Hands-on: Acer Predator Triton 16 takes on the thin and light gaming laptop genre

Acer Predator Triton 16: Two-minute review

Acer has been focusing a lot on sustainability, not just with its Vero line of products but also its efforts across all aspects of its business, including its enterprise and medical solutions as well as its new e-mobility line. 

Now that its sustainability efforts are getting traction, the brand is also looking into making more of its products be less of a physical burden for its users, specifically with its gaming laptops. 

At Computex 2023, Acer is looking towards more thin and light products, releasing a Vero router that is so lightweight it doesn’t even feel like a real device, more like a toy you’d give to a child so they can pretend they're in an office (sounds fun), and two laptops: the next iteration of the Swift Edge 16, and the new Predator Triton 16. 

The Acer Predator Triton 16 is a semi-refresh of the Triton 300 SE, one of the brand’s more affordable special edition models. Acer took that special edition line and created the Predator Triton 16, a more premium gaming laptop equipped with an enhanced cooling system that includes dual fans, the brand’s Vortex technology, and liquid metal grease. 

Of course, I didn’t actually get to see that at work. I asked someone from the showcase, and all they could assure me was that it shouldn’t throttle and affect your gaming experience — though he couldn’t commit to the chassis not getting hot. Just how hot it’s going to be, you’ll just have to wait and see until I get my hands on a unit to fully put it through its paces.

There are other upgrades on the outside as well, I was told. The trackpad, for one, is bigger than on the SE, which is something we can all appreciate. Not that gaming on a trackpad is recommended anyway, but it just means that if you’re doing things other than gaming, you don’t have to whip out that mouse. The trackpad also feels nice and responsive, and at its upper left corner is a fingerprint reader for login convenience. How well that one works, you’ll again have to wait until the full review. 

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The keyboard, while not mechanical, feels comfortable to type on, despite its keys being on the squishy side. It should be fine whether you’re gaming or writing up code. 

However, there are a couple of things I appreciate more in the laptop's overall design: the presence of a microSD reader, placed conveniently in the front side corner for easier access, and the mode toggle button, which looks very much like the power button, but it’s really for switching performance modes on the fly.

A superficial upgrade from the SE here is the Predator logo being RGB-lit. Not just that, but it’s also customizable through the app, PredatorSense. It’s a nifty little addition that adds beauty to an otherwise homogeneous-looking gaming laptop.

Speaking of beauty, the 16-inch 2560 x 1600 500-nit display is gorgeous, rich, and vibrant. At least, that’s my first impression. It also has a matte finish that's amazing at minimizing glare and getting rid of reflections altogether. And e-sports pros and gamers who love fast-paced games will appreciate that 240Hz refresh rate.

Of course, the main design aspect of this laptop is that it is thin and light. No, I’m not talking about Acer Swift Edge 16-level thinnest and lightness; this is still, after all, a gaming laptop so it’s still pretty thick and hefty. But it's thinner and lighter than Acer’s other gaming laptops so if you’re looking for one to travel with you, it’s a good one to consider.

Acer hasn’t shared all the configurations yet, but it has revealed that it will be powered by 13th Gen Intel Core processors, maxing out on the i9, and will boast up to an RTX 4070 GPU, up to 32GB DDR5 RAM, and up to 2TB storage. I didn’t get a chance to test out the unit’s performance though, and there’s no mention of battery life as of yet.

Again, for that, you’ll have to wait until the full review.

Acer Predator Triton 16: Price and availability

• How much does it cost? Starting at $1,799.99 / €2,299 (about £1,500 / AU$2,700)
• When is it available? Around September 2023
• Where can you get it? For now, North America and EMEA

The Acer Predator Triton 16 launched just before Computex 2023, but you'll have to wait a little while to get your hands on one. It won't be available in North America, Europe, the Middle East and Africa until September 2023. 

Because its release is still a long ways off, the configurations and respective prices aren't available yet. Acer has, however, revealed that the base configuration here will start at $1,799.99 / €2,299, or about AU$2,700 in Australia.

Acer Predator Triton 16: Early verdict

Seeing as the Acer Predator Triton 16 isn't slated for release until September, there are a lot details Acer hasn't shared yet. For example, we don't know the specific configurations it'll be available in - or even what you're getting with the base $1,799.99 / €2,299 (about AU$2,700) model. 

What I do know is that it's poised to be Acer's new entry in the thin and light gaming laptop market. Mind you, this isn't going to compete with the thinnest and lightest 16-inch non-gaming laptops. What Acer just means here is that as far as gaming laptops go, it's more portable. It's at least the thinnest and lightest of Acer's Predator line, which makes it a good choice for fans who need a relatively svelte gaming machine.

Though it's a refresh of the Triton 300 SE line, it's also a slightly more premium machine with great design features like a very accessible microSD reader, a fingerprint reader, and a mode toggle button, as well as a customizable RGB-lit Predator logo.  And the 16-inch WQXGA with 500 nits of brightness and a 240Hz refresh rate looks absolutely gorgeous.

Will its performance match it great design aspects? Stay tuned for our full review.