Category: Technology

Since the dawn of time, gaming laptops have relied on third-party controllers or the trusty mouse/keyboard combo. Acer, however, could be looking to change this paradigm. The company just announced a truly wild gaming laptop with a built-in controller.

Project DualPlay features a full-sized gamepad that inserts below the keybed, where the trackpad rests. You pop the controller out to play games and slide it back in when you want to do more conventional laptop-type stuff. It’s honestly not a bad idea, as it solves the problem of having to pack a third-party controller when traveling with a gaming laptop. 

The detachable controller even splits into two joysticks for on-the-go multiplayer, sort of like the Joy-Cons from a Nintendo Switch. Here’s hoping these particular joysticks don’t suffer from drift. We also have some questions as to where the joysticks go when the laptop is closed. 

There are also two speakers that pop out on each side of the machine to deliver “heart-pounding audio.” This is another nifty feature, as gaming laptops aren’t exactly known for offering the most immersive audio. Acer says the speakers pop out automatically when you remove the controller.

There’s not much by way of specs. This is a concept design, so the internals haven’t been ironed out yet. The laptop does, however, feature customizable RGB lighting that’s all over the place. There are lights on the keyboard, along the bezels, on the back and the trackpad, among other locations.

While Acer hasn’t announced its intention to actually manufacture this thing and sell it to consumers, it does look like a neat twist on modern gaming laptops. Acer calls it a “bold step forward in gaming innovation, promising to deliver unique experiences and engagements for gamers of all levels.” We’ll let you know if the company ever decides to make this laptop a reality. If it truly delivers on its promise, it could become one of the best gaming laptops out there. Unfortunately, it’s just as likely that Project DualPlay remains a glitzy, if memorable, concept. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/pc/acers-project-dualplay-is-a-truly-wild-gaming-laptop-with-a-built-in-controller-130027845.html?src=rss 

IFA is upon us, which means that along with offering us some truly ridiculous new concepts, a whole bunch of manufacturers are giving their gaming laptops iterative upgrades and introducing some fresh variants. Acer is one of the companies doing just that (though in fairness, it has some more exciting announcements elsewhere, such as its first gaming handheld). The company is refreshing the Nitro V 16 system and introducing the Nitro V 14, though which one you opt for will be determined by more than just screen size.

The Nitro V 16 configurations max out with an Intel Core i7-14650HX CPU, an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 laptop GPU, 32GB of memory and a 2TB SSD. The previous model bore an AMD processor. On the display side, you can have a 16-inch 180Hz 16:10 WQXGA panel with a resolution of 2,500 x 1,600, if you desire it.

Acer says it has optimized performance with a dual-fan, quad-intake and quad-exhaust thermal system that draws cold air from the the top keyboard and button cover and expels heat through the rear and side vents to prevent throttling. You can activate an MUX (multiplexer) switch to manually toggle the iGPU to boost graphics performance for gaming when needed.

The 14.5-inch Nitro V 14 model is a new addition to the Acer lineup. It comes with an AMD CPU instead, up to a Ryzen 7 8845HS Processor. If you’re willing to go for a high-end configuration, you can trick out the laptop with an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4050 GPU, 32GB DDR5 memory and a 2TB SSD. You can have a WQXGA (2,560 x 1,600) or WUXGA (1,920 x 1,200) display with a 120 Hz refresh rate, 3ms overdrive response time and 100 percent sRGB color gamut support. There’s an MUX switch here too, while the pearl white chassis is quite fetching.

Both laptops come with support for NVIDIA’s ray-tracing and DLSS 3.5 upscaling tech. As with all new Windows laptops, there’s a dedicated button to open Microsoft’s Copilot assistant (if anyone’s ever pressed that on purpose on their laptop yet, please do let me know). There are some other fairly standard AI-powered features too, such as noise reduction tech that’s employed when you use the triple microphone array.

The Nitro V 14 will hit North America in September and it will start at $1,100. The Nitro V 16 will arrive the following month and start at $1,300.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/computing/laptops/the-acer-nitro-v-16-gaming-laptop-now-comes-in-an-intel-flavor-130030058.html?src=rss 

Acer is expanding its line of Swift laptops with four new models, and they each have AI capabilities built in. They share functions such as Microsoft Copilot+, Acer User Sensing technology, Windows Studio Effects, PurifiedVoice 2.0 and PurifiedView. Other features include Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4 connectivity.

We’ll take a look at the Swift 14 AI (SF14-51/T) first, a 14-inch 3K or 2K OLED laptop powered by either Intel Core Ultra 7 or Ultra 5 processors and Intel Arc Graphics. There’s also a model with a 2K IPS touchscreen. Its NPU’s AI performance is rated at 48 trillion of operations per second (TOPS). You get up to 29 hours of video playback and 23 hours of web browsing thanks to the 65Wh battery, perfect for those working on the go.

The Swift 16 AI is the beefier brother of the Swift 14 AI with a 16-inch 3K OLED screen or a 3K touch screen with edge-to-edge glass. The processor is either an Intel Core Ultra 9 or Ultra 7 CPU, and graphics are also handled by the Arc GPU. The NPU’s AI performance is the same as the Swift 14 AI (SF14-51/T), but it has a 75Wh battery.

Those who like AMD CPUs will love the Swift 14 AI (SF14-61/T), which has the AMD Ryzen AI 9 365 GPU (designed to reach 50 TOPS) and AMD Radeon 880M GPU. The 14-inch display is either an OLED 2880×1800 (WQXGA) screen, IPS WQXGA screen or WQXGA touch screen. The first one has DisplayHDR True Black 500 certification, helping reach 500 nits, but the others have a maximum brightness of 400 nits. The laptop has a battery life of 75Wh and is rated for 27 hours of video playback and 18.5 hours of web browsing.

Finally, we have the Swift Go 14 AI powered by a Snapdragon X Plus GPU with eight cores up to 3.2 GHz, while the Hexagon NPU can reach 45 TOPS. A Qualcomm Adreno GPU is responsible for the graphics. The 14.5-inch display comes in WQXGA or 1920×1200 (WUXGA) resolutions, with the former having a 350-nit brightness and the latter 300 nits, both with a 120Hz refresh rate. The 75Wh battery allows for similar battery life as the Swift 14 AI (SF14-61/T), but Acer claims the Swift Go 14 AI has 28 hours of video playback and 19.5 hours of browsing time.

The Swift 14 AI (SF14-51/T) will be available in the US, EMEA and Australia this September, while the Swift 16 AI comes out during October unless you’re in Australia, where it comes out Q1 2025. Both the Swift Go 14 AI and Swift 14 AI (SF14-61/T) will come out in the US and EMEA during September, but Australian customers must wait for a bit, as the release date is slated to be during Q4 2024.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/computing/laptops/acer-expands-swift-line-with-four-new-ai-laptops-130037605.html?src=rss 

The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom feels like a kindred spirit to the 2019 remake of Link’s Awakening, both in challenge and in vibes. It’s a far cry from the incredibly intricate and complex worlds in Tears of the Kingdom, and while I only played for about 90 minutes (spread over two different parts of the game),I came away from the demo charmed by the gorgeous, tilt-shift art style. Not to mention being quite pleased to finally be playing as Zelda for the first time in the series that bears her damn name. And while plenty of adults will surely enjoy The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom, it also feels tailor-made as an entry point for younger players.

We already knew about the art style and playing as Zelda — what was most important about this preview was that I got a chance to see just how Zelda’s “echoes” worked in the game itself. As you’d expect, there’s a gentle tutorial that shows you the ropes. My playthrough started not long into the game, with Zelda imprisoned; my first challenge was finding a way to sneak her out of the dungeon. Fortunately, Zelda is equipped with the Tri Rod, a tool that lets her clone objects and beasts alike. Shimmering objects on the screen can be saved as echoes, the first of which was a humble crate. Once you learn an echo, you can summon it with a tap of a button — but echoes use up power so you can only have a few on the screen at once. Along with the Tri Rod is a little spectral creature Tri who helps you along and indicates how much power you have to make echoes at any given time.

I was surprised at how many random things I could turn into echoes and how useful they ended up being. After learning the crate, I also learned how to create an “old bed” — something that doesn’t provide as much height as the crate, but is long enough to span small chasms. Making three of them on top of each other made for a solid little bridge.

But you can’t fight off enemies with a crate — that’s where learning echoes of monsters comes in. The first bad guy I encountered was defeated by clobbering it with a boulder. But after that, I was able to summon the same gelatinous little bad guy with the Tri Rod and sic him on other enemies. Beating more monsters greatly expands your attacking capabilities. I soon took down a Keese, which I could then use to attack other aerial baddies. I further expanded my arsenal by taking down a spear-throwing Moblin and a powerful knight who has a wicked swing attack.

I’m very much looking forward to seeing what other echoes you can learn throughout the adventure and how you can combine them to bizarre and hilarious effect. For example, I was able to learn an echo for a trampoline, and then drop a Moblin on it and have him bounce up to a higher level in a dungeon to go after enemies up there. I’m sure that there are going to be a ton of wacky and creative ways that people combine echoes, especially as Zelda’s capabilities grow and you’re able to have more on the screen at one time. It’s not nearly as complex as the Ultrahand ability from Tears of the Kingdom, but it does allow players to figure out puzzle solutions in a variety of ways — there won’t always be a “right” way but there may be lots of ways to get the job done.

Zelda also has a “bind” ability, which lets her attach herself to objects that then follow her movements. The example of this shown off in a recent trailer is a great intro to the new power: after grabbing a giant boulder, you can just walk “down” the screen; the boulder follows and is then perched over a chasm that you can drop it into, clearing the path forward. You can also bind yourself to moving objects, like floating platforms, and grab a ride along with them.

Sometimes, though, just relying on echoes to do your dirty work for you won’t be enough. Fortunately, Zelda picks up a crucial new ability in the first dungeon I played: the ability to switch into “swordfighter” mode. To do this, I had to beat up a possessed version of Link, who you might remember as the hero in literally every other Zelda game. Once you defeat this pseudo-link, Zelda is outfitted with a cute shield and sword and can attack enemies head-on. The only catch is that she can only stay in this mode for a limited time. If you run out of power, you’ll need to grab crystals from downed enemies to refresh yourself and switch modes again.

This adds a fun way to get some of the classic Zelda experience in this game, but with a time constraint to make sure players don’t abuse it. Further complicating things is that you can’t use echoes when you’re wielding a sword, so you’ll need to pick your sports. The boss at the end of the Suthorn Ruins dungeon I played through was a great example of how you can use your powers in concert — using echoes and the bind ability, I was able to make the cartoonishly menacing Seismic Talus vulnerable, and then I switched to sword mode and walloped it until I took it down.

While most of my demo took place in the aforementioned dungeon, I was able to explore a relatively small slice of Hyrule. Rest assured, this map is quite different from other versions of Hyrule you’ve explored, though there are some classic traits from other games (mountains to the north, a castle smack in the center, a beach to the south). What I saw was colorful and vibrant, and tailor-made to using your echoes to get around more efficiently.

As for difficulty, this feels like one of the most approachable Zelda games I’ve played in a while — but it’ll present some challenges of its own. The first dungeon was short and sweet, but I did die a few times while I tried to figure out which echoes I needed to combat some powerful enemies. Similarly, the environmental puzzles aren’t too tough, but they differ significantly from other games because you need to use echoes to solve them. For me, it wasn’t always obvious what solution the game was pushing me towards. But I think that was primarily because I often forgot about some of the echoes I had at my disposal. Once I remembered the right tools, the solution was pretty evident.

Probably the biggest challenge that I can see is going to be managing all of those echoes. At the end of the demo, I had picked up more than a dozen, and the linear menu system that I used to switch between them could get extremely unwieldy once that list grows. If you’ve played Tears of the Kingdom, it’s similar to the menu you use to choose an item to attach to an arrow before you fire it, another pretty unwieldy system. I believe you can access different echoes through the pause menu, sort of like selecting weapons or items in the Zelda games of old, but I didn’t spend too much time messing around with such things.

From what I’ve seen so far, Echoes of Wisdom is simultaneously a throwback and a new adventure. The top-down presentation and overall vibe remind me of plenty of old Zelda games besides the obvious Link’s Awakening comparison. But the gameplay is completely different in a way that should provide experienced players with a totally different challenge, and the lower difficulty level will make it, along with Link’s Awakening, a great first Zelda game for younger adventurers.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/nintendo/the-legend-of-zelda-echoes-of-wisdom-plays-like-a-traditional-zelda-game-remixed-130053301.html?src=rss 

It’s wild to think the reMarkable 2 was announced in March 2020, a time more famous for other reasons these days. More than four years later, the company is ready to show off its latest distraction-free writing slate. That long gestation period has been worth it, with the new model packing a nicer chassis, faster internals, a bigger display and crucially, a color screen. Say hello to the reMarkable Paper Pro.

If you’re unfamiliar, reMarkable is the standard bearer for those devices standing in the delta between high and low tech. It’s an e-paper slate with a stylus (or keyboard) for reading, writing or editing your own documents, or annotating PDFs. The focus is giving you a calmer space to get some Serious Work(™) done, free from the distractions a “proper” computer or tablet would harbor. The company has always maintained that its devices offer you a way to feel like you’re working on paper, without actually having to work on paper.

The Paper Pro is a little more than an inch taller and a quarter inch wider than its predecessor but has been able to cram in a lot more stuff. The rM2 had a 10.3-inch monochrome display while the Paper Pro’s stretched to 11.8-inches. reMarkable’s Chief Design Officer Mats Solberg explained his team worked to reduce the size of the bezels and chin to accommodate the bigger display.

Whereas the older model stuck to a rigid notion of post-iPad design language, the new Paper Pro gets a more austere look and feel. The edge band is sharper, if still comfortable to hold, and Solberg emphasized the grooves etched into the sides. He explained they both evoke the idea you’re holding a sheaf of paper, and to add some much-needed grip to a device this thin.

There’s dramatic changes on the inside, with a new 1.8Ghz quad-core Cortex A53 paired with 2GB RAM and 64GB storage. For comparison, the rM2 had a 1.2GHz dual-core chip, 1GB RAM and just 8GB storage. As soon as you turn the Paper Pro on, you’ll see the benefits of the new silicon, with far faster response times. You even get proper animations during the setup process.

But the real showstopper here is the display, which uses a modified version of E Ink’s Gallery 3 technology dubbed “Canvas Color.” It means the display holds a series of ink particles inside each pixel — a White, Cyan, Magenta and Yellow — as in most regular printers. reMarkable says the display is similar to newsprint and it’s an apt analogy with clear, if muted, colors on show.

The technology can also dither colors, mixing each ink particle to produce up to 20,000 other colors, and the colors can also be layered. It means you can highlight sections of text in the same way you’d use a highlighter on paper, the more layers you draw, the darker the color. Of course, the benefit of using a digital device is that you can highlight it as many times as you want without anything becoming soggy.

As usual, reMarkable has leveraged a limit and turned it into a benefit, offering you colors with a heavy dose of restraint. And you don’t really need your retinas to be burned inside out if you’re trying to organize your thoughts ahead of a big meeting. Although, having been spoiled by so many well-made displays of late, I do wish the colors popped a little bit more than they do.

The Paper Pro is the first reMarkable with a frontlight, finally letting you get some work done in dark environments. Solberg explained the frontlight was one of the hardest challenges to build without harming the distance between the stylus tip and the display itself. He said the team was determined to keep the gap between the pen and the display to under one millimeter, and succeeded.

The last two slates had active displays but passive styluses, but the Paper Pro gets an Apple Pencil-esque active stylus as well. It’ll charge while magnetically connected to the side of the bezel and the new components help improve accuracy and latency. Solberg said the reMarkable 2 had an input latency of 22ms, and he had targeted 15ms for this model. He was proud to say that the team smashed that target, with the Paper Pro’s latency down to just 12ms.

And yet, for all the headline changes, it’s the added responsiveness that’s the really compelling feature. The rM2 was no laggard, but the faster input really does help sell the idea you’re sketching out ideas on paper. You can always credit the company for sweating the details, too, like the fact you can add a highlight or handwritten annotation to typed text that will follow the text around as you edit it.

The company is launching a new Type Folio to go with the Paper Pro which, like its parent, is bigger and gets backlit keys. I’ll admit, I was one of a few critics who loved the older model and felt that it made the right compromises to keep its size small. The new model is able to take advantage of the extra room to offer better spacing and a palm rest. It’s fundamentally the same keyboard as before, and I found it pretty easy to work on for long stretches of time.

I’m also impressed with reMarkable’s commitment to making the Paper Pro easier to repair and refurbish than older models. Solberg explained that the Paper Pro is far more modular under the hood, with easily-swappable components. He ruled out end-user repairs, but said that the only adhesive used in the chassis are two replaceable glue strips to keep the battery in place. Repairs would likely need to take place at reMarkable HQ or a partner distributor, but the fact it’s been designed with an eye on long-term repair at all is laudable.

reMarkable Paper Pro is available to order today from reMarkable’s website and Best Buy, priced at $579 with the standard Marker and $629 for the Marker Plus. If you want to add a case, and I heartily recommend you do, it’ll cost you between $89 and $179, depending on your material choice. And if you want to add the Type Folio, you’ll need to cough up an additional $229. The reMarkable 2 is remaining around as a lower-cost option (unsurprisingly, as it’s a really good piece of kit) and will now be available with the standard Marker for $379.

Of course, you and your wallet will have to decide if that’s the sort of sum you can bear to part with, especially in these tightened times. With a product like this, the intentional choices and limits made means it’ll always stack badly in a head-to-head with a similarly-priced iPad. The trick is to work out if you’ll be more productive with less mental and physical clutter in your computing environment, and go forward from there. I’ve found, when I’ve got a lot of work to do and need to focus, it’s a better way to hammer out first drafts than other devices I could name.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/tablets/remarkables-third-generation-tablet-gets-a-color-display-120059121.html?src=rss 

Samsung has launched its new line of Galaxy Book5 laptops with the Pro 360, a Copilot+ enabled Windows 11 PC with Intel’s latest Core 2 CPU and Arc GPU. Unusually, it also supports some Android AI features like Circle to Search with Google that work by connecting the PC to a smartphone.

Intel’s latest Core Ultra processor (Series 2) provides the needed Copilot+ performance with four times the NPU (neural processing unit) power of its predecessor. It also uses Intel’s Arc GPU to run Samsung’s “most premium PC display.” That display uses Dynamic AMOLED 2X tech that improves outdoor visibility, while offering 3K resolution and a 120Hz adaptive refresh rate. 

The new chips also help the Galaxy Book5 Pro 360 deliver up to 25 hours of video playback and the battery can be charged back up quickly (35 percent in 30 minutes). It also features Wi-Fi 7 support, Dolby Atmos and more.

It’s the AI features that Samsung wants to spotlight, though. Along with Copilot+, the new model uses Microsoft Phone Link to connect to “select mobile devices and bring Galaxy AI’s intelligent features to a larger display,” Samsung wrote. 

Some of those AI features include Circle to Search with Google, a feature that uses AI to provide more info about text, an image or anything else you circle with your finger or touch on a webpage. Others include Chat assist (providing suggested replies to conversations), Live Translate and Transcript Assist, which converts recorded meetings to written notes and summaries. 

It’s not clear exactly how those features will work, as they’re primarily intended for mobile use. However, it looks like you have to link the Galaxy Book5 Pro 360 to a supported mobile device like Samsung’s Galaxy S24 or Pixel phones which support Circle to Search and other features. In the press release footnotes, Samsung says that the features may be limited to certain smartphone models, markets and Android versions. 

The Galaxy Book5 Pro 360 will be available in select markets including Canada, France, Germany, the UK and the US starting in September, but no pricing has been released. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/computing/laptops/samsungs-galaxy-book5-pro-360-windows-copilot-laptop-supports-android-ai-features-123046679.html?src=rss