At this year’s CES 2025, Acer has shown off a number of new products, particularly laptops powered by the latest components from AMD, Intel and NVIDIA. We didn’t get a chance to attend the event, but Acer Malaysia also held their Predator League APAC event last weekend, and showed off some of their latest products to show off at the event.
In this first look, the Acer Predator Helios 16 AI and Predator Helios 18 AI will be our focus, two gaming laptop models that come with some pretty awesome internal specs.
Design and Specifications
Both the Acer Predator Helios 18 AI and Helios 16 AI laptops come with a design that combines a minimalist and “gamer” aesthetic where like previous Predator Helios laptop models, the exterior frame is not very aggressive.
However, when the display is lifted, the keyboard lights up in a rainbow of RGB colors, along with a light bar at the bottom of the laptop, making it quite a splash.
One big difference that can be seen physically between the two laptops is in terms of the size and type of screen display used. The Predator Helios 18 AI uses an 18-inch Mini LED panel with 4K resolution and a 120Hz refresh rate along with the ability to process 100 percent of the DCI-P3 color gamut and is accompanied by NVIDIA G-SYNC technology.
The Predator Helios 16 AI uses a 16-inch OLED panel with a resolution of 2560×1600 with a 240Hz refresh rate and also the ability to process 100 percent of the DCI-P3 color gamut and NVIDIA G-SYNC display technology.
Powering both laptops is a choice of the latest Intel Core Ultra 200HX processor, up to the Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX model, and a choice of NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5000 graphics cards, up to the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 model for laptops.
Another configuration that distinguishes these two laptops can be seen in terms of memory. The Predator Helios 18 AI can accommodate up to 192GB of LPDDR5X memory while for the Predator Helios 18 AI, this laptop can be loaded with 64GB of LPDDR5X memory. In terms of storage, the Predator Helios 18 AI can accommodate up to 6TB of PCIe Gen 5 SSD storage, while for the Predator Helios 16 AI, it can be loaded with 2TB of storage.
Just like the previously introduced Predator Helios model, both the Predator Helios 18 AI and Helios 16 AI laptops come with a full-size keyboard that uses tactile mechanical switches. For this latest model, the WASD and directional keys are slightly different, using Magkey 4.0 switches that use magnetic tactile switches.
For these keys, it also comes with removable keys to allow you to modify the “look” of your laptop so that it becomes more unique. In the meantime, you will also notice that the pressure difference between the WASD and directional keys is different compared to other keys.
In terms of plug options, both laptops use all three sides and the back of the laptop to accommodate Thunderbolt 5, USB 3.2 Type-A and HDMI 2.1 plugs.
In terms of thickness and weight, the Predator Helios comes with a thickness of 29.55mm and weighs around 3.2kg, while the Predator Helios 16 AI has a thickness of 27.71mm and weighs 2.7kg. The Predator Helios 18 AI is loaded with a 99Wh battery, while the Predator Helios 16 AI is loaded with a 90Wh battery.
Both laptops will be available in select markets around the middle of this year. As of now, Acer Malaysia has yet to confirm when they will introduce them for the local market.