Laptop makers reserve three times of the year to announce most new models: the holiday season, late winter just after CES and back-to-school shopping time. Though students won't be heading off to a new year of college or high school until August, the spring months are when we see vendors start to show off their new wares. At at a press event in New York today (April 27), Acer took the wraps off of several different laptops, targeted at mainstream consumers and gamers.
A lightweight laptop, super-slim laptop for consumers on a budget, the 13-inch Swift 1 is available in a three different colors -- silver, metallic pink and gold -- and weighs just 2.86 pounds. Though available with only a middling Pentium or Celeron processor, it has a 1080p display and SSD for sharp images and speedy load times. Available:June 2017
Available in 14- or 15-inch sizes, the Swift 3 is a general-purpose large Ultrabook for the masses. It's available in three colors, including silver, metallic pink and, my favorite, dark blue. It comes with a variety of 7th Generation Intel Core Series CPUs, a 1080p screen and your choice of hard drives or SSDs for storage. A special edition is available with Gorilla Glass top cover on its lid, which will hold a custom pattern or photo. Available:June 2017
A budget-minded 2-in-1 with strong specs for the price, the Switch 3 comes with a 12.2-inch 1080p display, a detachable keyboard and a helpful kickstand. The pedestrian processor choice makes this a good budget system, but probably not a daily driver for most people. Available: June 2017
The replacement for Acer's ground-breaking Switch 12 Alpha, this detachable 2-in-1 is powered by a 7th Generation Intel Core Series processor. But the Switch 12 Alpha doesn't need fans, thanks to its liquid-cooling system. If you've been waiting for an affordable Microsoft Surface alternative, this could be a great choice. Available: June 2017
Acer's new compact gaming rig weighs a reasonable 5.7 pounds while measuring only 0.74 inches thick -- fairly impressive specs for a 15-inch laptop with Nvidia graphics and dual SSDs inside. The Predator Triton has a mechanical keyboard with an attractive blue glow, but its touchpad is located all the way at the top of the deck. Available: August 2017
Relatively affordable for an overclockable gaming rig, Acer's Predator Helios 300 is available in 15- and 17-inch sizes. The Helios has the same design language as most Predators, with a subtle but attractive red and black color scheme. With Nvidia 1050Ti or 1060 graphics, this looks like a solid mid-range player. Available: July 2017 (15.6-inch) / $1,399 (17.3-inch)
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