Intel’s first dedicated graphics processor will ship in a laptop from Acer slated to arrive in December.
The Swift 3X notebook will carry Intel’s new Iris Xe Max discrete graphics chip, Acer announced on Wednesday alongside an upcoming slate of Windows laptops.
The news arrives days after Asus also disclosed that it’s incorporating Intel’s first dedicated graphics card into its own laptop, the VivoBook Flip 14, which is slated to launch in late Q4.
For now, both Intel and its PC partners are remaining mum on the graphics processor’s capabilities. But don’t expect the GPU to initially end up in gaming laptops. Instead, Intel has designed the new graphics chip to first power products tailored for content creators, such as graphic artists.
In Acer’s case, the company is marketing the Swift 3X for creative professionals, such as photographers and YouTubers, who need powerful performance on the go. The laptop will also come with Intel’s newly launched 11th-generation “Tiger Lake” Core chips for faster processing, particularly on photo- and video-editing tasks.
The Swift 3X has a 14-inch 1080p screen, weighs in at 3 pounds, and has a battery life that can last up to 17.5 hours on a single charge, according to Acer. The laptop will also come with Wi-Fi 6 and an array of ports, including HDMI, USB Type-A, and the emerging Thunderbolt 4.
The Swift 3X is landing in North America in December starting at $899.
The Rest of the Portfolio: New Spins and Aspires
Today, Acer also introduced five other Windows laptops, which the company will release in coming months and into 2021.
The Spin 5 is a laptop convertible that can flip into a tablet, thanks to a 360-degree hinge and touch screen. The product also comes with Intel’s 11th-generation Tiger Lake processors. But you won’t be getting a dedicated graphics card. Instead, the laptop will rely on the integrated Iris Xe graphics onboard the Intel chip.
The 13.5-inch laptop convertible weighs in at 2.65 pounds. According to Acer, the product can last for up to 15 hours on a single charge. In keeping with current events around health measures, the touch screen has also been outfitted with Corning’s antimicrobial coating.
The Spin 5 is going to release in North America, but not until February 2021. Expect configurations to cost $999 and up.
Acer is also refreshing the Spin 3 laptop convertible with Intel’s Tiger Lake processors. The product has been redesigned, now with a smaller 13.3-inch display with a 16:10 aspect ratio and a panel resolution up to 2,560 by 1,600 pixels.
In its materials around the Spin 3, Acer added, “It also comes with a built-in Acer Active Stylus with 4,096 levels of pressure sensitivity to make the most of the touch screen when sketching or writing.” This model won’t arrive until March 2021, at a starting price at $849.
For consumers looking for more-affordable options, Acer is also refreshing its Aspire 5 clamshell laptop models with Intel’s Tiger Lake chips. Although you can’t buy them with Intel’s dedicated graphics card, customers will have the option to configure them with Nvidia’s GeForce MX350 and MX450, low-end laptop GPUs.
The 14- and 15.6-inch Aspire 5 models will release in December, starting at $499. The 17-inch model, on the other hand, won’t arrive in North America until next February, starting at $549.
