Quick Shots-57

Acer unveils tons of new laptops for creators, gamers, and more

Today, Acer held a Global Press Conference, and as the company tends to do at its big events, it announced a ton of new products. They range from gaming devices, to creator PCs, to a range of eco-friendly PCs, and more.

Antimicrobial PCs

PCs that are resistant to germs are big right now, for obvious reasons. Acer is expanding its antimicrobial products across more lines, including its Enduro rugged PCs and TravelMate business PCs.

• Acer TravelMate Spin P4 – It’s coming in January 2022, starting at $1,099.99.
• Acer Enduro Urban N3 – It’s coming in Q4 2021, starting at $849.99.
• Acer Enduro Urban T3 – It’s coming in Q1 2022, starting at $299.99.

Acer Chromebooks

As you’d expect, there are several Chromebooks among the announcements, and they come in at several tiers.

The Acer Chromebook 514, Chromebook 515, and Chromebook Spin 514 are all pretty straightforward. The 514 and 515 models come in 14- and 15-inch sizes, respectively, and the Spin is a convertible. The Chromebook Spin 514 comes with Intel Tiger Lake UP4 processors, allowing it to weigh in at 1.37kg, while the clamshell of that product uses a MediaTek chip, and it’s actually a little bit lighter.

At the lower end, we have the Chromebook Spin 314. This one is more entry-level, boasting a pair of USB Type-A ports, 6mm bezels, and more.

The Chromebook Spin 314 starts at $499.99 and arrives in January. The Chromebook Spin 514 is coming in January for $699.99, the Chromebook 515 is still TBD for pricing and availability, and the Chromebook 514 is coming in December, starting at $399.99

Acer ConceptD creator PCs

Next up is a new range of ConceptD laptops, which are all aimed at creators. There’s a new ConceptD 7 SpatialLabs Edition and new ConceptD 3 units.

Acer SpatialLabs is a cool technology that essentially lets you see 3D images on the display. Packing Intel 11th-gen processors and an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 GPU, it tracks your eyes for dynamic movement on the display. In fact, the SpatialLabs Go app can now convert 2D content to 3D content, so it’s even more fun to use.

he Acer ConceptD 7 SpacialLabs Edition is coming next year.

If you’re not looking for a 3D holographic display, there’s always the refreshed ConceptD 3 lineup, including a clamshell and a new ConceptD 3 Ezel. The ConceptD 3 now comes with a 16-inch 16:10 display, while the Ezel is 16:9 with 4K resolution. As always, these are super-accurate, Delta E < 2 screens.

There are four new models total. The Acer ConceptD 3 is coming in January starting at $1,699.99, the ConceptD 3 Pro is coming in 2022 starting at $1,899.99, the ConceptD 3 Ezel is coming in November starting at $1,899.99, and the ConceptD 3 Ezel Pro is coming in 2022, starting at $1,999.99.

Eco-friendly Acer Vero laptops

One goal is to make laptops more green. We’re seeing more and more laptops using sustainable materials, and that are easier to repair.

Acer is announcing the Aspire Vero and the TravelMate Vero. The Vero brand means that they use post-consumer recycled plastic, they ship in recyclable packaging, and more. They’re also meant to be easy to take apart, repair, and even upgrade.

For example, the Aspire Vero uses 30% post-consumer recycled plastic, and interestingly, the 100% recyclable box can turn into a laptop stand. It has a 99% recyclable 15.6-inch screen, 11th-gen Intel processors, Iris Xe graphics, and USB Type-C. You can also pick up the Vero Mouse, Vero Mousepad, and Vero Sleeve, all of which come with the same commitment to sustainability.

The TravelMate Vero comes with similar promises, like 30% PCR in the chassis and 100% recyclable packaging. Naturally, it has business features like Acer ProShield Plus and Commercial BIOS.

That’s not everything. There’s also the Acer Veriton Vero Mini desktop and the Vero BR277 monitor.

The Aspire Vero is coming in November starting at $699.99, the TravelMate Vero is coming at a TBD date starting at $899.99, and the Vero BR277 is coming in March for $299. Acer didn’t provide pricing and availability for the Veriton Vero Mini desktop.

Acer Predator gaming

Last up is gaming gear, and it’s not just about a new computer, although there is one. There’s also a 4K gaming projector and a 55-inch gaming desk.

The Acer Predator Orion 7000 comes with Intel 12th-generation CPUs (which haven’t been announced yet) and up to NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 graphics. Indeed, it’s a powerhouse and it’s designed for enthusiasts. Along with K-series processors, it also comes with up to 64GB DDR5-4000 RAM. Cooling is bumped up too with FrostBlade 2.0 technology and a third rear fan.

The Predator Orion 7000 is coming in the second quarter of 2022, with pricing announced closer to launch.

Next up, Acer actually has two new gaming projectors, the Predator GD711 and Predator GM712. The GD711 is LED and the GM712 is lamp-based, and they both offer 4K resolution. The Predator GD711 promises 4,000 lumens of brightness, HDR10, and more.

Neither of these are coming to North America, but the Predator GD711 is coming to EMEA in December for €1,499, while the GM712 is coming to EMEA in January for €1,399.

Finally, we have the Acer Predator Gaming Desk. It’s a 55-inch desk that has dedicated spots for a beverage and a headset, and it even comes with a rack for storing controllers. It’s coming to EMEA at a TBD date for €229.

Read More at XDA

OnePlus 9RT goes official with SD 888 with better cooling, 6.62″ 120Hz OLED, 50MP main cam

It starts with the 6.62” display, slightly larger than the non-Pro phones (both the 9 and 9R have 6.55” displays). This Samsung E4 AMOLED display has 1,080 x 2,400 px resolution (20:9). It supports HDR10+ and features sRGB and P3 color modes.

The display offers a high refresh rate, 120 Hz, plus 600 Hz touch sampling rate for instant reactions. Other game-related features include “4D” haptic feedback and three Wi-Fi antennas positioned around the phone for uninterrupted reception.

Next up is the chipset – a Snapdragon 888, of course. It can be configured with 8 or 12 GB of LPDDR5 RAM (quad-channel), along with 128 or 256 GB of UFS 3.1 storage (dual channel). Note that the 12 GB of RAM is available only with 256 GB storage.

Read More at Gsmarena

OnePlus Buds Z2 announced: OnePlus’ affordable buds get better

The interest really lies in the OnePlus Buds Z2’s internal improvements. The new buds bump up the number of microphones from two to three. This trio aids the Buds Z2’s 40dB active noise reduction smarts, too. Latency now falls under 100ms which should benefit gamers and media bingers.

In terms of audio, the Buds Z2 gains slightly larger 11mm drivers, although that’s still noticeably smaller than the 13.4mm drivers in the pricier OnePlus Buds. The OnePlus Buds Z2 also gains a transparency mode, allowing ambient audio to pass through to the listener.

Other additions include lengthy battery life. OnePlus claims a total battery runtime of 38 hours with top-ups from the case. This drops to 27 hours with noise reduction active but still trumps the original Buds Z’s 20-hour figure. The Buds Z2 also packs an IP55 water resistance rating and land with Bluetooth 5.2 support. Dolby Atmos support makes a return too for Color OS 12-powered phones.

Read More at Android Authority

This new TicWatch smartwatch is a top Apple Watch 7 rival, but it has a dumb name

The watch has a 1.4-inch AMOLED screen, a Qualcomm Snapdragon Wear 4100 chipset, 8GB storage, 1GB RAM and an NFC chip. It’s a Wear OS smartwatch so it uses Google’s software, but brings a few Mobvoi extras like specific health apps and workout modes. 

Of course, it also has built-in GPS – that name would be pretty misleading otherwise.

Mobvoi hasn’t stated whether this watch uses Wear OS 3.0, as in the Samsung Galaxy Watch 4, or the second-gen version of it which some companies still use.

Read More at Techradar

Apple Watch Series 7 Reviews: Larger Displays and Faster Charging, Not Much Else Has Changed

Key features of the Apple Watch Series 7 include larger displays with 41mm and 45mm case sizes, enhanced durability with IP6X-rated dust resistance, and up to 33 percent faster charging with a USB-C fast charging cable included in the box. There are also new aluminum case color options, such as midnight, starlight, and green.

Read More at Macrumors

Realme GT Neo2 goes global with 120Hz display and Snapdragon 870, joined by AIoT lifestyle products

Realme GT Neo2 comes in Neo Black, Neo Blue and Neo Green colors. The 8GB RAM and 128GB storage version will sell for INR 31,999 ($425) though a special festive offer gets it down to INR 24,999 (332). The 12/256GB trim will go for INR 35,999 ($478) while its early bird price is set at INR 28,999 ($385). First sales of the GT Neo2 are scheduled for midnight October 17.

Realme’s new 4K Smart Google TV stick offers all the benefits of the new Google TV platform alongside HDR10+ support and 4K streaming over HDMI 2.1. It’s powered by a quad-core ARM Cortex-A35 processor and dual-core GPU with 2GB RAM and 8GB storage.

There’s Google Chromecast capabilities as well as Bluetooth 5.0 dual-band Wi-Fi connectivity. Realme 4K Smart Google TV stick retails for INR 2,999 ($40) and goes on sale from October 17.

Realme Brick Bluetooth speaker offers 20W dynamic bass drivers, IPX5 water resistance, Bluetooth 5.0 connectivity, and 14-hour battery life. It’s also priced at INR 2,999 ($40) and will be available from October 18.

The new Closer Green Realme Buds Air 2 will be available for INR 3,299 ($44) from October 18.

Read More at Gsmarena

The AMD Radeon RX 6600 is here to take on the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060

AMD claims the RX 6600 offers 23% higher performance than the Nvidia RTX 2060 at 1080p in games like Assassin’s Creed Valhalla and Battlefield 5. AMD also states that on average it hits 100 FPS, though it falls short of that in games like Cyberpunk 2077 and Godfall – but AMD claims it can still hit upwards of 70 fps in those titles.

The AMD Radeon RX 6600 is based on a slightly cut-down version of the same GPU found in the RX 6600 XT, with 28 Compute Units, which means you get 1,792 Streaming Processors and 28 Ray Accelerators. You also get  8GB of GDDR6 VRAM, which can reach a peak bandwidth of 244 GB/s thanks to AMD’s Infinity Cache. The GPU will have a Game Clock of 2,044MHz. 

The Radeon RX 6600 hits shelves today, October 13, as previously rumored, starting at $329 – though the prices will likely be much higher for most third-party versions of the graphics card. Now we just get to see how well it stays in stock – or rather how fast it completely sells out.

Read More at Techradar

AMD could launch Ryzen 6000 CPUs in early 2022 to fight back against Intel

AMD has confirmed that new Ryzen processors using the 3D V-Cache tech it revealed back in June will debut early in 2022, with a big performance uplift compared to existing Ryzen 5000 CPUs.

This revelation was made as AMD celebrated the five-year anniversary of the launch of Ryzen chips, in a YouTube video with the firm’s chief marketing officer John Taylor, and director of technical marketing, Robert Hallock.

Read More at Techradar

HTC’s new headset has leaked and it’ll make you look like a bug

The first leaked photos appeared to indicate that the headset will be tethered via a wire to some kind of tube-shaped device, which could perhaps provide a little extra power to the headset (similar to the original Magic Leap). But other images make it less clear: another set of images leaked by Blass shows that it does have internal processing (and a blower-style cooling fan), and yet another set suggest the tube might simply be a carrying case.

Read More at The Verge

TSMC plant in Japan planned in $7B deal with Sony and Japanese government

Potential plans for a TSMC plant in Japan have leaked, with the chipmaker said to be seeking to boost production to help address the global chip shortage.

Setup costs of $7B are expected to be split between TSMC, Sony, and the Japanese government …

Nikkei Asia reports.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., the world’s largest contract chipmaker, and Sony Group are considering joint construction of a semiconductor factory in western Japan amid a global chip shortage, Nikkei has learned.

The total investment in the project is estimated at 800 billion yen ($7 billion), with the Japanese government expected to provide up to half the amount […]

Sony may also take a minority stake in a new company that will manage the factory, which will be located in Kumamoto Prefecture, on land owned by Sony and in an area adjacent to the latter’s image sensor factory, according to multiple people familiar with the matter […]

The Japanese government, which is increasingly concerned about maintaining supply chain stability amid the chip shortage and rising tensions surrounding the Taiwan Strait, will support the project with subsidies, Nikkei learned.

Read More at 9to5Mac