Acer plans to roll out Alexa across its PC portfolio and several of the company's Windows 10 notebook lines, including the Acer Spin 3 and Acer Spin 5 lines, are the first to offer Alexa pre-installed.
Acer added that Alexa will also be pre-installed on the Acer Nitro 5 Spin convertible gaming notebook line next month. It will also be available on select Aspire, Switch and Swift notebooks, as well as Aspire all-in-one PCs, as they are rolled out to Acer's retail partners over the next few weeks.
For those who have already purchased other Acer product lines, they will soon be able to be updated with Alexa via the Acer Care Center. The first Acer notebook lines to receive the update will be the Acer Spin 5 and Spin 3 convertible families on May 23 and May 26, respectively.
Owners of Alexa-compatible Acer notebooks and desktops will be able to get more done via voice control. For example, they can ask Alexa to check the weather, make an entry on their calendar, create lists, answer questions, or play their favorite music, podcasts or audiobooks. Users can also ask Alexa to manage smart home devices including lighting, thermostats and home appliances, all with their voice.
Acer's notebooks and desktops with Alexa are Enabled by Intel Smart Sound Technology, an integrated audio DSP (Digital Signal Processor) built to handle audio, voice and speech interactions. With Intel Smart Sound Technology, the devices provide support for voice control along with high-fidelity audio.
The Acer Spin 5 has Acer Purified.Voice and four digital microphones that support far-field voice recognition. Other Acer notebooks feature dual microphones that support near-field voice recognition. All supported convertible and 2-in-1 notebooks come with front-facing speakers.