Acer Switch 5 preview: The silent Surface killer?

If you’re in the market for a 2-in-1 device then Acer has just announced its new premier model: the Switch 5.

It’s not the first time we’ve seen this form clip-on-keyboard form factor – not least that it apes the Microsoft Surface to a reasonable degree – as last year’s Acer Alpha Switch 12 delivered a similar 12.2-inch design with liquid cooling that was, we thought, an ace on account of its price point.

The Switch 5 does things a little differently: it’s more powerful than the Alpha (but retains the liquid cooling for silent operation), comes with a one-hand adjustable stand, fingerprint scanner and, as you might expect, a slightly higher price tag at €1,099 (UK price TBC). Is it the Switch to go for?

Acer Switch 5 preview: Design

• 12.2-inch, 2160 x 1440 resolution IPS LCD screen
• One-handed kick-stand control
• Side-positioned fingerprint scanner
• Keyboard and Active Pen stylus included
• 9.6mm thin (12mm with keyboard); 1.27kg all-in

To look at the Switch 5 is a lot like the Switch Alpha 12, then. Expect when you look up close: the metal has an almost serrated edge which looks, frankly, bizarre yet distinctive in equal measure. Otherwise it’s a well-built and good-looking piece of kit.

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The kick-stand is perhaps the most interesting part of the design. It pops out into an initial position and then you simply push it with one hand and it’ll descend infinitely through its various non-click degrees and remain in position. The second you lift it from the surface it’s on, however, the stand will pop back into its upright position. It’s a really clever hold-in-place solution that stops stand adjustment being at all fiddly.

Other advanced features include a fingerprint scanner which, like with Huawei’s MateBook, is positioned around the side for a simple touch/swipe to login. It’s inconspicuous and a decent addition in an ever-more biometrically secure tech environment.

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With a price tag of almost €1,100 (far more than the Stateside price of $799), the Switch 5 is keen to make an impression with its screen, which pushes a FHD+ resolution panel (2160 x 1440) to rival the Surface Pro 4. It’s certainly bright and the viewing angles – at up to 178-degrees – are excellent. Shame it’s not AMOLED for the price, but what Acer has used here is suitably high-end.

With both keyboard and Acer Active Pen stylus included in the box you’re getting even great value for money. That helps makes this Switch the do-it-all model, covering personal and business across all kinds of possible professions.

Acer Switch 5 preview: Performance

• LiquidLoop fanless cooling system for silent operation
• Intel Core i7 top-spec power
• Intel HD Graphics 620
• Up to 8GB RAM

Under the hood, the slender tablet – which measures 9.6mm, or 12mm with the keyboard attached and folded down – has Acer’s liquid cooling system, known as LiquidLoop, which means a fanless and, therefore, silent operation. That’s paired with up to 8GB RAM if you want to pay more, with on-board SSD storage catered for up to 512GB.

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That silence is a killer feature. There’s nothing worse than a whirring or whistling fan to distract from use, so the Switch gets major points in this department. That it can offer this alongside the latest Intel Core i7 processor – making it more powerful than the earlier Alpha Switch 12 – is even more impressive.

All that adds up to claimed battery life of just over 10-hours, which seems like a fair stretch – but we’ll have to wait for a full review unit before we can confirm whether such double-figures ring true or not.

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Connection-wise there’s a full-size USB 3.0 port, alongside a USB Type-C port, which doubles-up as the charging point. That makes this Switch future-proof when it comes to connectivity.

First Impressions

With keyboard and stylus included, along with silent operation and oodles of power to boot, the Acer Switch 5 certainly isn’t messing around. But then its price also asserts that: at €1,099 it’s a whole lot of money, making a stand against the Surface Pro 4.

The silent operation could possibly sway us Acer’s way, too, but we do feel the fine detail in the metalwork should have been left out of the design plan. That ignored, however, and as 2-in-1s go, there are few with as many features as this Acer. It’s about time the company showed off what it can do in the higher-end market.