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Acer just announced a version of its flagship Predator Helios 300 gaming laptop, and it comes with a glasses-free stereoscopic 3D display.
Predator Helios 300 SpatialLabs Edition uses dedicated software to create a live 3D effect for “more than 50 popular games” during gameplay. Acer plans to offer more support for more games after launch.
The availability of 3D on home devices is not a new phenomenon here, but we must keep in mind that most 3D displays have failed to gain popularity among consumers. If we drift a bit back in history, the 3D TV boom of the 2000s didn’t really generate the traction it needed, and for that reason, it’s heralded as a spectacular flop of the century. Most consumers would not imagine the inconvenience of cheap plastic glasses to experience the full effect.
Subsequently, the Nintendo 3DS was one of the first successful consumer devices with a stereoscopic 3D screen, and the new Acer Predator Helios now looks to offer something similar, albeit in a more advanced and technologically supported avatar.
- CPU: CPU up to Intel Core i9-12900H
- GPUs: Up to Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080
- RAM: Up to 32GB
- Storage: SSD up to 2TB
- Show: 15.6-inch, 4K
- Size: 14.1 x 10.9 x 1.1 inches
- Weight: 5.7 pounds
Screen and features
The new Predator Helios 300 SpatialLabs Edition gaming laptop from Acer is a Windows 11 device that features up to 12-gen Intel Core i9-12900H “Alder Lake” CPU, up to RTX 3080 discrete graphics, up to 32GB of Dual-channel DDR5 4800 MHz RAM and up to 2TB PCIe Gen 4 NVMe SSD storage and liquid cooling. A solid set of features, never seen on the many Acer predator Helios 300s we’ve reviewed over the years.
The standout feature of this new laptop, however, is the discrete 1.6-inch UHD (3840 x 2160) IPS that can create stereoscopic 3D images without the need for glasses.
The laptop comes with the new SpatialLabs TrueGame app that will support more than 50 popular games at launch, and Acer promises to include support for more titles incrementally in the future.
3D imaging comes courtesy of Acer’s SpatialLabs technology that attaches a liquid crystal lenticular lens to the top of the display panel to form a module that can switch between 2D and 3D imaging at the push of a button. There’s also an eye-tracking camera on the front to help create 3D images.
While other 3D display technologies have proven ingenious and completely unusable in real life, Acer’s new gaming laptop promises to be different thanks to a combination of industry expertise, unique hardware, and advanced software.
Release date and availability
The Acer Predator Helios 300 SpatialLabs Edition is expected to be available for purchase early in Q4 at a starting price of $3,400/€3,299. European players will be able to get it from September.
Since the laptop will be available in different configurations, we can predict that the top-end model with the Core i9 chip and RTX 3080 GPU will cost significantly more.
Thanks to its price, the Acer Predator Helios 300 SpatialLabs Edition will be a niche product, but if the concept of 3D gaming catches on, we’re likely to see more laptops with the same technology from different manufacturers in the coming years.
We’ve seen gaming laptops like the MSI Raider GE66 12UHS-235 and the Razer Blade 15, both with Intel Core i9-12900H CPUs and Nvidia RTX 3080 Ti graphics, so we’re just waiting to see what glassless 3D gaming laptops do. . it enters the high-end gaming laptop market in terms of performance and value for money.
The Acer Predator Helios 300 (PH315-54-760S) remains our favorite mid-range gaming laptop, thanks to its reasonable price, sturdy build, and solid gaming performance.
Save it here for a review of the SpatialLabs edition of the Acer Predator Helios 300.
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