The Acer Predator 8 is a device we have seen a few times now, but up until now I have not really had a good chance to have a play with it. That all changes today as I am in Belfast with #acerliveblog2016 and they have let me have a play with the Acer Predator 8. I am pretty pleased with overall in-hand experience as I have already mentioned in the past when I saw it after its unveiling at IFA 2015.
What really makes this unique amongst tablets, however, is the Predator Quadio Speakers that are on all four corners of the Predator 8. But is it just a tablet with a few extra speakers or is this a true gaming rig for on the go? Let’s dive into to some testing and see if we can find out.
I have been doing some comparisons with my own tablet which is a Z3 Tablet Compact and these two devices are actually a very close match. However, there are some differences. These will become clear in the gaming tests that I have put them through. Before we get into that though, I would like to just show you around the device.
Here are a few more pictures of the Predator 8 to show off some of its key features.
The styling of the Acer Predator 8 is hit or miss it will appeal to those who like the Gaming laptop genre. However, those who like slick lines and slim devices need not apply here. I do kinda like it; the rough angular edges make it sit in the hands in landscape mode very nicely, which makes it great for gaming on the go. However, when I held it in landscape mode, I was forced to adjust my grip, as it felt awkward holding it with the corner resting in the middle of my palm.
What I was really wanting to find out was how this device performed when it came to gaming, so for that I did some aside by side testing with the Xperia Z3 Tablet Compact.
Here is a clip showing some of the big differences between the two devices when it came to playing Asphalt 8.
The overall experience of playing the game on both devices was an enjoyable one. I personally feel that the 8″ tablet is one of the best sizes for tablet gaming, as the screen is just the right size for being held in a similar way to that of a gamepad. It is not too much of a stretch for your fingers to hit the middle of the screen when needed.
The Acer Predator 8 has a really nice immersive feel when it comes to playing games, and this is in part down the haptic feedback provided by the inbuilt haptic engine. You could feel when the car was “boosted” and also when you crashed. It is a very similar experience to the Force feedback that you find on the PlayStation 4 controller, albeit toned down slightly and not quite as intelligent.
On the Xperia, this option was not available in the settings but then again the Xperia does not have the hardware available to use this feature. I did notice that the Asphalt 8 game did have a different icon on both devices so there may be a possibility that Acer has made a customer version for the Predator.
So there we have it, just a brief overview of gaming on Predator 8 tablet from Acer. It may be an older device, but it is a good option for those of you who are really wanting a good gaming experience on the go.
More info on the tablet can be found here and you can pick one up from Amazon now.