ASUS has announced the availability of two new portable laptops that will surely benefit the modern-day student: the Chromebook CR1 and Chromebook Flip CR1.

Designed to withstand the daily grind of students, the education-focused 11-inch laptops come with military-grade (MIL-STD-810H) durability. The devices also come with a spill-resistant keyboard, a rubber bumper, and a sturdy 180-degree lay-flat hinge.

Their battery lasts up to 12 hours on a single charge, and has fast-charging support.

On the outside of both are an 8MP camera and an 11.6-inch HD LCD display. Of course, the only difference is the touchscreen panel on the Flip CR1.

The new Chromebook series comes with an assortment of ports too, including two USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-C and USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type A slots, a microSD card reader, an audio combo jack, and a Kenshington lock slot. The laptops also support Wi-Fi 6 and 4G LTE connection.

When it comes to its interior, the Chromebooks are powered by up to an Intel Pentium Silver N6000 processor and Intel UHD graphics. The devices run on the ChromeOS for Education.

They both have 8GB of DDR4 memory and 64GB eMMC storage, with up to a 1TB PCIE M.2 expansion slot.

Acer has expanded the developer tools for its SpatialLabs technology, providing professionals even more avenues to develop glasses-free, stereoscopic 3D experiences when using SpatialLabs Pro devices.

The updates include a SpatialLabs Unity plug-in, a SpatialLabs Pro-certified Acer OpenXR runtime to allow developers to use OpenXR protocols when creating stereo 3D content, and the Acer SteamVR Bridge.

Unity Plug-in

Acer’s Unity plug-in helps to extend its reach to more creators in various fields, including architecture, construction, education, medicine, and more.

Developers can take advantage of the Unity plug-in’s existing tools and verticals to enhance their experiences and help present their models in their true 3D form on Acer SpatialLabs Pro devices, without the need for glasses.

OpenXR Runtime

Meanwhile, OpenXR Runtime is now SpatialLabs Pro devices conformant.

This means XR developers now have the option to choose from Acer’s devices for glasses-free stereoscopic 3D.

They may also take advantage of OpenXR’s cross-platform and high-performance API for faster innovation while utilizing Open XR-compatible apps such as Autodesk VRED 2023 and Blender.

SteamVR Bridge

Lastly, Acer’s proprietary SteamVR Bridge driver is now available for developers of VR applications so they can convert creations on SpatialLab Pro devices for clear and captivating imagery without the need for VR headsets.

The SpatialLab Pro devices may also be used to leverage SteamVR Bridge and NVIDIA Omniverse for more viewing options for enhanced stereo 3D projection of complex graphics, visual effects, and simulations.

Acer has announced the latest version of the Swift Edge 16. It’s a laptop designed for professionals banking on their devices for efficient computing and productivity.

The 12.95-mm and 1.23-kilogram lightweight laptop is powered by AMD Ryzen 7040 series processors and up to AMD Radeon 780M graphics, while select models have AMD Ryzen AI to keep up with today’s AI demands.

Its 16-inch 3.2K OLED 120Hz display has 100% DCI-P3 color gamut support, up to 0.2ms response time, 500 nits of peak brightness, and VESA DisplayHDR True Black 500 certification.

The device comes with up to 32GB of DDR5 memory and up to 2TB of PCIe Gen 4 SSD storage, along with TwinAir cooling technology to complement its enhanced fan and air inlet keyboard design. 

The Windows 11 laptop also boasts Wi-Fi 7 and Microsoft Pluton compatibility, as well as other advanced smart features for fast wireless connections.

These include support for Window Studio Effects, Acer Temporal Noise Reduction (TNR), and Acer PurifiedVoice.