Acer S7-392 Haswell Ultrabooks Now Available
by Jarred Walton on August 12, 2013 10:40 PM EST Open_678x452.jpg)
Acer sent along word today that their S7 Ultrabook, now updated with Haswell internals, is available for order. At present, Acer lists two different models; as usual, the less expensive model includes a Core i5 processor and a 128GB SSD, and the high-end model upgrades the CPU to a Core i7 processor and includes a 256GB SSD. Thankfully, both come with 8GB memory and a 1920x1080 IPS touchscreen display. Anand previewed performance of the Acer S7 around the time of the Haswell launch, but it was prerelease hardware. We don’t expect performance to have changed much, but battery life should be better judging by what we’ve seen of other Haswell offerings. Here’s the full rundown of the specifications for the two models.
| Acer S7 Haswell Ultrabook Specifications | ||
| Model | S7-392-6832 (NX.MBKAA.008) | S7-392-9890 (NX.MBKAA.009) |
| Processor |
Intel Core i5-4200U (Dual-core 1.6-2.6GHz, 3MB L3, 22nm, 15W) |
Intel Core i7-4500U (Dual-core 1.8-3.0GHz, 4MB L3, 22nm, 15W) |
| Chipset | H87 (?) | |
| Memory | 8GB (2x4GB onboard) | |
| Graphics |
Intel HD Graphics 4400 (20 EUs at 200-1000MHz) |
Intel HD Graphics 4400 (20 EUs at 200-1100MHz) |
| Display | 13.3" Glossy IPS 1080p (1920x1080) | |
| Storage | 128GB (2x64GB RAID 0) SSD | 256GB (2x128GB RAID 0) SSD |
| Optical Drive | N/A | |
| Networking |
802.11n WiFi (Intel Advanced-N 7260) (Dual-band 2x2:2 300Mbps capable) Bluetooth 4.0 + HS (Intel) |
|
| Audio |
Realtek HD Stereo Speakers Headset combo jack |
|
| Battery/Power |
4-cell, ~7.32V, 6280mAh, 46Wh 65W Max AC Adapter |
|
| Front Side | N/A | |
| Left Side |
Power Button Headphone/Microphone jack Mini-HDMI AC Power Connection |
|
| Right Side |
Memory Card Reader 1 x USB 3.0 1 x USB 3.0 (Powered when sleeping) |
|
| Back Side | N/A (Exhaust vent located on bottom) | |
| Operating System | Windows 8 64-bit | |
| Dimensions |
12.7" x 8.8" x 0.5" (WxDxH) (323mm x 224mm x 12.7mm) |
|
| Weight | 2.87 lbs (1.3kg) | |
| Extras |
HD Webcam 67-Key Backlit Keyboard Flash reader (MMC /SD) |
|
| Pricing |
MSRP: $1450 Online: $1450 |
MSRP: $1700 Online: $1650 |
In terms of the exterior design, as far as I can tell nothing has changed – for better or for worse – so most of what we said in our earlier Ivy Bridge S7 review still applies. That means you still get a funky keyboard that’s missing the top row of function keys, and there’s not a whole lot of key travel either. Still, it’s an extremely thin and attractive design overall, and just because the exterior didn’t change doesn’t mean that nothing else has improved.
Besides the new Haswell processors, the new S7-392 series Ultrabooks come with 8GB of memory now, shoring up one of the weak spots. The wireless solution has also been updated to Intel’s Advanced-N 7260; it would have been great to get 802.11ac, so really the change from a Qualcomm/Atheros 2x2:2 dual-band solution to the new Intel equivalent isn’t likely to radically alter WiFi performance. Finally, the battery received an upgrade capacity as well, making the new S7 even more portable than before. In Anand’s testing, the new S7 delivered just over seven hours of useful battery life (compared to only four hours on the earlier model).
Pricing remains roughly the same as before, unfortunately, so even though the new model is definitely better than previous model, we’re not sure how many people are willing to fork over $1400-$1700 for a new Ultrabook. If you count yourself among those who are interested in such a laptop, the new S7-392 models are available starting today at a variety of online vendors. We were able to find at least a couple places that are selling the upgraded model for less than the MSRP, and we think the added SSD capacity and performance is probably worth the extra $200. Get that price closer to $1500 and I’m sure more people would be willing to take a bite.
Source: Acer PR
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karasaj - Monday, August 12, 2013 - link
Definitely rather have the Samsung Ativ 9 Plus for 1399 with its 3200x1800 screen over the Acer, this is $200 too expensive. I guess it's nice that it has 8GB ram at least, I'd like to see that on Samsung's offering. I *seriously* want a zenbook infinity though..blau808 - Sunday, August 18, 2013 - link
3200x1800 is a lot of pixels to push with a 4400.p1esk - Tuesday, August 13, 2013 - link
$1400-$1700 for Acer??? Who do they think they are? Apple?Also, I thought these will come with a hi-res screen, what happened?
Doh! - Tuesday, August 13, 2013 - link
I'm sorry but that's one ugly ultrabook.blau808 - Sunday, August 18, 2013 - link
The picture doesnt do it justicemaximumGPU - Tuesday, August 13, 2013 - link
I'm really interested in that ultrabook, so waiting for the final review. Any of you guys know of a laptop that beats it in specs and price and is as light?igesta - Tuesday, August 13, 2013 - link
wow, still no dedicated function keys. seriously??I remember crossing off from my consider-to-buy list few laptops with the top row keys being the shortcuts for multimedia purpose (Lenovo I think), like gotta use Fn key to use the F1-F12. I still think these function keys are still really crucial shortcuts (at least for me), e.g. rename, close, refresh, grammar check/thesaurus and save as.
And now this laptop is no different. Sorry, Acer. Function (no pun intended) over form.
DanNeely - Tuesday, August 13, 2013 - link
That's not even the only key layout WTF, and I could understand the tradeoff on an 11" model to make room for a bigger touchpad; but Acer has lots of space of the keyboard here so it's just cheap to the point of stupid (which is Acer to the core). More apalling IMO, since it's something that will affect everyone, not just the 2% of users who actually know how to use the function keys is that the rightmost two thirds of the capslock is replaced with the ~ key to put the escape key in the ~'s normal place.Flunk - Tuesday, August 13, 2013 - link
These look reasonable, but the price is ridiculous. The 13" MacBook Air is $1,099.00 for 128GB and $1,299.00 for 256GB. You would have to add $100 in upgrades to get the low end units to spec parity and $250 to the higher end one BUT that is still $100 less than the high-end Acer. Acer is trying to sell Ultrabooks that are MORE EXPENSIVE than APPLE.Not only that, although I'm not an Apple fan the MacBook Air is a great little computer. The build quality is top notch, much better than (at least last generation's) S7 and there is much more room to save money by buying lower-spec equipment. i5 + 8GB RAM and 256GB is a perfectly doable option that would seem to make the most sense to me.
In order to be competitive Acer needs to actually beat the competition, not even tie. Their reputation is a big enough issue that this needs to be $100-$200 less than their cheapest competitor, not $100-$200 more than APPLE. This system looks good, but not exceptional and it needs to be priced that way.
Impulses - Tuesday, August 13, 2013 - link
Spec parity? I think you're forgetting the outdated low res panel on the Airs... I'm not excusing Acer's price, but ASUS has had lower priced 1080p/IPS Zenbooks at the same price point as the Air in the past, which makes it just as overpriced.