This can be a hands-on assessment to provide the likelihood to see what the Acer Predator Helios Neo 18 AI (2025) is all about as quickly as potential. Keep tuned as we’ll be increasing and upgrading this hands-on assessment very shortly with extra information.
On the Intel Excessive Masters esports match in Katowice, Poland, Acer has unveiled a pair of latest gaming laptops: the Acer Predator Helios Neo 18 AI and Helios Neo 16 AI. I received to spend some hands-on time with the bigger of those two new laptops, and I’ve to say, I’m impressed.
The Predator Helios Neo 18 AI is, unsurprisingly, a severely chunky machine. The show is a beautiful 18-inch QHD+ Mini-LED panel that appears gorgeous, and the big kind issue implies that it additionally packs a full-scale RGB keyboard and a metric ton of ports – one thing I at all times wish to see on a laptop computer. It weighs in at a hefty 3.3kg (7.3 lbs) – granted, not the heaviest gaming laptop computer I’ve ever seen, however comfortably into ‘desktop alternative’ territory.
In the meantime, the Helios Neo 16 AI is a bit more svelte, with an optionally available OLED configuration obtainable for its 16-inch show and a package deal weight of two.7kg (6 lbs), making it just a little extra moveable (although nonetheless pretty hefty). In any other case, it appears like somebody hit the 18-inch mannequin with a shrink ray; it’s very comparable however just a little smaller. There’s additionally the 16S, which was beforehand unveiled at CES and gives a barely slimmer total design (the ‘S’ stands for ‘slim’).
These ‘Neo’ fashions have been launched a short while again, performing as a form of center floor between Acer’s premium Predator gaming laptop computer line and the extra reasonably priced Nitro sequence. Whereas they’re not precisely what I’d name reasonably priced (extra on that beneath), they’re very pretty priced for the {hardware} on supply. I am happy to say that Acer hasn’t skimped on design high quality to scale back the pricing; it’s purely a cap on the inner specs, as these laptops solely go as much as an RTX 5070 Ti whereas the ‘non-Neo’ Acer Predator Helios 18 AI might be configured all the best way as much as an RTX 5090.
Acer Predator Helios Neo 18 AI: Worth and availability
Whereas we do not but have full pricing info for the Acer Predator Helios Neo 18 AI, I can affirm that it’ll begin at $2,199.99 within the US with a launch scheduled for someday in Might. The 16-inch model will begin at $1,899.99, and is predicted to launch a month earlier in April.
Now, it is vital to say that these are base configuration costs, which means that you’re going to solely be getting an RTX 5070 GPU, Core Extremely 7 255HX CPU, and a comparatively normal 1200p LED show. Different configuration particulars are nonetheless up within the air; we all know that each laptops might be configured with as much as 64GB of RAM, however not the baseline quantity, which is probably going 16GB or 32GB. It is probably that choosing the extra highly effective configurations will jack that worth up a good bit, particularly the Mini-LED show possibility.
Nevertheless, these are nonetheless very cheap beginning costs, particularly for an 18-inch laptop computer. The Helios Neo 18 AI’s closest competitor will probably be the ROG Strix G18 from Asus, which already begins at $2,299.99 within the US – and that is for the RTX 4070 mannequin.
Acer Predator Helios Neo 18 AI: Design
The construct high quality on present here’s a notable step up from the first-gen Neo laptop computer design, which I famous was ‘fairly strong’ however not precisely the best-constructed laptop computer I’d examined in my Acer Predator Helios Neo 16 assessment final yr. The keyboard and trackpad specifically really feel a bit extra sturdy, which is good.
The Helios Neo 18 AI (and its 16-inch sibling) each retain the identical glorious port choice seen in earlier fashions, nevertheless, with principally every little thing you can probably ask for: USB-A, USB-C, HDMI, Ethernet, a 3.5mm headphone jack, and even a microSD card slot. Anybody wanting to make use of this laptop computer for double obligation throughout gaming {and professional} artistic work must be well-served right here (in addition to by the respectable inner specs). A few of these ports, together with the HDMI out, are situated on the rear fringe of the chassis, which helps maintain a few of your cables out of the best way.
The keyboard is a reasonably simple affair; customizable RGB backlighting is par for the course with gaming laptops, and the bigger scale of the Neo 18 AI implies that Acer has seen match to go along with a full-size key format that features a numpad. Key spacing is nice and there is a cheap quantity of journey, which means that typing feels comfy. You have additionally received devoted keys for each the Microsoft Copilot AI assistant in Home windows and the Acer PredatorSense system tweaking software program (which comes preinstalled), in addition to a separate button above the keyboard that prompts ‘turbo mode’ for gaming.
Acer Predator Helios Neo 18 AI: Efficiency
Acer sadly (however unsurprisingly) did not let me sit and obtain a ton of benchmarks to run on the Helios Neo 18 AI, however primarily based on the spec sheet, each the Neo 18 AI and Neo 16 AI are highly effective with out going fully overboard.
The GPU might be both an RTX 5070 or RTX 5070 Ti, with a alternative between 2nd-gen Intel Core Extremely 7 or Extremely 9 HX chips. System RAM is configurable as much as 64GB of DDR5, and storage might be as much as a 2TB SSD (with an additional M.2 slot for person upgrades).
One notable lacking characteristic is Wi-Fi 7 assist, with these Neo laptops as an alternative choosing Wi-Fi 6E – probably a small cost-cutting measure by Acer, and one which personally would not hassle me. Contemplating the RJ-45 port and Intel Killer Ethernet E3100G assist, mixed with the truth that this laptop computer is an absolute tank that just about definitely wants to stay anchored to a wall outlet for critical gaming, you need to in all probability simply be utilizing a wired web connection for the very best expertise anyway.
Acer Predator Helios Neo 18 AI: Early verdict
I used to be fairly happy with the Acer Predator Helios Neo 18 (and the Neo 16, too) – it seems like a wise transfer from Acer to have an possibility particularly for the midrange, supreme for customers who do not wish to shell out for an ultra-premium laptop computer from the likes of Razer or Asus’s ROG line, however have sufficient money to afford one thing a bit extra heavyweight.
It might be good to see extra of a shift in the direction of thinner kind elements in gaming laptops (one thing that the 16S mannequin does obtain), however that does not appear prone to change anytime quickly; not with Nvidia‘s GPUs nonetheless bringing the identical form of energy and cooling necessities to the desk. That is an affordable tradeoff for efficiency, although – and in spite of everything, any 18-inch laptop computer goes to spend most of its time performing as a desktop alternative system anyway. In brief, I am excited to see extra – we’ll be doing a full assessment of this gaming laptop computer as soon as Acer begins to ship out check models, so watch this house.
First reviewed February 2025
Whereas this can be a assessment, it is vital to keep in mind that it is solely a hands-on account primarily based on my restricted time with the machine at IEM Katowice 2025. As such, there are no concrete efficiency figures to talk of, and there is the likelihood that there could also be particular flaws (or advantages!) that I could have missed. It is also potential that the product could also be modified in a roundabout way earlier than launch, which can render elements of this hands-on assessment incorrect.
When reviewing laptops and tablets, I spend as a lot time as potential utilizing the machine as if it have been my very own: I am going to browse the online, watch movies, and create content material. Ideally, we additionally run a wide range of benchmarking software program to stress-test the {hardware}, and maintain monitor of part temperatures and battery life whereas doing so. I additionally pay shut consideration to the burden, profile, and construct high quality of the machine itself, in addition to rigorously testing any shifting elements similar to keys, buttons, and touchpads.