Acer has announced a smaller version of its creator-focused transforming ConceptD laptop following the launch of the ConceptD 9 last year. The new ConceptD 7 Ezel features a smaller 15.6-inch 4K display (down from 17.3 inches in the previous model), which can be rotated into five different configurations, including a floating mode that sees the display hover above the laptop’s keyboard. Alternatively, you can fold the touchscreen down, and sketch on it using the included Wacom EMR pen. Acer has also announced the ConceptD 700 desktop, which features powerful internals packed into a chassis with a minimalist design.
Acer’s floating, transforming laptop displays date back to 2013’s Aspire R7, and last year, it built its Ezel hinge into the Triton 900 gaming laptop. However, while the transforming screen felt a little gimmicky when used for gaming, the design has much more potential with creative tasks since it allows you to use the laptop more like a drawing tablet.
The company is keen to emphasize that its new laptop’s screen is highly color-accurate, making it suitable for creative work. The screen covers 100 percent of the Adobe RGB color gamut, and it has a color accuracy of Delta E <2. Acer says the laptop’s screen has a peak brightness of 400 nits and features an anti-glare coating.
Elsewhere, ConceptD 7 Ezel has the kind of specs you’d expect to find in a gaming-focused machine. It comes with up to an Intel 10th Gen H-series processor, 32GB of RAM, and 2TB of PCIe solid-state storage. There’s also a Pro version, which you can configure with an Intel Xeon processor. Both laptops feature Nvidia GPUs (you get the option of Quadro RTX GPUs with the Pro), and they’re also part of Nvidia’s RTX Studio program, which includes drivers designed to boost the performance of creative software. The laptop includes two Thunderbolt 3 ports, an SD card slot, DisplayPort 1.4, and HDMI 2.0.
Alongside the new laptop, Acer has also announced a desktop PC with a similar focus on creators. The ConceptD 700 can be configured with up to an Intel Xeon E processor, Nvidia Quadro RTX 4000, and 64GB RAM. It’s also got quite an interesting case design, with a wood-effect top panel that has a built-in wireless charging pad.
Given their professional focus, it’s not surprising that neither the ConceptD 700 nor the ConceptD 7 Ezel will come cheap. The ConceptD 7 Ezel starts at $2,699, with a release date that’s yet to be announced. The Pro model starts at $3,099 and will be available in July. There’s no North American pricing or availability info for the ConceptD 700 just yet, but it’ll be available in Europe in March starting at €1,699.
