Early Verdict
The Acer ConceptD 7 Ezel is a beast of a workstation with a dazzling 4K display you can use in five different modes and an integrated Wacom pen.
Pros
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Flexible hinge enables 5 usage modes
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Gorgeous 4K display
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10th gen Intel Core-H or Xeon processor
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Handy Wacom EMR pen
Cons
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Pricey
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Touchpad a bit small
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While Apple is busy patting itself on the back for releasing a MacBook Pro with a keyboard that works, Acer has been busy designing the ConceptD 7 Ezel series, a machine that’s way more versatile than any Apple laptop and most Windows workstations.
Starting at $2,699, this powerful convertible sports a flexible hinge that enables five usage modes. Plus, it comes with a Wacom pen that makes it easy to draw or write on the display.
I went hands-on with the ConceptD 7 Ezel at CES 2020, and it looks like it could be the best laptop yet for content creators — if you can afford it. In fact, it's so good that it won a recommendation for best laptop design in our Tom's Guide Awards 2021.
ConceptD 7 Ezel price and availability
The ConceptD 7 Ezel will be available in North America in June, starting at $2,699. The ConceptD Ezel Pro steps up to Intel Xeon CPUs and Nvidia Quadro graphics and starts at $3,099. That model will be available in July. You can check our Acer promo codes to see if we can save you a few dollars on your purchases.
ConceptD 7 Ezel design and ports
How’s this for flexibility. The ConceptD 7 Ezel uses a flip-around display that you can use in five different modes: sharing mode, floating mode, stand mode, 2 pad mode or display mode. The hinge design makes it a cinch to switch modes with one hand.
The ConceptD 7 Ezel looks pretty stunning in white, too. The micro-arc oxidation finish is designed to prevent stains and scratches.
The chassis includes two Thunderbolt 3 ports, two USB 3.1 ports, an HDMI 2.0 port, DisplayPort 1.4 a headphone jack, Ethernet and an SD card slot.
ConceptD 7 Ezel specs
The ConceptD 7 Ezel is a beast that’s powered by 10th Gen Intel Core H-series processors (coming soon) up to 32GB of RAM and up to 2TB of NVMe PCIe SSD storage.
If you need more oomph for professional applications, such as filmmaking, animation or architecture, the ConceptD 7 Ezel Pro upgrades the internals to an Intel Xeon E processor and Nvidia Quadro RTX 4000 graphics.
ConceptD 7 Ezel display
Glorious is probably the best way to describe the ConceptD 7 Ezel’s screen. This 15.6-inch panel offers 4K resolution and 400-nit brightness but it’s also Pantone certified to ensure realistic colors. Acer also promises a Delta E color accuracy of under 2 (0 is perfect).
Up close, the screen looks bright and resists reflections, thanks to the built-in, anti-glare coating.
ConceptD 7 Ezel keyboard, pen and stylus
The white keyboard with orange backlighting on the ConceptD 7 Ezel is definitely unique among workstations, and it offered decent feedback during my brief hands-on testing. The glass touchpad is a little smaller than I’d like, but it seemed accurate and smooth.
The ConceptD 7 Ezel comes with a Wacom EMR pen, which provided a fluid inking experience when I tried it out. Bonus: it doesn’t need a battery. However, I don’t like the awkward location of the storage garage on the right side of the system, and you have to be careful not to insert the pen the wrong way or it could get stuck.
ConceptD 7 Ezel battery life
Unfortunately, Acer didn’t provide the battery capacity or a rated battery life claim for the ConceptD 7 Ezel. However, you shouldn’t expect a ton of endurance given its 4K screen and discrete graphics. We’ll update this hands-on review as we learn more.
Outlook
The ConceptD 7 Ezel and ConceptD 7 Ezel Pro could be the ultimate workstations for creative pros. They offer stunning displays, gobs of power and a very flexible display you can use in multiple modes along with an integrated digital pen.
The $2,699 starting price seems steep, but the 16-inch MacBook Pro starts as $2,399 and the model with a Core i9 chip and more powerful AMD Radeon graphics goes for $2,799. And you can simply do a lot more with the ConceptD 7 Ezel. We will bring you a full review as soon as we can get our hands on a unit.
