Acer Packs Glasses-Free 3D Display Into Premium Gaming Laptop

Acer is trying to stand out in the PC gaming market with a laptop featuring a stereoscopic 3D display. 

On Wednesday, the company introduced(Opens in a new window) the Predator Helios 300 SpatialLabs Edition, which is designed to offer a glasses-free 3D gaming experience. 

The result promises to create eye-popping images in real-time. To pull this off, the laptop leverages the 3D stereoscopic display, an eye-tracking camera, and rendering technologies to beam two separate views of the same scene into your left and right eyes. The effect can simulate depth in an image, making it feel like you’re staring at a three-dimensional object. 

Acer debuted the technology last year with the ConceptD 7 SpatialLabs Edition 3D laptop. But at the time, the company was marketing the device to graphic artists and 3D designers to help them better visualize their creations. 

The PC maker now sees an opportunity to apply its 3D display tech in the gaming space. Acer notes that “games are mostly created with three dimensions in mind: developers include information about depth into each scene and object they build.” In turn, the company’s SpatialLabs technology can take this existing information to generate 3D images during gameplay. 

“A dedicated pre-configured profile will be available for each game title among the 50+ modern and classic titles on launch in order to offer players a seamless experience with their favorite games, and profiles for additional titles will be added on a continuous basis moving forward,” the company adds. 

The company didn’t say which games are supported. But the laptop’s display can switch between a 3D and standard 2D viewing mode, so you’ll still be able to use the product as a regular notebook. 

In terms of specs, the Helios 300 SpatialLabs Edition(Opens in a new window) features a 15.6-inch 4K display and can be configured with up to a 12th Generation Intel Core i9 processor, an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 GPU, and 32GB DDR5-4800 memory. It also comes with Windows 11, Wi-Fi 6E, and a range of ports, including HDMI 2.1, Thunderbolt 4, and USB 3.2 Gen 2 slots. 

However, the product won’t be cheap. Acer plans on selling it starting at $3,399, beginning in North America early in Q4. 

The company is expected to show off the laptop during next week’s Computex show in Taiwan. Stay tuned for our coverage.