Acer announced two new laptop series, the Swift and the Spin.
Germany – The Taiwanese tech powerhouse Acer Inc. revealed a cutting edge convertible Chromebook alongside two new portable computer lineups: the Swift and the Spin series. Also, the company presented the latest family member of its Predator gaming series, the monstrous Predator 21 X laptop.
The announcement took place during the second day of early presentations at the Internationale Funkausstellung Berlin (IFA) 2016, Europe’s largest electronics trade show. Acer’s global press conference ‘next@acer’ also featured the latest additions to the Liquid smartphone family and a new Iconia tablet.
IFA Berlin 2016 already opened to the public, and companies like Samsung and Huawei are taking the early arriver’s advantage. The audience can expect a lot of new products during the next couple of days.
Acer’s Chromebook R 13: Review and specs
One of the main stars of Acer’s show was the revolutionary new Chromebook R 13. The Taiwanese giant claims the R 13 is a pioneering piece of hardware thanks to its 360-degree display hinge. The industry has widely adopted this new feature for regular laptops, but it is the first time the public sees it in a Chromebook.
The reason for this is mainly the promising future for the Chrome OS-based portable computers, as they will soon receive additional support for the Google Play Store apart from the Chrome Store.
In other words, Chromebooks will be able to run Android apps, and a tablet-like convertible device is ideal for getting the best experience out of mobile applications.
Acer has anticipated this upgrade to Chromebooks and it offers a 13.3-inch 1920 x 1080 LCD touchscreen display with IPS technology support on the new R 13. The mobile computer sports a MediaTek M8173C CorePilot quad-core processor and 4 GB of RAM.
Acer’s R13 release date and price
Moreover, the R13 includes three connectivity ports: USB Type-C, USB 3.0, and HDMI. Other than that, the device also has a headphone and microphone jack, Bluetooth 4.0, and an HD webcam with 720p HD resolution.
The Chromebook is powered by a battery that stands up to 12 hours of use and will come in three different base storage models: 16 GB, 32 GB, and 64 GB.
All in all, the Acer Chromebook R 13 is a neat laptop with above-average specs for its kind. Most importantly, its extensive battery life and 360 display capabilities make it a promising device for the next big upgrade Google has planned for its signature laptops.
The 1.49-kg laptop will go on sale in North America and Europe in October, with a starting price tag of $399 and €399.
Source: Acer