I often get excited about testing a product because I know it’s going to be a joy to use. Other times, it’s because I’ve never held the device before or there is a new feature worth checking out. Then there is a small group of gadgets that catches my interest because I genuinely don’t know if they’ll even function properly. This dwindling group of risk-takers is where Acer’s new SpatialLabs 3D external monitors firmly belong.
You did indeed read that correctly. Two products revealed today, the SpatialLabs View and SpatialLabs View Pro, are standalone external monitors with 15.6-inch, 4K displays with glasses-free stereoscopic 3D technology. We’ve seen this tech from Acer before when it debuted in ConceptD notebooks where it was meant for designers, but never in this format.
Distinguishing these two monitors is their audience; the standard model is meant for entertainment (watching movies, gaming, etc) whereas the Pro edition is for commercial users. For the former, SpatialLabs TrueGame is a portal for playing games in 3D. The app gives each of the 50 or so 3D-compatible games a pre-configured profile so gamers can feel more immersed. The list of games that Acer shared by email includes some big titles like Forza Horizon 5, God of War, and The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.
To use it, gamers need to launch the app then go to the game they want to play and press “play.” That’s it! The app does the rest, automatically launching the game file while activating its associated TrueGame 3D profile so it can boot in Stereoscopic 3D mode. It’s not just games, though. With SpatialLabs Go, you can turn just about anything into a 3D image, including photos and videos taken on your device. And designers can use plug-ins to render creations into stereoscopic 3D so the digital versions appear closer to the physical product.
I haven’t seen these monitors in person, so I can’t say whether the 3D effect is convincing or a gimmick. What I do know is that the 15.6-inch, 3820 x 2160-pixel IPS monitors have a 60Hz refresh rate, an internal battery, and USB and HDMI 2.0 ports. Acer says they can cover 100% of the sRGB colour gamut and reach 323 nits of brightness. Keep in mind that these weigh 1 kg, making them considerably heavier than non-3D options.
The SpatialLabs View will be available starting this summer for — clutch your wallets tightly — $US1,099 ($1,526) to start.