Acer’s announcement-packed Next@Acer event included a slew of products ranging from gaming computers to slim laptops, with a varying set of release dates. A few don’t quite fit into any other major product releases, instead focusing on emerging and developing areas of technology with novel additions to the concept.
First up, the Acer Leap Ware takes the fitness smartwatch and refines it with a couple of key features that play well as a team. Instead of Android Wear, Acer developed its own smartwatch software, built on a MediaTek MT2523 chipset with an MT2511 for heart rate sensing. With a screen built from Corning Gorilla Glass and an IPX7 water resistance rating, users will not have to worry about an unexpected rainstorm or accidental damage, and a built-in LED helps for those who do not take their phone on a run. Acer also provides social features through the Liquid Life app, where users can share their workouts and battle for coins in the Liquid Life marketplace. The Leap Ware will hit shelves in North American in July, starting at $139.
Next up, two products with less clear release dates. The first is the Acer Holo 360, a 360-degree camera that also makes phone calls. It has 4G built right in and a small screen, which allows for quick viewing, editing, and sharing, all without a smartphone.
Acer also announced that it’s working with Microsoft on the mixed reality headset units promised for Windows Holographic, and that development kits are already in capable hands. No word on when either of those products will find their way into users’ homes, or how much they will cost when they do.
Acer continues to find new and intriguing ways to reach into different product categories. We have been waiting for mixed reality headsets in particular for quite some time, so any sign of progress is appreciated. That said, Acer’s focus continues to fall squarely on computers, which made up the bulk of the content at this year’s press conference.
After five years with Apple silicon, from the original M1 MacBook Air to the M5 MacBook Air released earlier this year, I've watched these chips mature not just on the spec sheet, but in real-world workflows and overall efficiency.
The new M6 chip might sound like a routine generational upgrade, but it's the company's first chip built on a 2nm manufacturing process, which brings meaningful improvements over previous Apple chips.
Gemini Notebook’s mobile app now has a built-in recorder for capturing lectures and meetings as sources. You can record directly where you’ll use the material, skipping the separate recording app and the file upload afterward.
Google announced the feature on X, highlighting classroom lectures and team meetings as potential uses. It also works for capturing your own thoughts, so you can talk through an idea and bring that explanation into your notebook while it’s still fresh.
In 1950, Alan Turing asked whether machines can think. Rather than argue over definitions, he turned the question into a party game, where an interrogator trades typed messages with hidden players and tries to work out who is who. Since then, chatbots have gotten so good that they have already fooled humans in modern versions of the test.
So, four researchers from Paris Cité University asked the obvious follow-up question in a new study published in Computers in Human Behavior Reports: can AI at least catch its own kind?