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Acer’s new ConceptD 7 SpatialLabs Edition laptop uses eye-tracking cameras for a glasses-free 3D display

Acer’s new ConceptD 7 SpatialLabs Edition laptop uses eye-tracking cameras for a glasses-free 3D display

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That kind of tech doesn’t come cheap, though

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Acer is finally bringing its glasses-free 3D SpatialLabs tech to a laptop you can buy: the company has officially announced the ConceptD 7 SpatialLabs Edition.

Announced earlier this year, SpatialLabs combines a suite of hardware and software features. These features include a special stereo camera with two sensors that track your eyes and head, an optical lens on the display that refracts the two slightly different images to your eyes, and rendering software that adjusts the 3D images in real time as you move.

As part of its ConceptD lineup of products for designers and developers, Acer’s pitch here is that the 3D display will allow for users to see 3D projects for CAD designs, 3D printing, architecture, or animation in three dimensions, instead of trying to approximate things on a 2D screen. The Verge’s Monica Chin got to try out the hardware earlier this year and called it “quite impressive,” even if the actual usefulness of the technology still remains to be seen.

Acer imagines developers using the ConceptD 7 SpatialLabs Edition as a design tool alongside larger displays.
Acer imagines developers using the ConceptD 7 SpatialLabs Edition as a design tool alongside larger displays.
Image: Acer

Of course, a 3D display is nothing without 3D content, and Acer is providing a few tools out of the box, like the SpatialLabs Model Viewer, which allows you to import 3D files from apps like Autodesk Fusion 360, Rhinoceros, and ZBrush. It also says that it’s working with developers on more integrated solutions for the future, although the limited availability of the tech to this single laptop (so far) means that rollout will likely be slow.

The company is also offering a SpatialLabs Go app, with AI enhancements that Acer says will allow you to convert 2D content (including “videos, images, simple games, and the webcam feed of participants during a video conference or video call”) to stereoscopic 3D.

Fancy 3D tricks aside, the rest of the ConceptD 7 SpatialLabs Edition is a top-tier laptop (it has to be, in order to accomplish all the real-time rendering and 3D modeling for which Acer envisions it being used). While Acer isn’t offering exact configurations yet, it can be configured with Intel Core i7-11800H processors, up to 32GB of DDR4 RAM (which is user upgradable to up to 64GB), an Nvidia RTX 3080, and a 2TB NVMe SSD. There’s only a single display option, naturally: a 15.6-inch LCD panel that offers 3840 x 2160 resolution in 2D mode or 1920 x 2160 in 3D mode.

That kind of hardware doesn’t come cheap, though: Acer says that the ConceptD 7 SpatialLabs Edition will launch in December in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa starting at an eye-watering €3,599 (or about $4,160.32). It’ll also be available in North America sometime in 2022, but the exact price and release date haven’t been announced yet.

The new ConceptD 3 Ezel
The new ConceptD 3 Ezel
Image: Acer

Acer is also updating its other ConceptD 3 laptops today: the clamshell ConceptD 3 and ConceptD 3 Pro are getting new 16-inch displays with 16:10 aspect ratios, in addition to a new 15.6-inch convertible ConceptD 3 Ezel and ConceptD 3 Ezel (which brings the existing hinge design that Acer has offered on its convertible laptops to a more affordable price point).

The 16-inch ConceptD 3 and ConceptD 3 Pro will be available in the US in January 2022, starting at $1,699.99 and $1,899.99, respectively. The ConceptD 3 Ezel will be available in November, starting at $1,899.99, while the ConceptD 3 Ezel Pro will hit the US in 2022 starting at $1,999.99.