By This 16-inch gaming laptop, the Acer Predator Helios Neo 16S AI, has good hardware and is reasonably priced. However, this isn’t the “AI laptop” you’re looking for. The neural processing unit (NPU) is not prepared to perform the most recent AI jobs and is too slow to manage Microsoft’s Copilot+ PC AI features. Many consumers are unaware that contemporary “AI laptops” frequently don’t live up to Microsoft’s claimed criteria.
This computer would perform well on GPU-based AI tasks, just like other gaming laptops that have been renamed as AI laptops, but not any better than the others. The Nvidia RTX 5070 Ti GPU in this case isn’t the best for local AI models because it has 12 GB of VRAM. (For instance, GPUs with at least 16 GB of VRAM are required to run OpenAI’s new gpt-oss-20B model.)
If we consider it a gaming laptop rather than an AI laptop, this is a good laptop despite the AI name. And it’s very amazing that this OLED display costs less than $2,000. I will thus consider it like a gaming laptop for the remainder of this evaluation.
Specifications
With a 24-core Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX CPU, a current-generation Nvidia GeForce RTX 5070 Ti GPU, 32 GB of RAM, and a 1 TB SSD, the Acer Predator Helios Neo 16S is a 16-inch gaming laptop. The setup we evaluated is exclusive to Best Buy and costs $1,899. Additionally, end users can upgrade the RAM and storage. You only need to take off the bottom cover.
- Number of model: PHN16S-71-98RF
- CPU: 275HX Intel Core Ultra 9
- 32 GB of DDR5 6400 MHz RAM
- Nvidia GeForce RTX 5070 Ti 12GB graphics/GPU
- Intel AI Boost (up to 13 TOPS) as the NPU
- Display: 16-inch OLED 2560×1600 screen with refresh rate of 240 Hz
- 1 TB PCIe Gen4 SSD for storage
- Camera: 1080p camera
- Connectivity: 1x HDMI 2.1 out, 1x Ethernet, 1x microSD card reader, 1x combination audio jack, 1x DC power in, 3x USB Type-A (2x USB 3.2 Gen 2, 1x USB 3.2 Gen 1), and 2x USB Type-C (1x Thunderbolt 4, 1x USB 3.2 Gen 2 10Gbps).
- Networking: Bluetooth 5.4, Wi-Fi 6E
- Biometrics: face recognition using an infrared camera
- Capacity of battery: 76 watt-hours
- 14.06 x 10.9 x 1.01 inches in size
- 4.8 pounds in weight
- MSRP as tested: $1,899
Design and build quality
The 16-inch Acer Predator Helios Neo 16S AI gaming laptop falls in the middle of the thinnest and chunkiest gaming laptops. It is nevertheless quite portable for a gaming laptop at slightly under five pounds. With the exception of a silver logo on the keyboard tray and a reflecting Predator logo on the lid, everything is black. The good news is that this computer has no “AI” badge anywhere.
Although Acer’s reviewer’s guide doesn’t list the materials, the lid seems to be made of black aluminum, while the majority of the machine is composed of black plastic. It has a substantial feel. Additionally, the hinge has a pleasant, smooth feel, and opening with just one hand is simple.
With its restrained “Obsidian Black” color scheme, the rest of the machine may pass for a professional laptop rather than a gaming laptop, however the keyboard can be made to glow with multicolored LEDs if you’d like. The laptop is devoid of any light bars or other features. However, it is identified as a gaming laptop by the silver “Predator” emblem beneath the keyboard.
This laptop is reliable. The plastic finish feels high-quality and robust. It’s a decent thickness for a gaming laptop at one inch. However, it doesn’t feel quite as opulent to the touch as a laptop chassis made entirely of metal.
Keyboard and trackpad
There is ample space for a number pad on the full-size keyboard of the Acer Predator Helios Neo 16S AI, which also features four RGB LED backlighting zones. You may create vibrant effects with this adjustable backlighting without having to pay for more costly per-key RGB backlighting.
This is a typical membrane-style chiclet keyboard on a gaming laptop of this size, with 1.5mm of key travel. Key travel is sufficient to provide a pleasant keyboard experience without the need for additional tricks. Although it doesn’t feel mushy, it isn’t as abrupt as when manufacturers go the extra step to incorporate a mechanical keyboard or one with additional actuation force.
Display and speakers
With a refresh rate of 240 Hz and a brightness of up to 400 nits (peaking slightly higher in HDR mode), the Acer Predator Helios Neo 16S AI boasts a 16-inch 2560 x 1600 OLED display. It also supports Nvidia G-Sync and HDR.
I’m a sucker for a good OLED, and the display looks fantastic. Seeing an OLED with such a high refresh rate also excites me. For many years, it seemed like you had to choose between a gaming laptop’s high refresh rate and OLED. While gaming laptops can have brighter or even higher resolution screens, this one looks well with the deep blacks of an OLED.
Even though this OLED is really good, it’s not the best I’ve seen. These aren’t the bright colors and high brightness I typically see on an OLED-powered laptop, but the blacks on this OLED display looked good and deep while I was playing Doom: The Dark Ages. It reminds me more of a decent IPS display in many aspects. Given the 400 nits of brightness, that is not surprising.
The colors aren’t as vibrant as what I see on brighter OLEDs, but the blacks are lovely and deep. Because it is an OLED, it is rather glossy and prone to reflections, which can be problematic in a bright space. Generally speaking, more brightness helps to overcome these reflections.
Every laptop I review has its speakers tested by playing Daft Punk’s Get Lucky and Steely Dan’s Aja. The two stereo speakers on the Helios Neo 16S AI produced a lot of sound. With its accurate instrument separation, Get Lucky performed better than Aja.
Connectivity
Acer’s Predator Helios Neo 16S AI boasts a good number of strategically placed ports. However, it also has USB port confusion, which is one of the major issues I frequently encounter with laptops like these. The device has an Ethernet port, a USB Type-A port, a microSD card reader, and a combo audio jack on the left side. It has two more USB Type-A connectors on the right side.
A DC power in jack, an HDMI 2.1 output, and two USB Type-C ports (one for Thunderbolt 4 and one for USB 3.2) are located on the back. Your laptop’s power and video cords are coming out of the rear, which is a wonderful location because it keeps your mouse and other desk items out of the way.
The typical USB port confusion is the nuisance. One of the USB Type-C connectors on the back is a Thunderbolt 4 port, and the other one is USB 3.2 compatible. If you have Thunderbolt 4 devices, you’ll need to monitor which is which or you’ll notice that they’re running at slower speeds.
This laptop boasts Bluetooth 5.4 support, Killer Wi-Fi 6E technology, and a gratefully included 2.5 Gbps Ethernet connector for wired networking. It is disheartening that Acer did not include Wi-Fi 7. Wi-Fi 7 support would make it more future-proof, but it’s not a huge deal.
Performance
As expected from its CPU and GPU, the Acer Predator Helios Neo 16S AI worked admirably when I tested it in Doom: The Dark Ages. The fans aren’t overly noisy for a gaming laptop when it’s loaded. They expel hot air from the sides and back. If they just blew it out the rear, that would be better. Additionally, the keyboard may become a bit hot, particularly in the center.
As usual, we tested the Acer Predator Helios Neo 16S AI’s performance using our common benchmarks. We also use Handbrake to run an encode. Although it runs for a long time, this benchmark is also significantly multithreaded. Under load, many laptops choke and slow down, requiring the cooling system to kick in.
On average, the Helios Neo 16S took 562 seconds to finish the encoding procedure. It is more than nine minutes. Once more, it appears to be lagging behind comparable laptops that are allegedly better at cooling and require less throttling while under load.
I would point out that this is a serious problem if I were addressing this as an AI laptop and mentioning that you could be seeking to perform CPU inference. To run demanding CPU-crunching activities for prolonged periods of time, you would want a laptop with better cooling. (However, it’s okay and probably won’t significantly impact gaming performance because we’ve moved past the notion that this is an AI workstation.)
Battery life
With a 76 Watt-hour battery, the Acer Predator Helios Neo 16S AI is a mid-range gaming laptop. Nevertheless, it keeps weight down, and you won’t be gaming on battery power anyhow.
We repeatedly play a 4K version of Tears of Steel on Windows 11 with airplane mode turned on until the laptop suspends itself in order to test the battery life. For battery benchmarks, we adjusted the screen brightness at 250 nits. Since local video playback is so effective and real battery life in daily use will always be less than this, this is the best-case situation for any laptop.
Additionally, this laptop’s OLED screen offers it a slight advantage over rival laptops with IPS screens in this test because it doesn’t require additional power to display the black bars surrounding the movie.
In our benchmark, the average lifespan of the Acer Predator Helios Neo 16S AI was 371 minutes, or little more than six hours. This laptop won’t last a workday—or perhaps a day—before you have to plug it in since you’ll receive less in the real world. For gaming laptops with the power-hungry Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX CPUs, that is the norm.
Conclusion
You should give this device careful thought if you’re looking for a 16-inch OLED with a refresh rate of 240 Hz for less than $2,000. As I finish writing this review, the price of Asus’s ROG Zephyrus G16, another 16-inch laptop with an RTX 5070 Ti, a slower Intel Core Ultra 9 285H CPU, and a 240Hz refresh rate, is $2,799 on their website.
Other tricks are tried by the AI of the Acer Predator Helios Neo 16S. Purchasing this PC instead of another gaming laptop is not justified by the “AI” label. Furthermore, although being a victory on paper, the RTX 5070 Ti GPU is limited and does not provide the high-end performance that it could. I advise you to look at other possibilities if this OLED doesn’t thrill you at this pricing. The machine’s best feature, not AI, but its display at this price.
