The 2019 Predator Helios 700 boasts a sliding keyboard and depth-sensitive keys. It’s a giant but powerful beast that’s sure to impress the hardcore.
In the world of gaming laptops it’s one thing to have power, it’s quite another to have a unique sales point. The Acer Predator Helios — announced at the company’s annual global press conference in New York — definitely goes big on the latter, offering a sliding keyboard mechanism design.
Look at the lead picture above and, sure, the Helios 700 looks kind-of like many other gaming laptops. But tug that keyboard forward and it opens the laptop out, exposing the fans for optimum cooling, while the trackpad drops to an angle making for a comfortable wrist rest. Very cool.
So is it gimmicky or does gaming greatness await? We took a look at Acer’s top-end gaming laptop to find out. Sliding keyboard smarts’HyperDrift’ manual sliding keyboard mechanism transforms laptopMagForce keys offer depth sensitivity (or set to Linear Switches)Full colour backlight, standout WSAD keys
Some might say the sliding keyboard mechanism is a bit of a gimmick, but the physical position the keyboard ends up in feels natural, with great access to all the keys. Part of the reason for this slide-out idea is that the fans are exposed in doing so, meaning cooling is optimised when those 4th Gen dual AeroBlade 3D fans kick in. And if you want more ‘normal’ day to day use then leave the keyboard in position for standard use.1/8Pocket-lint
The keyboard has a lot more smarts up its sleeve though. The full colour backlight array is present and correct, while the WSAD and arrow keys are marked out from the rest — a gaming favourite. But that’s not all: this keyboard features what Acer calls MagForce keys, meaning they are effectively depth sensitive.
That means you can programme keys to respond differently to, say, a 10 per cent depress compared to a 70 per cent press.
