Skip to main content

Acer reveals the Switch 12, a fanless 2 in 1 with a sweet detachable keyboard

acer reveals 1080p fanless intel core m switch 12 detachable aspire sw5 271 with keyboard forward win 8
Image used with permission by copyright holder
First, we got the Intel Atom-powered 10.1-inch Acer Switch 10, which received a boatload of praise from us. Then, in September, Acer announced the 11.6-inch Switch 11, which offers an Intel Core i5 version with a 1080p display.

Now, Acer is moving the Switch into some larger real estate again, launching a 12.5-inch model powered by Intel’s fifth-generation Core M processor. Like its predecessors, it will feature a detachable design that will allow you to use the Switch 12 as a tablet, as well as a traditional notebook PC.

On top of that, you’ll be able to put the Switch 12 into multiple modes, including tent and display. When detached, you can connect the Switch 12’s keyboard to the display wirelessly, so you won’t have to dock it in order to keep typing away.

Like the Switch 11 before it, the Switch 12 features a Corning Gorilla Glass Display, and also offers an anti-fingerprint coating which should reduce the amount of smudges and streaks that appear on its screen.

Due to the fact that Intel’s Core M chips are fanless, power-sipping processors, the Switch 12 should be whisper-quiet while you use it, and boast excellent battery life. Acer says that the Switch 12 offers up to eight hours of video playback endurance before conking out.

The Acer Switch 12 will feature Micro USB 3.0 and Micro HDMI ports, and will ship with one of two storage flavors. You’ll be able to grab one with either a 60GB or 120GB SSD. We wish a 256GB model were available as well. There’s no word on how much memory the Switch 12 will have, but past models have shipped with either 2GB or 4GB.

Acer hasn’t revealed pricing information for the Switch 12 yet, and though the company is choosing to announce it now, it won’t start to ship until sometime in early 2015.

Topics
Konrad Krawczyk
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Konrad covers desktops, laptops, tablets, sports tech and subjects in between for Digital Trends. Prior to joining DT, he…
This Alienware gaming PC with an RTX 4090, 64GB of RAM is $1,000 off
Alienware Aurora R15 placed at an angle on a table.

Dell is consistently a great place to check for gaming PC deals and that’s certainly the case today. If you want a high-end gaming rig for less, you can currently buy the Alienware Aurora R15 gaming desktop for $2,900 instead of $3,900. The $1,000 saving is particularly sweet when you bear in mind that this is a truly high-end gaming PC packed with all the latest hardware. If you’re keen to know more, check out what we have to say about it below or you can simply hit the button below to go straight to the deal.

Why you should buy the Alienware Aurora R15 gaming desktop
Alienware makes some of the best gaming PCs around and the Alienware Aurora R15 gaming desktop is a perfect representation of that. It’s packed with the latest hardware. That includes an AMD Ryzen 9 7900X processor, 64GB of memory and 2TB of M.2 SSD storage. It’s great to see so much RAM with many gaming PCs still sticking with 32GB when 64GB really does set you up for the long term. Similarly, the large amount of fast storage is perfect for ensuring you won’t run out of room any time soon even when handling large installs like Call of Duty: Warzone or Hogwarts Legacy.

Read more
4 CPUs you should buy instead of the Ryzen 7 7800X3D
AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D sitting on a motherboard.

The Ryzen 7 7800X3D is one of the best gaming processors you can buy, and it's easy to see why. It's easily the fastest gaming CPU on the market, it's reasonably priced, and it's available on a platform that AMD says it will support for several years. But it's not the right chip for everyone.

Although the Ryzen 7 7800X3D ticks all the right boxes, there are several alternatives available. Some are cheaper while still offering great performance, while others are more powerful in applications outside of gaming. The Ryzen 7 7800X3D is a great CPU, but if you want to do a little more shopping, these are the other processors you should consider.
AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D

Read more
Even the new mid-tier Snapdragon X Plus beats Apple’s M3
A photo of the Snapdragon X Plus CPU in the die

You might have already heard of the Snapdragon X Elite, the upcoming chips from Qualcomm that everyone's excited about. They're not out yet, but Qualcomm is already announcing another configuration to live alongside it: the Snapdragon X Plus.

The Snapdragon X Plus is pretty similar to the flagship Snapdragon X Elite in terms of everyday performance but, as a new chip tier, aims to bring AI capabilities to a wider portfolio of ARM-powered laptops. To be clear, though, this one is a step down from the flagship Snapdragon X Elite, in the same way that an Intel Core Ultra 7 is a step down from Core Ultra 9.

Read more