Acer’s Vero brand is really branching out this year. The company has already announced a projector with the Vero brand. Now, the Vero brand is making its debut on Acerpure products. Acerpure made its debut not too long ago and bullodzed Acer into the home and living space. So far, the sub-brand has been used primarily for air-purifiers, air circulators and fans.
With the Acerpure Pro Vero, Acer is making its most capable air purifier a tad bit more environmentally friendly by adopting the same technology used to make its Vero laptops. The Acerpure Pro Vero has a chassis made of 35% post consumer recycled (PCR) plastics. The adoption of these plastics has helped decrease the carbon footprint of owning an Acerpure Pro.
Aside from this, the Acerpro Pro Vero comes with a simple, modern design that allows it to blend in seamlessly into your home. It’s equipped with a PM 2.5 air quality sensor which detects suspended particles in the air. It uses this information to automatically adjust the setting of the Acerpure Pro system in “Green mode”. The DC motor allows for more efficient use of energy when it comes to operating the Acerpure Pro.
The hallmark feature of the Acerpure Pro is the 3-in-1 HEPA filtration system. This system is able to filter out 99.9% of PM2.5 particles and is able to reduce the concentration of allergens in your room and home. It can also filter out formaldehydes thanks to an anti-formaldehyde coating on an activated carbon cotton-infused filter.
Pricing & Availability
The Acerpure Pro Vero (AP353-10W) will be available in Taiwan starting in May. It will also be making its way to select markets in the Pan Asia Pacific and EMEA Regions.
Looking for an alternative to Windows? Well, Chromebooks are slowly becoming a more stable, option with constant internet connectivity making them the perfect device for learning or even enterprises looking for a versatile remote work option with security in mind. Acer has introduced an updated Chromebook Spin 714 with premium specifications and build and even a special version built for enterprises.
Source: Acer
The Chromebook Spin 714 isn’t just a Chromebook. It brings some of the best features that Acer has to offer. The laptop itself is made of premium anondised aluminium which gives it a refined finish. It’s also rate U.S. MIL-STD-810H for durability.
On the inside, the Chromebook Spin 714 comes with a 13th generation Intel Core processor. The Chromebook will support up to the Core i7 processor and up to 32GB of RAM. It comes with a 14-inch WUXGA display with 100% coverage of the sRGB gamut and a 16:10 aspect ratio. It’s biggest feature is a 2K QHD webcam which promises high quality video for video calls and conferencing.
As its name indicates, the Acer Chromebook Spin 714 is able to “spin” itself into different configuration. It comes with a 360° hinge which allows it to become a presentation surface, a tablet or a regular laptop. The laptop also comes with a stylus allow you to note take more naturally with its 4,096 levels of pressure sensitivity.
It’s also got a complete array of I/O ports with Thunderbolt 4, USB-C, and HDMI support. It’s also got Gorilla Glass on both the screen and touchpad for added durability. The Chromebook is also one of the greener offerings from Acer as it comes with recycled plastics in its build similar to the sustainable Vero lineup.
Source: Acer
Pricing & Availability
The Acer Chromebook Spin 417 will be available commercially starting May in America for USD$699.99 and EMEA in July starting at EUR999.
The Chromebook Spin 417 is also available in an enterprise edition which comes with access to Chrome Enterprise Upgrade. This allows IT departments to leverage Chrome OS’s built-in business capabilities including zero touch enrolment, remote management and more.
Acer’s Vero products have become the cornerstone of their commercial efforts to deliver a more sustainable choice to consumers. These products have changed the expectations that we have when it comes to laptops being sustainable and eco-friendly. The same lineup is getting expanded with a larger laptop refresh and a new projector.
Acer Aspire Vero 15 Laptop – Better Specs, Greener Tech
Acer’s Vero pioneer – the Apsire Vero Laptop – is getting a much-needed refresh. The new Aspire Vero 15 laptop comes equipped with better, more competitive specifications and uses updated fabrication and creation that makes it greener and more efficient than before.
Like its predecessor, the Aspire Vero 15 Laptop is an Intel Evo laptop which promises good performance and long-lasting battery life. Equipped with Intel’s 13th-generation processors, the laptop is more efficient and packs more power. It comes with Intel Iris Xe graphics. It’s even got more power offerings coming with up to the Intel Core i7. The processor is complemented with up to 16GB of LPDDR5 RAM and 2 M.2 ports that support up to 1TB of storage. It’s also coming with a complete array of I/O ports. This includes Thunderbolt 4 USB-Type C which supports connectivity with 4K displays, USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type A, HDMI 2.1, an audio combo jack and DC-in. It’s completed with a 1440p QHD camera with Acer’s PurifiedView and PurifiedVoice AI noise reduction technology and a FullHD 15.6-inch display.
The advancements that the laptop brings aren’t about the specifications though. It’s all about the materials and processes that are used in making it. The Aspire Vero 15 Laptop incorporates more post-consumer recycled (PCR) plastics than its predecessor with a process that emits 30% less carbon. The new laptop now uses 40% PCR plastics in its chassis – a 10% increase over the previous Vero laptop. In addition, the keycaps and adapter casing are using PCR materials making up a whopping 50% of their build. The new fabrication process also uses less volatile organic compounds and results in a sturdier, stronger chassis.
Acer also continues to include its VeroSense software suite which allows users to have more control over their own carbon footprint. Using the app, users will be able to control power efficiency with preset or customised profiles when they are plugged in and on the go.
Acer Vero Smart Projector – Projecting more Sustainably
Acer is no stranger when it comes to projectors. Having already created an extensive portfolio which includes its Predator Gaming projectors, it was only a matter of time before they incorporated Vero technology and optimisations into their projectors.
The new Acer Vero PL3510ATV Projector is one of the most power-efficient projectors in their lineup. It comes with a Full HD resolution and dynamic 4,8000 ANSOI lumens laser diode with a 50,000:1 contrast ratio. With this laser projection technology, the projector is built for projection in bright indoor and outdoor environments. The laser phosphor illumination technology creates rich, colour-accurate projections with less lighting decay and even consumes 48% less energy compared to traditional projectors. It’s even equipped with a 10W speaker.
The Vero Projector isn’t just about power efficiency, it comes with features that allow it dynamically adjust its display keystone. This ensures that the edges of your projection are always aligned and not distorted. It also supports 24/7 continuous projection. It even comes with a dongle that supports Android TV and Chromecast projection.
Pricing & Availability
The Acer Aspire Vero 15 (AV15-53P) will be available starting in May while the Acer Vero Projector will be available starting in September.
You want a Predator gaming laptop, but you may not have a budget that could fit a Predator gaming laptop. That may not be the case any longer with Acer’s latest announcement. They announced their latest, value-for-money Predator Helios Neo 16, an accessible Predator gaming laptop that still offers everything that makes a Predator gaming laptop unique, but at a fraction of the usual Predator cost. It is also one of the more unique looking Predator laptops to date.
But if you are looking for unique though, nothing comes close to Acer Predator’s latest Helios 3D 15 SpatialLabs Edition, a glasses-free 3D gaming laptop that is sure to turn heads, kind of literally. The new Helios 3D 15 SpatialLabs Edition follows up from its predecessor with even more powerful hardware and even cleverer stereoscopic 3D technology and even more certified games than ever before.
Predator Helios Neo 16
The new Predator Helios Neo 16 stands out amongst the current line-up of the Predator Helios line-up with an exclusive shell design. The shell boasts laser-etched encrypted codes on top of the signature abyssal-black anodized aluminium cover. Apparently, there is a hidden message with the etched code, we just do not know what it leads to.
The laser-etched shell houses a 16-inch 16:10 aspect ratio IPS display. The IPS panel offers up to WQXGA resolution at a speedy 165Hz and 3ms response time. The IPS panel offers 100% coverage of the sRGB colour gamut. The display supports NVIDIA’s G-SYNC for tear-free gaming experience as well even in the most intense gaming situations.
To keep games running optimally on the WQXGA resolution at 165Hz, the Predator Helios Neo 16 houses a powerful Intel Core i7-13700HX (up to) and up to NVIDIA’s latest GeForce RTX 4070 laptop GPU with up to 140W MGP. The powerful processors are paired with up to 32GB of dual-channel DDR5 RAM with up to 4800 MHz transfer speeds and up to 2TB of fast SSD storage for a speedy gaming and seamless multitasking experience.
Of course, the powerful internals inside the Helios Neo 16 needs a beefy cooling system. Inside the unique chassis, you can find Predator’s latest redesigned 5th generation Aeroblade 3D with custom-engineered metal fan combined with liquid metal technology for more efficient and effective thermal dissipation.
Predator Helios 3D 15 SpatialLabs Edition
To be fair, Acer’s SpatialLabs technology is nothing new. Acer launched the SpatialLabs initiative a few years prior to the last generation of the SpatialLabs equipped Predator Helios gaming laptop. When it was launched it was also aimed at mostly the medical and creative industries.
Predator saw a different use case for it though. The Predator Helios 3D 15 SpatialLabs is the culmination of Acer’s know how in stereoscopic glasses-free 3D technology. The 15.6-inch display works with the 3D SpatialLabs sensors above the display and TrueGame application that offers an even better glasses-free 3D gaming experience that is even better than ever before. The application now supports two 3D gaming modes, 3D+ and 3D Ultra and supports over 70 gaming titles including certain AAA titles with more to come.
To ensure that you can enjoy smooth 3D gaming experience, the Predator Helios 3D 15 SpatialLabs edition is offered with up to Intel’s latest 13th generation Core i9-13900HX processor alongside NVIDIA’s GeForce RTX 4080 laptop GPU. With up to 32GB of DDR5-5600 MHz onboard memory, 3D gameplay should be smooth and seamless. Of course, those internals are also good productivity and other supported 3D applications.
Price and Availability
The Predator Helios Neo 16 and Predator Helios 3D 15 SpatialLabs Edition are both only available in Predator’s signature Abyssal-Black colour option. The two gaming laptops will be available in the North American market from May and June 2023 onwards respectively. The Predator Helios Neo 16 will se you back from US$ 1,199 (MYR 5,319*) while the Predator Helios 3D 15 SpatialLabs Edition will start at US$ 3,499 (MYR 15,523*). There are no mentions on their official pricing and availability in Malaysia just yet, but a close source to us tells us that the Predator Helios Neo 16 is coming sooner than you think. More information on the Predator Helios Neo 16 and Predator Helios 3D 15 SpatialLabs Edition can be found on their website.
*Approximately based on exchange rate of US$ 1 = MYR 4.44 as of 21/04/2023 on xe.com.
(2 May 2023) Update – Pre-order details for Malaysia added to the post.
Thin and light laptops have never been more relevant. In the wake of the pandemic, we’re often finding ourselves working remotely. This has changed what we’re looking for in a laptop. ASUS has decided to embrace this reality with its thinnest-ever laptop with the Zenbook S 13 OLED (UX5304). But that’s not all for the new Zenbook S 13 OLED, it’s also the most sustainable laptop yet from ASUS.
Redefining Thin & Light with a 1cm Profile complemented by a 1kg Weight
The Zenbook S 13 OLED (UX5304) isn’t ditching the premium build and materials we love from ASUS. It ups the ante with a precision CNC-machined lid and keyboard deck. The magnesium-alloy lid is designed and machined to hold a Full HD, IR camera while reducing the thickness by 30%.
Source: ASUS
ASUS has also optimised the internal components of the new Zenbook. Using circuit boards with fewer layers and higher wiring density and more transistors, they have successfully reduced the bottom half of the laptop by 25%. However, they’ve kept performance in mind and have included an ultrathin fan that increases airflow for better cooling.
Even the keyboard deck has been slimmed down by 25%. This is done with a precision machined alloy and a super thin glass layer for the mousepad.
More Sustainable than Any ASUS Laptop
ASUS’s new Zenbook S 13 OLED (UX5304) is also upping the ante when it comes to sustainability. The magnesium-aluminium alloy used in the laptop is a sustainably sourced post-industrial recycled (PIR) alloy. Post-consumer recycled (PCR) plastics are also incorporated in the laptop’s build. This is primarily seen in its keycaps and speakers. The latter specifically uses ocean-bound plastics.
ASUS has also created a special manufacturing process that they claim is greener than ever before. Their exclusive plasma ceramic aluminium material is made with pure water and electricity and omits the use of harmful organic compounds, strong acids and heavy metals. Instead, they use a low-impact bath-based method which gives similar results to harmful chemical treatments. These manufacturing choices have been recognised with the EPEAT Gold certification.
The Zenbook S 13 OLED is still sturdy and has increased wear resistance, corrosion protection, thermal management and hardness. It’s even certified with MIL-STD-810H military-grade durability.
Performance on-the-go with Intel Core Processors & a Complete set of I/O
The Zenbook S 13 OLED (UX5304) isn’t just resting on its laurels. It comes with the latest Intel Core i5 and i7 processors. These 13th Generation Intel Core processors bring impressive performance while being more power efficient with up to 20 watts of boosted performance. These processors are complemented with up to 16GB of LPDDR5 RAM and an ultrafast PCIe 4.0 x4 SSD. The SSD comes in 512GB and 1TB configurations.
Source: ASUS
Source: ASUS
Source: ASUS
Source: ASUS
Source: ASUS
Source: ASUS
Source: ASUS
Source: ASUS
Source: ASUS
Source: ASUS
Source: ASUS
ASUS isn’t ditching critical I/O ports for clout with the Zenbook S 13 OLED. The laptop comes with a full complement of I/O ports. These ports include two Thunderbolt 4 USB-C ports, a USB 3.2 Gen 2 USB Type-A port, an HDMI 2.1 port and a 3.5mm audio jack. The USB-C ports are also used for charging the slim laptop and support connectivity with 4K external displays. This comes in addition to the Windows Hello-enabled FHD IR camera and WiFi 6E support with ASUS WiFi Master Premium.
Completing the Zenbook S 13 OLED offering is a 16:10 ASUS Lumina OLED display. The 2.8K display comes with a 0.2ms response time and a Delta E value of less than 1 which guarantees colour accuracy. It also covers 100% if the DCI-P3 gamut is Dolby Vision and VESA DIsplayHDR True Black 500 certified. Completing the multimedia package is a Harman Kardon-certified audio system with immersive Dolby Atmos sound and a smart amplifier combined with ASUS Audio Booster which can boost the volume by up to 5.25x.
Pricing & Availability
The ASUS Zenbook S 13 OLED will be retailing internationally with prices starting at USD$1,399. It will be available in Basalt Gray or Ponder Blue.
In Malaysia, the laptop will be available in two variants:
Model
Specifications
Price (MYR)
ASUS Zenbook S 13 OLED (UX5304)
Intel Core i5-1335U 16GB LPDDR5 RAM 512GB storage
4,999
ASUS Zenbook S 13 OLED (UX5304)
Intel Core i5-1355U 16GB LPDDR5 RAM 1TB storage
5,999
Pre-orders for the Zenbook S 13 OLED are available open from 2 May 2023. Pre-orders of the laptop will be entitled to a free ASUS ZenScreen worth MYR1,099. The offer is available for the first 20 pre-orders of the Zenbook S 13 OLED.
Predator just very recently launched their Predator Helios 16 and Helios 18 in Malaysia. These new laptops represent the best of the Helios line-up with their new-school design. They also come with Intel’s latest 13th Generation Core processors to boot and NVIDIA’s GeForce RTX 40 series GPUs for the best gaming experience you can find on a laptop. But what if the Helios laptops are a just a tad unwieldy, a little out of reach? Then you need the Triton series.
Predator Triton 17 X
You need a workstation, an all-in-one device you can work off from your desk. Most of the time, a desktop replacement at this size would be a little on the unwieldy no thanks to its size and heft. Predator’s Triton 17 X is a little different.
It is still a large 17-inch laptop meant to replace your desktop set-up at home, but it is also thin. It measures in at less than 22mm, thinner than most laptops packing the power that the Triton 17 X packs. The power packed inside the Triton 17 X adds to a lot of the heft though at 3kg. It is still lighter than most desktop replacements you can find in the market.
What kind of power, you ask? The Predator Triton 17 X is Acer Predator’s most powerful gaming laptop to date. On top of Intel’s latest 13th Generation Core i19-13900HX (up to) CPU, the Predator Triton 17 X is the only gaming laptop in Predator’s stables with NVIDIA’s GeForce RTX 4090 (up to) GPU inside the laptop. You pair these to up to 64GB of DDR5 RAM with up to 5600 Hz of transfer speeds. You also get up to 4TB of fast SSD storage with RAID 0 for even faster read and write speeds to keep up with the most demanding games of today.
All of these is projected to a 17-inch mini-LED display that offers WQXGA (up to) resolution with 16:10 aspect ratio. The Mini-LED panel is one of the fastest available of its kind in the market too at 250Hz refresh rate. For enjoyment in both movie watching and gaming, the Mini-LED display is one of the brightest in its class at about 1,000 nits for DisplayHDR 1000 certification. The DisplayHDR 1000 certified display also offers up to 1,000,000:1 contrast ratio for even more details even in a dark image. The panel also offers 100% of DCI-P3 colour gamut for lifelike colour reproduction and immersive experience like no other.
It is not an all-out workstation just meant for large and heavy tasks though. It is also a mobile workhorse designed to ensure that you still can get your work done quickly and conveniently. Thanks to NVIDIA’s Advanced Optimus technology, the Triton 17 X switches between the discrete GeForce RTX GPU and integrated graphics for extended battery life whenever it is necessary. Of course, if you need it, NVIDIA’s G-SYNC ensures that you get a tear-free gaming experience.
The kind of power this beast of a thing requires some very powerful yet clever cooling solutions too. To ensure that the Triton 17 X’s internals can be pushed to its full potential without destroying itself, Predator’s 5th Generation Aeroblade 3D with specially engineered metal fans is beefed up with three fans for up to 10% more airflow than before. The new vapor chamber heat pipe design with liquid metal technology ensures that thermal transfer happens as efficiently and as effectively as possible to keep the CPU and GPU running optimally for a long time.
Covering the powerful internals is a per-key RGB keyboard array with a large glass touchpad and fingerprint reader. There is also a powerful DTS:X Ultra audio system that is more powerful than before.
The combination of Intel’s Killer e3100G+ and Wi-FI 6E AX1690i ethernet and wireless connectivity ensures that lag and disruptions during online gaming sessions a thing of the past. If you are working with multiple set-ups at home, you get two Thunderbolt 4 capable USB Type-C ports that allows you to project to up to two 4K displays or a single 8K display while being charged at 100W. For the content creators, there is also an SD card slot to ensure that you can work on your media files seamlessly.
Predator Triton 14
If the Triton 17 X is a little too hefty still, especially for remote working, then the Triton 14 is for you. The Acer Predator Triton 14, to be fair, is not something too new. It is a follow up to the Predator Triton 300 series. It features the Triton 300 SE’s designs, that clean shiny silver look.
Of course, with a smaller real estate, it comes with certain compromises. You only get Intel’s Core i7-13700H (up to) CPU paired with up to an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070. You also get up to 32GB of DDR5 RAM for good measure. To keep everything nice and cool is Predator’s 5th generation Aeroblade 3D fan technology and Vortex Flow airflow optimization with liquid metal technology. All of this is packed into a package that is only 19.9mm thin.
The Windows 11 OS is projected via an impressive 14-inch Mini LED display that offers up to WQXGA resolution with up to 16:10 aspect ratio to make short work of your productivity needs. The 16:10 aspect ratio also offers a more immersive experience. At 250Hz, up to DisplayHDR 600 brightness, and 100% coverage in DCI-P3 colour gamut, you will not be missing a thing even in intense situations.
Price and Availability
The Acer Predator Triton 17 X will be available in the North American market in May 2023 onward with prices starting at US$ 3,799 (MYR 16,854*). The Acer Predator Triton 14 will also be available in North American markets May 2023 onward with prices starting from US$ 2,399 (MYR 10,643*). There are no mentions on their official availability dates or pricing just yet for Malaysia. We are guessing that they will be available in Malaysia in the coming months though. For more information on the Acer Predator Triton 17 X and Predator Triton 14, you can visit their websites.
*Approximately based on the conversion rate of 1 US$ = MYR 4.44 as of 20/04/2023 on xe.com
NVIDIA has been leading the trail when it comes to GPU technology. To be fair, they are still the leaders in consumer level GPU with the very powerful NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 GPU leading the charge. In the professional workspace though, the story is a little different.
In the professional space, GPU requirements are a little different. The GPUs are not rendering polygons for a gaming environment. They need a lot more from the GPU than just loading maps and characters. In the professional environment, they need the GPUs for 3D world creations in game development, fluid dynamics in auto and aerospace industries, and even more. Users in this space need specific things from their GPU, and they will pick the best GPU for their specific needs.
In many cases, plenty of professionals rely on the AMD Radeon PRO GPUs. Previously they had the AMD Radeon PRO W6000 series professional GPUs. With those, the movie Terminator: Dark Fate was made. There is a new one though, a much more powerful one compared to the GPUs that made Terminator: Dark Fate. They call it the AMD Radeon PRO W7000 series.
Within the series, they introduced two GPUs, the Radeon PRO W7900 and Radeon PRO W7800. In their own rights, these are AMD’s most powerful GPUs to date. For the professionals, these could be the most powerful GPUs they have got their hands on so far.
AMD Radeon PRO W7800
Source: AMD
For starters, the AMD Radeon PRO W7900 brings with it the technology packed in the AMD Radeon 7000 series GPUs – RDNA 3 architecture. RDNA 3 architecture was proven to be plenty more powerful and efficient than the previous RDNA 2 technology. Of course, it is also a beefier GPU than before for even more performance in professional workloads. The Radeon PRO W7800 packs 70 compute units, 10 more than the Radeon PRO W6800 it replaces. The compute units are based on TSMC’s 5nm technology too, making the GPU more efficient than before at 260W TBP.
The GDDR6 RAM remains the same as the previous GPU at 32GB. At 64MB of cache though, the AMD Radeon PRO W7800 packs less cache than before. Still, at least the RAM is faster at 576 GB/s transfer speeds over the 512GB/s of the W6800 GPU for even better real-world performances.
The GPU is fitted with the latest DisplayPort 2.1 technology to take advantage of the most advanced displays you can find in the industry. The Radeon PRO W7800 also finally comes with AV1 encoding and decoding capabilities for an even better video and audio editing workflows. But it is not just the DisplayPort 2.1 and AV1 that makes the Radeon PRO W7000 series GPU process work faster than before. It also packs a new AI engine that is supposed to be twice as powerful as before. It also packs AMD’s second-generation raytracing engine that is more powerful than before. While raytracing is still NVIDIA’s forte, you can be sure that AMD is not just sitting still behind.
The new Radeon PRO W7000 series is also designed to work with AMD’s latest and greatest Threadripper processors. With Infinity Cache technology, the GPU and CPU can share cache to ensure that there is less in the way of bottlenecks. At the same time, with then new AMD Software: PRO Edition, AMD ensures that the Radeon PRO GPUs are more reliable than ever.
AMD Radeon PRO W7900
Source: AMD
If the AMD Radeon PRO W7800 does not cut it, there is an even more powerful workstation GPU now. The AMD Radeon PRO W7900, as they call it, packs even more punch than the already powerful Radeon PRO W7800. It has 26 more RDNA 3 compute cores at 96 compared to the W7800’s 70. It is even more powerful with capabilities to perform 61 TFOPS precision calculations compared to 45 TFLOPS. It has 48GB of GDDR6 RAM with even more bandwidth at 864GB/s. Of course, with all this increase in power, the power consumption tends to be higher too at 295W TBP.
They say that the AMD Radeon PRO W7900 workstation GPU is so powerful that you can publish or render your work in the background while accessing other work at the same time without ever slowing down either. With more power as well, the AMD Radeon PRO W7900 works much faster than the W7800 in all sorts of workflows, in theory at least. If you wish to also, both the AMD Radeon PRO W7800 and Radeon PRO W7900 are AMD Remote Workstation capable, meaning you can work off any laptops anywhere in the world using the power of the Radeon PRO GPUs remotely.
Price and Availability
Where the AMD Radeon GPUs might be a clever choice for professionals is the price. The AMD Radeon PRO W7900 and Radeon PRO W7800 are available for US$ 3,999 (MYR *) and US$ 2,499 (MYR *) respectively. It will be available to users in the coming months of 2023. For more information on the AMD Radeon PRO W7900 and Radeon PRO 7800, you can visit their website.
If you are looking for a flagship smartphone experience like no other, you are spoiled by choice today. You can choose between offerings from Samsung, OnePlus, OPPO, HONOR, Xiaomi, and even Apple, if you please. The thing is these manufacturers make rather similar smartphones. They always come in the same recipe – metallic frame, glass backing that houses a high-resolution camera, and a glass front that protects a rather large high-resolution display. They also always promised some sort of state-of-the-art cooling solution. If you are looking for something different, the flagship from these manufacturers might not cut it.
For a while now, if you have been looking for a different flavour on your flagship smartphone, you can go the route of gaming smarpthones from the likes of Razer, Blackshark, and most recently, Lenovo. But these manufacturers have sort of phased out too. There are no more Blackshark smartphones for 2023, Razer has not updated their Razer Phone line up, and Lenovo has yet to update their latest handheld gaming creation. The only one we can look to right now is ASUS and their ROG Phone. In that case if you want a unique flagship smartphone for 2023, ASUS’ ROG Phone series is the one for you.
Welcome to the ASUS ROG Phone 7 series, the latest creation from the skunkworks of ASUS. It is the latest and currently the most powerful gaming smartphone you have ever seen. As with any previous ASUS ROG Phone devices, it is one of the most striking looking devices you have laid your eyes on, at least amongst all the flagships you can find in the current market.
Formidable Power
Source: ASUS
Source: ASUS
Source: ASUS
It packs an immensely powerful Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 platform. Alongside the powerful system on a chip (SoC) is a 16GB LPDDR5X RAM (up to) and up to 512GB of UFS 4.0 storage. All these are designed so that the top-of-the-line ASUS ROG Phone works through games as fast as the current technology allows. It is made to be the ultimate expression of a gaming handheld that is also a smartphone.
Wrapped around the powerful uniquely tuned internals is something ASUS calls the GameCool 7 thermal control system. That means you get even an even better gaming performance out of the ROG Phone 7 smartphone than any other flagship you can find in the current market. At the same time, the new cooling system keeps the smartphone running at a lower temperature over regular flagship smartphones while keeping power consumption lower than even regular smartphones. They say the new GameCool 7 system offers a new rapid-cycle vapor chamber design that offers 168% heat dissipation efficiency that the ROG Phone that came before.
Better Audio, Better Cooling, Better Controls
Source: ASUS
Source: ASUS
The result is a quite a beefy shell with a few tricks up its sleeves. Within the beefy device is a new stereo speaker that is said to be 50% more powerful than before. The new speaker system is also tuned by Dirac, an audio specialist. You can also turn it into a 2.1 channel system when you attach the new AeroActive Cooler 7 accessory to the device. If you prefer a more personal experience in a crowd, the Dirac tuned Dirac Virtuo 3.5mm headphone jack offers an unparalleled theatre-like spatial sound experience. If you prefer a more wireless approach, the Snapdragon Sound technology offers super-low-latency high-fidelity Bluetooth audio experience.
The new AeroActive Cooler 7 attachment is one of the things that makes the ROG Phone 7 series even more unique than ever before. It offers a cooling solution that does not just cool the glass surface of the device’s back, the new fan design allows for more effective basic active cooling, but a unique AeroActive Portal air inlet system allows the fan to cycle even more air throughout the device’s internals for even more efficient cooling.
ASUS also kept certain things that kept the ROG Phone unique since its inception. One of them is the Air Trigger ultrasonic buttons at the side of the device that offers even more control avenues and options of the ROG Phone device. It is also what gives users of the ROG Phone even more advantage in an already overpowered gaming device in games. It is not the basic haptic feedback touch buttons that they used to be in the first ASUS ROG Phone though. The latest AirTrigger offers a slew of gesture controls including Dual Action, Press and Lift, and even Gyroscope gaming, just like the Nintendo Switch and even the Steam Deck for fine tuning your aim. Within the ROG Phone 7 series devices are 10 motion controls and X-axis liner motors that offers powerful haptic feedback like no other smartphone can.
The Best Display Ever
All these things great hardware goes into creating the most immersive gaming experience you can have on a smartphone with a large Samsung AMOLED display that offers up to 165Hz in refresh rate. The panel also offers up to 720Hz in sampling rate for the lowest-in-class input latency, useful in gaming. The Pixelworks tuned AMOLED panel also offers ΔE<1 and a maximum of 1,500 nits in brightness for not only stunning, colour accurate visuals indoors, but also outdoors.
For the ASUS ROG Phone 7 Ultimate there is an additional matrix colour display that sits at the back of the device they call the ROG Vision. The feature, first presented in the ROG Phone 6 Ultimate offers users extra information like charging status, incoming calls, X Mode activation, personalized animations, and even more.
Price and Availability
ASUS Malaysia has confirmed that the ASUS ROG Phone 7 series will make its way to Malaysia by the 10th of May 2023. There is no official pricing just yet for Malaysia. In Europe though, prices start at EUR€ 999, which is about MYR 4,849*. It will be available in Phantom Black and Storm White colour options. For more information on the ROG Phone 7 series, you can always visit ASUS’ website.
*Approximately based on the exchange rate of EUR€ 1 = MYR 4.85 on xe.com as of 18/04/2023
“Things will never be the same again.” is one of the most common sayings we’ve been hearing since we started trying to live our normal again. To be honest, that statement can’t be more true. The ways in which we work, communicate and interact have changed drastically since the pandemic. One of the things that have changed drastically is how we work. Many of us are now working completely remotely while others are working in hybrid environments. Businesses have been forced to adapt to new “normals” that are here to stay. It’s become even more imperative for companies to have the correct tools at their disposal; one of which is Cisco’s Webex Suite.
Webex itself is Cisco’s answer to Google Meets, Microsoft Teams and Zoom. It’s a video conferencing platform that enables collaboration. It’s steadily been getting more bells and whistles as Cisco continues its development. The latest feature that’s coming to Webex is a purpose-built AI that is poised to change how we work and collaborate even further. Webex’s new AI is bringing more optimisations to over 10 million users. A bulk of which allow better collaboration through bandwidth savings, video clarity and automation.
Better Clarity, Privacy and a New Cinematic Experience with Webex AI
One of the more significant updates is the implementation of Webex’s Super Resolution which allows users to have crystal clear video even with lower internet bandwidths. It doesn’t just stop there though, Webex Super Resolution is able to upscale and enhance images from lower-resolution cameras to deliver high-definition video. It can even intelligently “relight” your image for the best clarity. Under harsh lighting environments, the AI will underexpose the image to compensate for the lighting and provide clearer video; while under dim lighting, the AI compensates with higher exposure and brightness. Even if you’re stepping away, Webex AI will automatically blur your video, mute your mic and put up a “be right back” message. These settings are magically removed when you’re back in front of the camera.
It’s not all just about the Webex app either. Cisco is also imbuing Cisco Room OS to enhance AI and video features on Cisco Collaboration devices. These devices will be able to provide cinematic meeting experiences. What exactly is a “cinematic meeting experience”? Well, imagine a meeting where the camera intelligently zooms in to and follows the person speaking. Cisco is enabling this with voice and facial recognition technology. They’re even taking it a step further by ensuring the presenter is always in the frame and at the best angle.
IT admins can even take video conferencing and enforce company privacy even further by creating virtual boundaries for collaboration spaces in the office. Employees jumping on a Webex call in designated meeting zones will be viewed in a more condensed frame. This framing removes any blank space, keeping it out of view. What’s more, only individuals involved in the meeting will be included in the meeting. This is particularly important in open-space offices or if you’re working in a busy space.
Revolutionising Customer Support Experiences with Webex Connect
Webex is also one of the most used platforms when it comes to customer service. It comes as no surprise that Cisco has also zoomed in to the call centre to improve and revolutionise the experience there. Through its platform – Webex Connect – Cisco is bringing even more features to help businesses address customer needs and meet their expectations.
Cisco is starting at the very beginning when it comes to revolutionising these experiences. Webex Connect allows businesses to orchestrate and automate end-to-end customer journeys with their low code flow builder. Using this capability, businesses can automate basic functions like validation. Put simply, if a customer calls in for an email or phone validation, Webex Connect can, with the correct coding, provide the validation code without the need to pass the inquiry to an agent.
Speaking of agents, Webex Connect is also getting the AI treatment but it takes things to a new level. The platform will be able to provide coaching in real time for agents. With Agent Answers, human agents will be able to get insights and knowledge base articles surfaced as they interact with the customer. Agent Answers will also be constantly improved with customer interaction data that is constantly fed to it. This includes self-service and automated interactions.
In addition, agents can also be provided with AI-powered chat summaries. These summaries eliminate the need for agents to go through lengthy chat histories to serve customers better. These summaries will include previously recommended solutions and a history of the issues reported. These insights will be provided in an easily digested and understood fashion to allow agents to react more efficiently.
Actionable Insights for Business Development
Webex Connect isn’t just about the agent either. Business analysts will be able to get valuable insights from the platform too. Using Topic Analysis, Webex Contact Center will surface reasons why customers are calling in. It will aggregate call transcript data and model trends in an easy-to-understand form. Using this data, businesses will be able to react and adapt to address customer needs better.
This feature isn’t just a one-off thing either. Thanks to the nature of AI, Topic Analysis will continually improve and get smarter with time. It will be able to learn and improve while businesses adapt more proactively.
Continually Improving Throughout 2023
Cisco’s Webex platform will be continually improving with more AI integrations and features throughout 2023. The features mentioned in this article will be making their way to Webex in the near future.
The Acer Swift 5 was one of the most desirable thin-and-light laptops in its day. It was not hard to see why that was the case. It was pretty, it was light, it was compact, and for what its worth, it is powerful. It is not what you want to call a budget option for the masses though, it was more of a premium workhorse you can bring around anywhere you want to work at.
It is 2023 though, and the Swift 5 platform, while still relevant and powerful, is outdated. We need a new Swift, a modern Swift. For some reason, we need two different swifts too.
Welcome to the successor to the Swift 5, the Swift 14. To be fair, the Swift 14 is not necessarily a new thing, they launched it in their previous Next@Acer conference late last year. Gone is the single number moniker of old. The new Swift 14 is an indication to what you are technically getting out of the Swift. Is it confusing? Yes. Is it a welcome change? Well, yes. But is it necessary? We do not think so. No matter, the Swift 14 is here.
Acer Swift 14
The Acer Swift 14 builds on whatever that made the Swift 5 a desirable laptop in the first place. It is a great-looking piece of slab with sharp aggressive lines that somehow just appeals. To be fair, it still looks very much like a Swift 5, just that you won’t find the number 5 anywhere on the laptop. You get new colours though, Steam Blue and Green.
What matters though is what you get inside the new laptop. The 12th Generation Intel Core processor is retired and replaced with a slew of options from the latest 13th Generation Intel Core processors. There is no discrete GPU, as with the traditional Swift 5. You still get the proven Intel Iris XE graphics within the new laptop though. You also get up to 16GB of LPDDR5 RAM to ensure that you get the best out of the processors. To keep everything running smoothly and snappily, you have up to 1TB of SSD storage.
There is also a new cooling system to keep the powerful processor running at its optimum clock speeds. They call it the TwinAir dual fan system with D6 copper heat pipes to increase airflow for better cooling.
As with the old Swift 5, the Swift 14 features a touch sensitive display with an Antimicrobial coating on a protective glass. Underneath the protective Glass is a 14-inch IPS display boasting 2,560 by 1,600 pixels for your viewing pleasure. You can look at your screen at up to 10 hours at a time without attaching yourself to a wall socket. With WiFi 6E as well, you can keep yourself untethered for a very long time.
Considering all that, it is impressive that the Swift 5 only weighs 1.2kg. It is a rigid body too, since the Swift 5 is made entirely out of CNC machined aluminium. It is also still as compact as before whilst still offering full sized ports on the laptops.
Acer Swift Go 14
Stemming out from the Swift 5 lineage is another Swift product. Welcome to the Swift Go 14, the new Swift for the young and active generation. It offers the same good looks as the Swift 5 with minor design differences.
It is just 14.9mm thick at its thickest point. It also only weighs 1.25kg, just a little heavier than the Swift 14. It offers more battery life with the weight though at up to 13 hours on a single.
You still get a 14-inch IPS display offering Full HD in resolution. The Windows 11 Home that you see on the display is powered by an AMD Ryzen 7 7730U (up to) processor. No discrete GPU business here still, but the integrated graphics from AMD should prove potent for light-hearted games. You also get up to 16GB LPDDR4X RAM and up to 512GB in SSD storage to keep things lightning fast even when multitasking. It also offers a good selection of modern ports like USB Type-C and HDMI 2.1.
Price and Availability
Acer’s Swift 14 and Swift Go 14 will be available by the end of April 2023 from Acer’s own eStore and official stores on Shopee and Lazada. The new Swifts will be priced from MYR 4,299 and 3,199 respectively. More on the Acer Swift laptops can be found on their website.
