices at CES. The new Chromebook 11 comes with a 1366 x 768 display, Intel Celeron processor and two variants — 2GB of RAM and 16GB of storage, or 4GB of RAM and 32GB of storage. The laptop also comes with 802.11ac Wi-Fi, HDMI, USB 3.0 ports, an SD card reader and 9 hours of battery life. The reasonable specs are backed with a boxy plastic and aluminium design, which can reportedly survive 2 foot drops without issues. It’ll go for €329.
Acer have also upgraded their ‘Chromebase’ all-in-one PC. The new Chromebase 24 comes with a Intel Core processor (the fastest ever for a Chrome all-in-one) and a 23.8-inch 1080p IPS display (with optional touchscreen). Internally, the 24 can be configured with up to 8GB of RAM, 802.11ac Wi-Fi and gigabit ethernet. It should also be good for video conferencing, with four mics and an adjustable HD webcam. No price or release date for this one yet.
Iconia One 8 Android tablet
The Iconia One 8 is a budget Android tablet, with a $99 (£67) price tag. The tablet sports a clean design in blue or white with an 8–inch HD display, a quad-core MediaTek CPU and 16GB of expandable storage.
Conclusion
Thanks for checking out the announcements! Stay tuned for more CES 2016 coverage in the coming hours and days, and let us know what you thought of the news in the comments below.