Acer has always been one of those companies that produced budget-friendly yet high-quality devices. Their TravelMate is one of the most recognizable laptop series. My first device was just from this line, it was somewhere in the early noughties. At that time, 512 MB of RAM was considered the gold standard, all laptops had to have VGA and Ethernet ports, and Intel Core 2 Duo processors were gaining popularity. The low price was offset by a weak battery and touchpad. The latter was more of a looker than a functioner, and the lid hinges were weak and lasted only a year or so. But the laptop performed its main function quite well, and I had only positive feelings about working with it.
At IFA 2024, I got my hands on the latest laptop in the TravelMate series, the Acer TravelMate P6 14 AI. Over the past 20 years, everything has changed in a laptop. At first glance, you can tell that this is truly your travel partner. When you pick it up — you hardly feel the weight, so I could hold it with my fingertips without effort. It weighs just under a kilogram, making it one of the lightest laptops in the world today (Author’s note: readers, can you tell me which models weigh less? I couldn’t find one right away).
The heart of the laptop is the new Intel® Core Ultra (series 2) processor, which I’m sure almost everyone has heard about and discussed. The vice president of Intel on the IFA stage was almost crying with happiness when he discussed the new line and that it is the most energy-efficient processor in the company’s history. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find him after the speech to ask him why he had to wait for ARM chips to appear to finally do something truly new.
The new TravelMate P6 14 does not promise the incredible 20-30 hours of battery life like its colleagues from other Acer series or Dell XPS. But 14 hours is also very good, compared to what it was even last year, and taking into account the weight and dimensions. The case itself is made of carbon fiber. At first glance, it seems sturdy, does not bend under strong finger pressure, and is relatively non-marking, meaning it should not collect fingerprints in the future.
The screen is good, but not wow. Sorry, I’m spoiled by OLED, and this is not a reproach to Acer, but a simple statement of the fact that there are better screens. In the older version of the laptop, the buyer will receive a WQXGA+ (2880×1800) with a maximum brightness of 400 nits, 100% RGB space coverage, and the currently popular 16:10 business aspect ratio. The colors look bright and vivid, and most users will probably not need more than that for their daily work.
The graphics processor is Intel® Arc™ Graphics. You shouldn’t expect great results from it, and it’s hardly a laptop worth considering for those who want to not only work but also play games while traveling. The Nitro V with RTX 4050, which we wrote about yesterday, is perfect for these purposes. It looks simply gorgeous in a white case!
The amount of RAM, depending on the model, can reach 32 GB, and the hard disk capacity is up to 1 TB. The set of ports for such a baby is quite decent — two Type-C with Thunderbolt 4 support (which, by the way, is lacking in ARM architecture!), two standard Type-A 3.2 USB ports, one HDMI 2.1 and an Audio Jack.
The keyboard works quietly and smoothly, the click is barely audible, the key travel is comfortable for long typing, and I had no complaints about the touchpad either. The only thing that confused me a little was the seemingly weak hinges. The lid of the laptop «pulls» down when there is about 10 cm left to close. That is, it is unlikely that you will be able to close the lid with a minimum gap between it and the keyboard. However, I can understand the logic of the manufacturer, who, to please the low weight and the beautiful figure of 0.99 kg in the marketing materials, did not make the hinges heavier.
And the most interesting thing is the price. In the European market, the laptops will go on sale in January 2025, with a starting price of 1349 euros. It is not yet known what the prices will be in Ukraine and what configurations are available. I am sure this model will appeal to many users, and fans of the brand and the series will appreciate it. I, personally, liked it.
Oh yeah, I haven’t written a word about AI and Copilot+ in this article. There is nothing much to write about them yet. Sorry, Microsoft.
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