Acer debuts the first Snapdragon 8cx Gen 2 5G notebook

The Acer Spin 7 is all revved up for blazing 5G speeds.

What you need to know

• Acer announced the new Spin 7 today, the first notebook built on the Snapdragon 8cx Gen 2 5G platform.
• The convertible is also Acer's first Snapdragon PC, focusing on portability with "multi-day battery life."
• Acer hasn't provided pricing or a release date yet.

Qualcomm just unveiled the next iteration of its PC chip, the Snapdragon 8cx Gen 2, and Acer is the first company to adopt it. Acer unveiled the new Spin 7 today, a convertible notebook focused on portability, connectivity, and a long-lasting battery. Moreover, it will be one of the few PCs hitting stores with 5G connectivity, something we expect to make its way to many more PCs in the coming months.

The Acer Spin 7 takes advantage of the flexibility of the Snapdragon 8cx Gen 2 platform by squeezing a 14-inch display into a relatively slim convertible body. The company says the Spin 7 measures 0.63 inches thick (15.9mm) and it weighs 3.09 pounds (1.4kg). That's all in a magnesium-aluminum alloy chassis that can transform from laptop to tablet mode, and everything in between.

The highlight here is the Spin 7's 5G connectivity. Powered by the Snapdragon 8cx Gen 2 platform, the Spin 7 works with both mmWave and sub-6 5G frequencies, giving it quite a bit of flexibility depending on what's deployed in your area. Either way, you'll be able to stay connected on the go, potentially with the ridiculously fast speeds 5G is ostensibly capable of achieving.

When 5G isn't available, you can fall back on LTE for staying connected when outside of Wi-Fi range. When you're away from a power outlet, Acer claims the Spin 7 can hit "multi-day battery life," though we'll have to wait to see just how many hours that adds up to.

Finally, the Spin 7 works with a Wacom pen with 4096 levels of pressure sensitivity. The pen can also be stashed in a dedicated garage built into the Spin 7's body when you're done with it. Acer has also included an antimicrobial coating on the Corning Gorilla Glass display, so you hopefully won't have to worry about things getting too grimy.

There's no pricing or availability information on the Spin 7 just yet. However, it should be an interesting notebook to watch as the first out there with Qualcomm's latest PC chip.