Acer Halo Smart Speaker comes packed with Google Assistant and another feature almost no other smart home audio device currently has — namely, DTS sound. The company announced its budget-friendly new smart speaker at today’s Next@Acer event, alongside more than a few other products.
As its branding implies, Acer Halo Smart Speaker is a smart home speaker. And DTS sound is built-in too. So the room-filling “rich” audio from this 360-degree speaker should be at a somewhat higher quality. At least in contrast to many of its comparably-priced competitors. But that isn’t all this premium smart speaker has to offer by any stretch of the imagination.
Acer Halo Smart Speaker brings lights & more to match its high-quality DTS sound
In terms of style, the Halo Smart Speaker from Acer starts with a tall, cube-like design embued with play/pause, plus, minus, and a mic-shaped mute button for the built-in Google Assistant. The company says that it’s also hands-free on that front. So users should be able to add it to their Google Home environment. Then, it’s a simple matter of saying “Hey Google” or “Ok Google” to get started.
Two far-field omnidirectional mics help Assistant distinguish between room noise and voice commands.
The frame of the 360-degree speaker is wrapped in an aesthetically-pleasing gray fabric. So it should fit in with just about any decorum. But there’s also an RGB base-light. That lighting packs customizable via Acer’s associated app. And it also syncs up with music to give the room it’s placed in a bit more ambiance.
Acer hasn’t provided details about the size of the speaker. But it does indicate it’s compact enough to fit “on a cluttered desk or kitchen counter” without issue.
The LEDs around the bottom aren’t the only lighting either. Acer includes a display on its Halo Smart Speaker, comprised of LEDs placed under the fabric. That can be customized too, allowing users to see the weather, time, and other details at a glance.
Pricing and availability
Now, the Acer Halo Smart Speaker will bring both Google Assistant and DTS sound for smart homes starting in Q1 2021. At least that’s for the North America region. EMEA regions will see the speaker arrive earlier, at some point in December. Acer says the timing of release and pricing in Canada is still up in the air. It will be priced at $109 in the US or €119 in the EMEA.
The application noted above, is still in development. But should be released by the time it lands in the EMEA region, according to Acer.
