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Acer Shows Off Convertible Chromebook, Modular Revo Build

 & Will Greenwald Principal Writer, Consumer Electronics

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BERLIN—Just hours after Intel introduced its new sixth-generation CPUs at the IFA trade show here, Acer held its own PC-focused press conference, which focused primarily on Windows 10 systems, but also showcased Chromebooks and other devices.

Acer Chromebook R 11Acer has been the global leader in Chromebooks for the last five quarters, it said, and looks to continue that trend. Besides new Chromebook models, the company will offer new Chromebox systems and Chromebase all-in-one computers. Acer also tipped a digital projector with built-in Chromecast support.

The Chromebook R 11 (pictured) is the first convertible Chromebook from Acer. It has a 360-degree hinge that flips into four modes: laptop, pad, display, and tent modes. It sports an 11.6-inch HD touch screen with 1,366 by 768 resolution at a 16:9 aspect ratio, and is powered by Intel Celeron chips. Buyers can select either 16GB or 32GB of internal storage.

Acer also unveiled the Switch 12 2-in-1, a combination tablet/notebook with a 12.5-inch 4K screen, diamond-cut aluminum body, Thunderbolt 3/USB-C, and support for an external graphics box. The system has a detatchable keyboard, similar to a Microsoft Surface Pro.

Acer Revo BuildThe PC-slash-NAS Revo box is evolving from a small system into a modular PC platform called the Acer Revo Build. The system uses a series of stackable modules that connect magnetically to the main PC, including graphics hardware, storage, voice control, and battery power. It supports full HD graphics at 1,920 by 1,080 and can be configured with an Intel Pentium or Intel Celeron chip.

As a PC manufacturer, Acer is pushing Windows 10 heavily. The company highlighted its committment to the new OS with products ranging from smartphones to gaming PCs. Prominent features include multi-user MIMO Wi-Fi, multi-gesture touch-screen support, and, of course, the Cortana voice assistant.

Acer announced the Aspire One Cloudbook 11 a month ago, and the company is following it up with a larger, 14-inch Cloudbook 14, a Windows-based take on Chromebook. Like the Cloudbook 11, the 14 is "made for the cloud" with a focus on services like Windows 365, OneDrive, and Cortana.

Acer Jade PrimoWindows 10 includes a new feature called Continuum, which Acer highlighted during its press conference with the announcement of the Jade Primo (pictured). Conhtinuum allows information to be quickly shared between Windows 10 PCs and Windows 10 smartphones thanks to a docking station. The Jade Primo is Acer's first Continuum-focused Windows 10 phone with an included docking station, wireless mouse, and wireless keyboard for use with Windows 10 PCs.

Acer is also expanding its Predator line of gaming PCs. The new Predator 15 and Predator 17 each have sixth-generation Intel Core i7-6700HQ processors, Nvidia GeForce GTX980 graphics, and a triple fan design that dissipates heat quickly, plus up to four built-in speakers and subwoofers. They each have, respectively, a 15-inch or 17-inch 1,920-by-1,080 FHD screen, with the option of Ultra HD 4K2K (3,840-by-2,160) screens.

Acer Predator 17The Predator 15 can hold up to 64GB of memory, and the Predator 17 can handle up to 32GB. There are a number of storage options for each: a PCIe SSD that comes with 256GB or 512GB, a SATA drive of 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, or 2TB HDD. Each has some neat features, like Killer DoubleShot Pro LAN, which lets you prioritize and optimize your bandwidth during gaming, and four customizable backlight zones and customizable macro profiles for the keyboard.

Acer is also putting out two gaming desktops, the Predator G6 and Predator G3. Each comes with an Intel Core i7-6700K or i5-6600K processor, an HDD of up to 12TB, and an SSD of up to 512GB. The Predator G6 has the Nvidia GeForce GTX 980 graphics card, and the Predator G3 comes with either the Nvidia GeForce GTX 970 graphics card or the AMD Radeon R9 360 card. The Predator G6 is slightly larger, with dimensions of 8.3 by 18.2 by 2.8 inches (HWD), whereas the Predator G3 is 7 by 16.1 by 20.1 inches (HWD). With each, you get six USB-3 ports and two USB-2 ports. They're fierce-looking machines, with what looks like armor around the chassis.

About Our Expert

Will Greenwald

Will Greenwald

Principal Writer, Consumer Electronics

My Experience

I’m PCMag’s home theater and AR/VR expert, and your go-to source of information and recommendations for game consoles and accessories, smart displays, smart glasses, smart speakers, soundbars, TVs, and VR headsets. I’m an ISF-certified TV calibrator and THX-certified home theater technician, I've served as a CES Innovation Awards judge, and while Bandai hasn’t officially certified me, I’m also proficient at building Gundam plastic models up to MG-class. I also enjoy genre fiction writing, and my urban fantasy novel, Alex Norton, Paranormal Technical Support, is currently available on Amazon.

The Technology I Use

Where to start? I have a standard IT-issued Lenovo Thinkpad for writing and editing, supplemented with an iPad Air and an 8Bitdo Retro Keyboard when I want to write on the go. I also have a Lenovo Legion Go as a platform for running Portrait Displays’ Calman software and controlling the Klein K-10A colorimeter, Murideo SIX-G signal generator, and Leo Bodnar 4K Video Signal Lag Tester I use for testing TVs. 

For gaming, I use a Nintendo Switch 2, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X, and a GeForce 5080-equipped MSI gaming laptop. I like collecting retro games as well, and have an Analogue Pocket and a ton of classic consoles and portables. Photography is another interest, and I use a Sony A7 IV when I’m shooting products and events, and a Fujifilm X-Pro3 for my own attempts at visual creativity. And for reading and writing, I’ve become partial to the Kobo Sage for books and the ReMarkable 2 with Type Folio.

When it comes to phones and tablets, I’m pretty platform-agnostic. I use a Google Pixel 8 for my phone and an iPad Air for a tablet. Android, iOS, and iPadOS are all totally fine, but I need a Windows PC. MacOS just isn’t for me.

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