Work-life balance is not a new phrase but at the height of the pandemic, when most people stayed home, it was something most of us wanted to achieve.
But how do you achieve this balance when you’re working all day, wearing your pajamas, off your small dining table? How do you say, at 5 or 6 pm, that “it’s been a long day” and really and truly log out? Difficult, right?
Any help in this department is welcome. So we’ve had our moments: Dalgona coffee, baking, Korean dramas, K-pop, and many other distractions.
But truthfully, we haven’t gotten much help in the hardware department in order to achieve work-life balance.
Acer has just announced a wide range of PCs and peripherals that aims to help people achieve that work-life balance they need.
At CES 2023, the brand launched a range of all-in-one desktops, laptops, and gaming machines.
In his opening talk at the online press conference ahead of CES 2023, Jason Chen, CEO of Acer, announced that the company has sold 500,000 of its eco-conscious Vero products worldwide.
Acer has cut 160 tons of CO2 emissions with its suppliers, with a goal of 20 percent to 20 percent PCR on PCs and displays by 2025.
The refreshed models of the brand’s Aspire all-in-ones and laptops were designed to support families’ day-to-day productivity and entertainment needs. The Aspire 5 Series laptops come with the latest 13th Gen Intel Core processors and Nvidia GeForce RTX GPUs, while the lightweight Aspire 3 Series notebooks deliver ready-to-go performance. The Acer Aspire S all-in-one PCs come in 27-inch and 32-inch models, each one equipped with the latest 13th Gen Intel Core processors and Windows 11.
The thin and light Swift Go laptop comes in 14- and 16-inch variants with high-resolution and fast refresh rate OLED displays, 13th Gen Intel Core H-series processors, all day battery life, impressive cooling systems, and a range of ports that includes USB-C with Thunderbolt 4, HDMI 2.1, and a microSD card reader. Each laptop supports up to 2 TB of PCIe Gen 4 SSD storage and up to 16 GB of LPDDR5 memory. The Acer Aspire S Series all-in-One PCs were designed to support computing and entertainment needs and help provide users with a minimalist yet modern workspace.
Another Acer unveiling is its 3D Ultra stereoscopic viewing feature dubbed SpatialLabs TrueGame. This feature is a glasses-free 3D gaming mode where gamers can see games with enhanced stereo rendering capabilities, projecting images with depth and 3D geometry.
For gamers, the brand announced two Predator Helios gaming laptops and two Predator gaming monitors. The laptops have 16- or 18-inch screens and feature latest 13th Gen Intel Core mobile processors and Nvidia GeForce RTX 40 Series GPUs. The new Predator Helios comes with an option for a 250Hz Mini LED display, which are brighter and can last longer.
For me, the most exciting parts of the Acer Global Press Conference were the announcements of two new products that people could indeed use to help achieve work-life balance.
First, Acer brought out the Halo Swing Smart Speaker with Google Assistant. Featuring DTS Sound and LED dot display, the speaker guarantees durable form factor with IPX5-rating for water- and dust-resistance. The speaker highlights enhanced audio and bass in 360-degree projection and has a reactive RGB-lit base that adjusts to various music genres while playing. The base lighting also changes colors when interacting with Google Assistant and can transform into a light source. The speaker also provides added convenience and ultra-responsive device control for multiple users and is supported by Google Home and the Acer Halo Swing App.
The list of things that the Acer Halo Swing Smart Speaker can supposedly do is amazing. The speaker allows users to play their favorite music, control the volume, find information about the song they are listening to hands-free. Using their voices, users can plan their day, set alarms, and control smart devices around the house.
My favorite out of the new products announced is the bike called eKinekt BD 3. The eKinekt has a premise that is quite remarkable. It prioritizes productivity and providing the user a comfortable place to work all day while burning calories through a rigorous workout.
The eKinekt BD 3 converts energy from the rider’s pedaling power to charge laptops or other devices and is being touted as the best way to combat a sedentary lifestyle.
Acer said that an hour of constant cycling at 60 revolutions per minute on the bike desk can generate 75 watts of self-generated power.
The bike’s desk has two USB Type-A ports and one USB Type-C port for device charging. There’s also has a bag hook and a beverage holder.
The eKinekt has Working and Sports Modes that will allow users to easily shift desk positions while pedaling to either focus on tasks or workouts. An app will help review progress over time, and shows information such as duration, calories burned, and watts generated.
I’m really interested to see if this concept takes off. As someone who once spent hours on an exercise bike daily and wished for something like the eKinekt, I’m onboard—but I’m curious to see how other people will receive it.