At CES 2023, Acer revealed its 2023 refresh of the Predator Helios gaming laptops. No not the Helios 300.
The “300” in the name has been depreciated to make way for the Predator Helios 16 and Predator Helios 18- both now in the new standard 16-inch and 18-inch form factor, with 16:10 aspect ratio screens.
The change in size also comes with a whole new look to the 2023 Predator Helios 16 and Helios 18. Gone are the bulky rear design, the Helios gaming laptops now look exceptionally subtle, with very minimal branding. Well, as long as you don’t count the RGB light bar at the back vents.
Specs-wise, expect the Predator Helios 16 and Helios 18 to feature 13th-gen Intel Core CPUs and Nvidia RTX 40 Series GPUs, with up to 32GB DDR5 4800MHz RAM and up to 2TB PCIe Gen4 NVMe SSD in RAID 0 config.
The screen is interesting. They are at least Mini LED displays, an upgrade on the usual IPS panels. Since they are 16:10 ratio screens, the resolutions available are the unconventional WUXGA (1920 x 1200) and WQXGA (1560 x 1600) with at least 165Hz refresh rate.
For cooling, the 2023 Acer Predator Helios laptops use dual 5th-gen Aeroblade 3D metal fans (Acer’s proprietary cooling fans), vector pipes and liquid metal.
Extra accoutrements that come with the 2023 Predator Helios include the following:
- Intel Killer E2600 Ethernet Controller, Intel Killer Wi-Fi 6E AX1675 frequency band support
- USB Type-C Thunderbolt 4 ports with Power Delivery
- Per-key RGB backlighting power by mini-LED
The 2023 Acer Predator Helios 16 and Helios 18 will be available as soon as this February in select regions, so it’s not a long wait until we see availability, as well as exact specs and pricing, when these laptops arrive in Malaysia.