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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Flunk - Thursday, August 15, 2013 - link
The 13" MacBook Air is 1440 x 900, It's not that far from 1920 x 1080.Zomow - Saturday, August 17, 2013 - link
Yes, because 60% more pixels isn't 'that' much... never mind the crappy panel.Bob Todd - Tuesday, August 13, 2013 - link
I'd say the even bigger problem with the price is that it's within $50 of Apple's 13" rMBP. I imagine the Zenbook Infinity will ape the rMBP pricing since it looks to be as close as we've seen to the Windows equivalent hardware wise. And those both give you even better 2560x1440 panels, and you'll be looking at HD5100 (an assumption for the next 13" rMBP) which should be fast enough for most current games at 720p/low settings. At least in the case of the yet-to-be announced rMBP refresh you'll also likely be looking at 50% better battery life thanks to a huge battery (not to mention AC Wi-Fi/Thunderbolt/etc.).Impulses - Tuesday, August 13, 2013 - link
Yeah, for a power user those would probably be a better value anyway... This price creep tied to high res panels might get out of hand soon tho.piroroadkill - Tuesday, August 13, 2013 - link
Wake me up when the 13" laptops with core i7-4558U arrive. Until then, yawn.austinsguitar - Tuesday, August 13, 2013 - link
umm...does anyone think that the price is atleast 250 dollars more than it should be for each of these...i mean i have a asus q550lf with better specs than this -_- and an integrated graphics card!the thing driving these so high is raid ssd's and a 13.3 inch 1080p (unusable with 4400hd) screen...cmon acer
Jaerba - Tuesday, August 13, 2013 - link
I grabbed the 256GB model for under $1500 a couple weeks back. It'll be expensive in a month when all the other Haswell ultrabooks start dropping but the biggest problem with that is that they simply haven't. Basically only Sony and Apple (on only one line) were on the ball with products, and Acer was late but still managed to hit in July for some of us.The ATIV 9 Plus only begins pre-orders in a week and while it's cheaper, it's only got 4GB of ram and the HD 4400 is going to be even more stressed on 3200x1800.
The Sony ultrabooks are attractive but the keyboard flex bothers people and they're still more expensive than this.
The Zenbook Infinity looks great, but still no word on release date or price.
And while the Air is definitely a great OSX machine, it's getting worse every generation as a Windows machine. Bootcamp drivers are getting worse, and a low res, non-touch screen (for Win8) kind of sucks.
FWIW, the key travel is better than the previous S7. I can understand being annoyed with the layout though. $1650 is a lot but at $1450 I was fine with it, simply given how little competition there is for thin & light Haswell notebooks, unfortunately.
blau808 - Sunday, August 18, 2013 - link
I picked up the 256gb model for $1100. Microsoft was having a special with student pricing. Came with Office 365 too. I was on the fence about buying this ultrabook, but that price sealed the deal.Its funny to read all of these negative comments when its obvious none of the commenters have experience with this laptop.
jetter - Tuesday, August 20, 2013 - link
I'm puzzled by the ridiculous Haswell based pricing!!!! Is it my imagination or are most of these Haswell based systems simply outrageously priced? Prices for high end laptops seem to be going up!!!!....and it seems to me that most of these systems are way overpriced....by at least $300 or more. With laptop sales on a SIGNIFICANT decline in 2012/2013 WTF are these vendors thinking with these ridiculous prices!!!! They seem to be competing with each other to see who can price their system the highest...Is it some sort of "skimming/premium strategy"....I remember when Apple systems use to have by far the highest prices...now everyone is trying to "one up" Apple with their pricing....bad idea!!!!...with this pricing strategy I believe you will see an even steeper decline in laptop sales this year. Wake up and smell the coffee VENDORS...I for one (and I believe many others) will delaying my laptop upgrade until these vendors lower their prices...BTW...this is not a slam of ACER...love their design for the S7...this is an indictment of most of the PC vendors (e.g., Sony, Lenovo, Samsung, etc.) with their outrageous pricing strategy for these systems. The PC vendors are in for VERY ugly 2013 and 2014 sales if they keep up their premium/skimming pricing strategy!I think it's time we (the consumers) vote with our dollars and simply refuse to pay these exorbitant prices!!! I'd love to hear what others think.
jetter - Tuesday, August 20, 2013 - link
I'm puzzled by the ridiculous Haswell based pricing!!!! Is it my imagination or are most of these Haswell based systems simply outrageously priced? Prices for high end laptops seem to be going up!!!!....and it seems to me that most of these systems are way overpriced....by at least $300 or more. With laptop sales on a SIGNIFICANT decline in 2012/2013 WTF are these vendors thinking with these ridiculous prices!!!! They seem to be competing with each other to see who can price their system the highest...Is it some sort of "skimming/premium strategy"....I remember when Apple systems use to have by far the highest prices...now everyone is trying to "one up" Apple with their pricing....bad idea!!!!...with this pricing strategy I believe you will see an even steeper decline in laptop sales this year. Wake up and smell the coffee VENDORS...I for one (and I believe many others) will delaying my laptop upgrade until these vendors lower their prices...BTW...this is not a slam of ACER...love their design for the S7...this is an indictment of most of the PC vendors (e.g., Sony, Lenovo, Samsung, etc.) with their outrageous pricing strategy for these systems. The PC vendors are in for VERY ugly 2013 and 2014 sales if they keep up their premium/skimming pricing strategy!I think it's time we (the consumers) vote with our dollars and simply refuse to pay these exorbitant prices!!! I'd love to hear what others think.