Acer has 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 “over 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 into 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 think of the inconvenience of using cheap plastic cups to experience the full effect.
Later, the Nintendo 3DS was one of the first successful consumer devices with a stereoscopic 3D display, 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
- GPU: Up to Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080
- RAM: Up to 32GB
- Storage: SSD up to 2TB
- Display: 15.6 inches, 4K
- Size: 14.1 x 10.9 x 1.1 inches
- Weight: 5.7 pounds
Display and features
Acer’s new Predator Helios 300 SpatialLabs Edition gaming laptop is a Windows 11 device featuring up to a 12th generation Intel Core i9-12900H “Alder Lake” CPU, up to an RTX 3080 discrete graphics card, up to 32GB of Dual-channel DDR5 4800 MHz RAM and up to 2TB of PCIe Gen 4 NVMe SSD storage and liquid cooling. A solid feature set, never seen on the many Acer predator Helios 300s we’ve reviewed over the years.
However, the standout feature of this new laptop is the discreet 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.
The 3D images come 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 images with 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 to be 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 the fourth quarter at a starting price of $3,400/€3,299. European players will be able to get hold of it from September.
Since the laptop will be available in different configurations, we can predict that the top 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 becomes popular, we’ll likely 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. . 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.