Computer manufacturer Acer has scheduled a global press conference in New York City on April 21, aka Next@Acer. The company’s CEO and other executives will be on hand to announce new products that will be added to Acer’s portfolio in 2016. One of these products will supposedly be the Acer Aspire Switch Alpha 12 S (SA5-271), a 12-inch tablet with a rather long name, a built-in kickstand, digitizer pen support, and a 64-bit version of Windows 10 Home.
The leak arrives by way of Tablet Monkeys, which managed to get a load of promotional images and a rough list of hardware specs. According to the report, the upcoming tablet will be offered with a variety of hardware configurations that are based on sixth-generation Intel Core “Skylake” processors. For instance, one model will supposedly arrive with an Intel Core i5-6200U processor, 4GB of RAM, and 128GB of storage.
As for other specs, the tablet will reportedly offer a full-size USB 3.0 port, a USB Type-C port, and both front and rear cameras. There will also be an option for an Intel RealSense 3D camera, which will allow users to login via facial recognition using Windows Hello, scan objects and people into 3D, and add green-screen effects into live video.
The report goes on to say the upcoming 12-inch tablet will include liquid cooling to keep the components at a reasonable temperature, and a brushed anodized aluminum chassis. The site points out that the device looks a lot like the HP Elite x2 (1012), which also has a built-in kickstand.
Along with the tablet, Acer will launch a Microsoft Surface-like keyboard accessory. This peripheral will attach to the tablet’s bottom and provide a clip for holding the Acer Pen. The company actually sells the pen now for $50, and it’s currently compatible with the Aspire R13, Switch 11 and 12 notebooks. The pen uses an AAAA replaceable battery and offers three modes: Touch, Hover, and Sleep.
The Acer Aspire Switch Alpha 12 S follows the company’s 2-in-1 laptop, the Aspire Switch 12 S (SW7-272), which was revealed during CES 2016 back in January. It’s a hybrid laptop/tablet solution based on sixth-generation Intel Core M processors and Windows 10, and features a 12.5-inch screen that offers either 3,840 x 2,160 or 1,920 x 1,080 resolution, depending on the model.
The Aspire Switch 12 S, which was launched in February, packs a USB 3.1 Type-C port that supports Thunderbolt 3. The device also includes two USB 3.0 ports, a Micro HDMI port, a Micro SD card slot, and more. The initial models offered by Acer span 4GB to 8GB of memory, and SSDs packing 128GB or 256GB of storage.
This is not the first leak regarding the Acer Aspire Switch Alpha 12 S. It made its first appearance just days ago when it appeared on the Red Dot design award website. The listing has since been removed from the site. We expect to hear more about this 12-inch tablet during Acer’s scheduled press event in New York on April 21.
