With the name 'Neo' attached to it, I don't think it's any surprise that Acer has gone all Cyberpunk 2077 with its latest gaming laptop's promotional image – the Predator Helios 16S AI. After all, Keanu Reeves may have starred in The Matrix, as Neo, but the actor also lent his name to the aforementioned videogame.
Anyway, I digress. For here – as part of the best CES 2025 product reveals – Acer has dropped a mega gaming laptop new-arrival, which boasts some of the latest power in a slimmed-down chassis. It's trendy, it's presented by an AI-like man in a leather jacket – and I'm so here for it.
The Predator Helios 16S AI opts for Nvidia's also-just-announced GeForce RTX 5070 Ti GPU – yes, CES 2025 has proven a busy show – placing it in the upper echelons of what's available right now. That's coupled with the Intel Core Ultra 9 processor 275HX.
Sure, its 'non-S' Helios 16 and Helios 18 cousins offer the more powerful 5090 variant of Nvidia's new GPU, should you want – but those models aren't so slim. So how has the Helios 16S AI managed to squeeze this power into a sub-2cm chassis? It's down to "advanced thermals," which, according to Acer, the brand's "5th Gen AeroBlade technology and liquid metal thermal grease on the CPU".
That'll help keep things cooler – although I wouldn't be surprised if the fans on this slim-yet-powerful beast sound like little rockets – but there's also slightly less battery here (76Whr vs 99Whr) to deliver a smaller and lighter model overall. That's about all that's cut, though, as the Helio 16S AI features a 16-inch OLED panel with 2560x1600 resolution, offered in 240Hz or 165Hz refresh rate variants.
How much the Acer Predator Helios 16S AI, 16 AI and 18 AI models will cost isn't known at this stage. But with specs as stonking as this – and a lifestyle image so very Cyberpunk – these already read like they belong among the best gaming laptops of 2025. Here's hoping...
